Concussion county
It’s no mystery why Summit County has 17-times more traumatic brain injuries (TBI) per capita than the national average: because we like to do fun things and take part in a lot of head-knocking activities.
But what are the dangers of repeatedly bumping our heads, and what’s being done to treat the injuries in Summit County?
Concussion is a type of TBI, often related to sports, that has historically been overlooked by coaches and athletes. As the danger of concussion has become a hot topic in the media and medical communities, athletes at the professional and amateur levels are taking new steps to treat and prevent the injury, Summit County included.
In May, St. Anthony Summit Medical Center hosted two seminars featuring the REAP Project, which is expanding across Colorado as a model program for community-based concussion management.
The REAP Project (which is an acronym for reduce, educate, accommodate and pace) started after a serious concussion ended the life of Grandview High School student Jake Snakenburg while playing in a high school football game in 2004. To further their efforts, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law the Jake Snakenberg Youth Sports Concussion Act, making Colorado one of the dozen or so states to enact legislation.
The law requires that coaches receive education about concussions, that a student athlete is removed from the field of play if a concussion is suspected and that the student be signed off by a physician before returning to play.
Some of the symptoms of a concussion are headaches, sensitivity to light and noise, nausea and vomiting, balance problems, fatigue, blurred and double vision, mental dullness, mood swings, memory loss and depression — all of which can persist in the short- and long-term. Multiple concussions can have an additive effect on athletes, so with each additional concussion, the vulnerability becomes greater, the symptoms get worse and the recovery period gets longer.
Dr. Phil Freedman, medical director for St. Anthony’s Copper Mountain Clinic and co-chair of the Head Injury Committee at the medical center, said Summit County treats roughly 1,500 head injuries per year; it’s the most common trauma diagnosis at the three clinics and hospital.
One year ago, St. Anthony’s formed the Head Injury Committee with three goals: reduce the number of CAT scans being performed due to the cost and radiation associated with the procedure, set up consistent management for in-hospital care of head injuries and, most importantly, develop a head-injury management program for patients after they are discharged from the hospital.
“Concussions are a huge deal,” Freedman said. “Most people think, ‘Oh, I bumped my head. I’ll be better in a day or two.’ It actually takes a lot longer than that to resolve your concussion.”