Team of doctors, schools focus on concussion care for athletes
EVANSVILLE —
A simple concept for dealing with a difficult condition is putting Evansville at the head of the class for concussion care.
“If a kid has a broken leg, you can see when it’s healed and when he’s ready to get back onto the field,” said Dr. Andrew Saltzman of Tri-State Orthopaedics. “But when it comes to a concussion, every injury is different, and every person who is injured reacts differently.
“We saw a need here, and with the help of a lot of people and organizations it’s now being better met.”
So on Thursday, the St. Mary’s Concussion Alliance — a partnership that includes St. Mary’s, Tri-State Orthopaedics, Pro Rehab and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. — was announced.
The initial step was training, first for Saltzman and then for Drs. Chip Walsh, Tom Weinzapfel, Glenn Johnson and Ross Whitacre. The next, thanks to grant money, was to make baseline tests available for every EVSC athlete who participates in a high-impact sport.
Before seasons begin, players from sports such as soccer, football and wrestling are taken to a computer lab where testing establishes their cognitive skills. If they suffer a concussion, one of the physicians can determine when they’re ready to return not only to sports but to the classroom.
“A brain is soft tissue in a hard shell, and it can be bruised,” said Saltzman. “It doesn’t have to be hit extremely hard; it could simply vibrate at an extreme rate to be shaken up.
“Someone who is knocked out may be fine a day later, and someone who doesn’t exhibit any extreme symptoms could have it linger with headaches, fatigue, irritability … a long list of things.”
Because adolescents’ brains are not fully developed, they run a higher risk of Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) which can cause severe brain damage and in rare occasions death.
That’s where IMPACT — standing for Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing — comes into play. Doctors can compare an athlete’s post-concussion results with the baseline to determine when they have overcome the problem.
Every year, 135,000 high school athletes are identified with concussions. Last year, Saltzman and his associates — also team doctors for the University of Evansville, several local high schools and the IceMen hockey team — treated 60 in Evansville. This fall, they’ve treated 50 — a job made easier because all but one (who was absent on testing day) had a baseline on record.
The tests, which take about 30 minutes, have been invaluable in helping the students and explaining problems to parents, coaches and teachers.
“One treatment is actually resting your brain, which means that you’re sometimes better off not being in a classroom for a few days rather than jumping right back in,” Saltzman said. “I’ve seen kids roll their eyes when I explain they should avoid texting, video games, Facebook, anything that is too stimulating.
“We have to make sure they’re completely recovered. If the brain is hurt again before it resets, it increases the risks of post-concussion symptoms. As it is, 90 percent are resolved in 1 to 3 weeks.”
The seven public and parochial schools in Evansville have certified athletic trainers through an agreement with Pro Rehab. Those trainers are the first defense, in charge of informing coaches on the spot whether a player should return to the game or sit out. That starts the process that includes further testing and treatment.
“Because we work so closely with the schools, there is a familiarity where our physical therapists have the trust of the coaches,” said Pro Rehab’s Pat Wempe. “They want what’s best for their team, obviously, but they also want what’s best for the kids. That’s a call that we’re trained to make.”
There has been almost universal cooperation.
“We’ve been wanting to get rid of the ‘walk-it-off, you’ll-be-fine’ attitude that’s been so prevalent in the past,” said Paul Neidig, the EVSC’s director of athletics. “And now I think we can say with assurance that those days are gone.
“It’s amazing how far sports medicine has come over the years, and even just in the past few years. And we’re extremely fortunate to have doctors and physical therapists of this caliber taking time to develop a program that protects our student-athletes.”
More information on the program — headlined “Keep Your Head in the Game” — is available at 403ding.org or by calling 812-403-ding (3464).