Concussions need more attention

Athletic Trainer Tom Wymer said that statistically on average, twenty concussions happen a year at AHS. The most to happen in one year was forty-seven concussions a few years ago.

According to Head Case, an organization that reports statistics about concussions, “A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that occurs when a head impact jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. 3,800,000 concussions were reported in 2012, and 33% of all sports concussions happen at practice.”

Concussions happen in any sport. You can get one from landing a ski jump wrong or from running into a pole or from a hard hit in football or from slipping and falling on the pool deck. The three top sports where students get concussions are football, hockey, and soccer.

Senior soccer player Sydney Trem has gotten a few concussions and said, “Getting a concussion for the first time was really weird; I got pulled out of class because the teacher thought I was going to pass out but I really don’t remember any of it. The following times were different, I was able to tell if I had a concussion. I tried to hide a couple of them but it’s pretty noticeable when you have one because you can’t really walk straight and you’re kind of out of it.”

Concussions, like most injuries, have long and short-term effects. The short-term effects are headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or sleeping, and noise sensitivity. The long-term effects are yet to be known. It takes, on average, one to three weeks for recovery before returning to playing a sport.

Junior Caroline Eggett has gotten one concussion, “When I hit my head on the ground, I immediately got a headache. The athletic trainer at the away game asked me a few questions - one being how many dimes are in like $1.34 or something. After answering the questions, he said my concussion wasn't severe and told me I would have to sit out games and practices until I was cleared.”

There is concussion protocol high schools must follow before allowing a student to return playing a sport. This protocol is consistent throughout all sports. The athlete is not allowed to play while showing symptoms and could be removed from school or other stimuli -- for example the noise in lunch, band, choir, or orchestra -- that makes him/her feel worse.

The athlete is allowed to resume going to classes and playing his/her sport after he/she stops showing the symptoms. The return to playing is a progression from light cardiovascular activity to full contact. A part of this progression includes the athlete returning to their baseline on a computerized neurocognitive test.

Wymer described concussions saying, “Overall these can be complex injuries that require lots of management and communication on the part of the school, parents, physicians, athletic trainers, and coaches. No one concussion is managed the exact same as the other.”