Commonwealth Sports Medicine

Head Hits: Schools Focus On Concussion Safety

The Loudoun County School Board, along with school districts across the Commonwealth, are taking a closer look at policies aimed at protecting student-athletes from brain injuries-in part because of a new national focus on the issue from the National Football League on down, but more directly because of a mandate from the General Assembly.

The School Board's Legislative & Policy Committee two weeks ago began review of the county's policies as part of its effort to ensure compliance by July 1 with the terms of a bill adopted by state lawmakers in 2010.

The goals of the proposed policy are to ensure that student-athletes who sustain concussions are properly diagnosed, given adequate time to heal and are comprehensively supported until they are symptom free.

Sen. Mark Herring (D-33) said the bill was created because "there were no consistent guidelines for how to diagnose whether a student-athlete had suffered a concussion" and "there was a lot of pressure to have kids return to play before their concussions healed."

Although Herring could not provide specific school divisions in Virginia that don't have concussion policies already in place, he said there "must have been quite a few" because "a lot of student-athletes were returning to play before concussions healed."

Jonathan Smith, a chiropractor and owner of Healthsource of Ashburn with a background in sports medicine, recalled a friend telling him about a lacrosse game where a player was knocked out, but the coach put the player back in the game. "That is unacceptable," he said. "We want to make sure these kids are being protected, and that requires student-athletes, medical professionals, coaches and parents being involved, saying, ‘You know what, this is a serious injury.'"

Loudoun County already has a policy for dealing with concussions suffered by student-athletes, according to Deputy Superintendent Ned Waterhouse. He said Loudoun is not "gaining anything significant" from the new policy because the school system is "doing what is already required."

However, according to Dr. Jill McCabe, chairman of the department of pediatrics and director of the pediatric emergency department at Inova Loudoun Hospital, Inova is partnering with the school system to discuss the proposed policy and work to initiate the best concussion practices.

The state law will put all Virginia schools on the same page in terms of handling student-athlete concussions, which apparently are becoming more common-according to the Brain Injury Association of America, 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. And per the Brain Institute of America, 6 percent of emergency visits from sports-related accidents are concussions.

All-Inclusive Sports Medicine - MD News (press release ...

Cal/OSHA Referral to DA Leads to Conviction of Roofing Contractor and Foreman - PR Newswire (press release) Cal/OSHA Referral to DA Leads to Conviction of Roofing Contractor and Foreman PR Newswire (press release) On January 16, 2008, Antonio Martinez was one of several employees working on a roofing project at a four-story apartment building located at 646 Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks area of San Francisco.... When hiring a roofer, are you comparing apples to apples? - VillageSoup Belfast When hiring a roofer, are you comparing apples to apples? VillageSoup Belfast By Horch Roofing | Jun 04, 2011 Not all roofing companies are made the same, and the choice you make when hiring a company could have long-term implications for you financially and liability-wise. For example, did you know...

Sport... le troisième millénaire

The Physician and sportsmedicine

Swimming

Sports Medicine for Sports Trainers

Hip and Pelvis Injuries in Sports Medicine