New concussion law protects young athletes

Posted at: 09/04/2012 5:02 PM
By: Robin De Wind | WHEC.com

The high school football season opened last weekend and a new concussion law will help protect young athletes. 

The new law boosts education and requires more stringent regulations for dealing with concussions. The NFL has heightened awareness about the long term effects of concussions and their impact on the brain. Now that is trickling down to the local level. 

Here are some key provisions of the new law: 

Students who are believed to have suffered a concussion are removed from activity immediately and can only return when they are symptom free for 24 hours with written authorization from a doctor. 

Concussion management training is required for coaches, physical education teachers, nurses and trainers every two years. Also schools are required to post information about concussions on permission forms and websites. 

University of Rochester expert Dr. Jeff Bazarian says concussion prevention is also an important first step. 

Jeffrey Bazarian, University of Rochester Medical Center Concussion Expert, said, “So rather than tough it out for injuries from the neck down, we say check it out for injuries from the head up. That's the shift we have to make with coaches and trainers, yeah it's good to push the kids hard, that's the great thing about sports but when it comes to comes to the brain, lighten up a little bit. The brain has a limited capacity to recover so get it checked out immediately.”

Section V is ahead of the curve when it comes to concussion prevention and treatment. For the past five years, schools have used the “Impact Pre-Concussion Cognitive Test.” It gives kids a baseline at the start of the season and if the students suffer a head injury, their results can be compared.

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