As we get ready for the High School Football Season to start, we spoke with Experts and Coaches about the dangers of playing the game with a concussion and how to ensure that Players are protecting their bodies.
The excitement of the High School Football Season is finally here. Even with Coaches and Trainers — along with Players themselves trying to protect their bodies, there is of course a risk of injury that comes with sports, including Football. Head injuries like concussions could be a part of that. John Baker, the Director of the Conemaugh Concussion Program saying: “Most of us in the adult population are not at risk for repetitive head trauma, and that’s where the danger lies.”
As these young minds continue developing on and off the field, what are those involved doing to lower the risk of head injury? Justin Myers, the Head Football Coach at Forest Hills High School saying: “We do the best we can just to make practice a little lighter sometimes because it doesn’t make sense for us to go out there and have the kids bang their heads all day long, five days a week. In the old days, you got your bell rang. You got your bell rung and you kind of kept playing. Today we’re looking at kids, if they take a heard hit to the head in a game, whether or not they go down or whether or not they’re showing signs of stumbling around or things like that we take a look at them.”
Concussions can also come from a hard hit to the chest causing whiplash according to an Athletic Trainer who says she looks for high impact hits on the field. Tori Crabtree, the Athletic Trainer for Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School saying: “What I would do is pull them aside and say ‘How are you feeling with that hit?’ Some kids are like ‘I’m fine,’ but you’re also looking for dizziness, are they stumbling, are they staggering, is there their speech good when I’m talking with you.”
Medical Personnel also say it’s important for athletes to come forward without fear of failure if they feel they may have a head injury. Olivia Kudlawiec, School Psychologist at Forest Hills High School adding: “It’s also important for parents and individuals themselves to know what to expect. Understand that they may have these certain symptoms when it occurs and that in the majority of cases those symptoms will lessen as the days and weeks go by.”
A Doctor that’s a concussions expert says there are some myths with concussion care. One is that you need to wake up someone with a concussion every two hours, saying the deep sleep is very important to healing. Baker adding: “One of the worst things you can do with a concussion is have people just lay around and do nothing. Early activity, early low sub-threshold activity and exercise is really improving outcomes and getting people back into their normal lives.”
That does come after a few days of rest he says and Athletes should not return begin returning to full contact sports until they are symptom free.