Concussion Awareness in Professional Sports is Great, But May Be Too Late

Concussion. The word is on the tip of everyone’s tongue these days. The movie “Concussion” starring Will Smith highlights the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), an often concussion-induced degenerative disease found in the brain of Pittsburgh Steelers’ center Mike Webster and other football players.

But by the time kids enter college, even high school, they may have already suffered one or more concussions, says Brett Michener, PT, CSCS and CEO of M&M Physical Therapy in New Jersey. That’s why he actively tests kids at the middle school age and younger for cognitive and physiological ability.

“Many children are involved in youth sports from elementary school age up through high school,” said Michener, who is the father of youth athletes and a Mount Laurel youth-sports coach of golf, baseball, softball and basketball. “Nearly every parent I speak with has experience with their own children getting at least one concussion.”

Rebecca Rizzo, a concussion expert and physical therapist at M&M Physical Therapy, agrees with Michener’s approach. She suffered her first concussion in an elementary school gym class. As a former concussion patient, she believes that every child should have an initial concussion evaluation by age 10, followed by reevaluations every two years. That would mean by the time a teen enters high school, each would have undergone three tests to evaluate cognitive function, balance, speed and agility.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur each year. The CDC also reports that nearly a quarter of a million children age 19 or younger were treated in U.S. emergency departments in 2009 for sports and recreation-related injuries that included a diagnosis of concussion or another type of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

“Just like you take your child to the doctor for immunizations and inoculations, I believe you should have every child evaluated to document their cognitive function, balance, speed and agility and how that changes over time,” Rizzo said. “It doesn’t matter whether a child is an athlete, bookworm or playing on the playground. It’s important to know where a person begins and how things have changed over time. Without that comprehensive baseline testing, people could be at risk for concussion or injury and that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”

M&M uses a combination of a computer program to test cognitive ability and expert physical therapists to test overall physiological ability.

The first part of the evaluation uses the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Training (ImPACT) process, the most scientifically validated evaluation system for concussions. The computerized test measures cognitive function—before and after an injury—including attention span, working memory, nonverbal problem solving and response variability.

But a computer program alone cannot determine concussion damage, so a trained physical therapist also checks each patient’s physical functioning.

“When someone sustains a head injury, their balance is completely thrown off kilter and it’s much easier to pass an ImPACT test after a concussion than it is to pass a balance test,” Rizzo said. “We also do a speed, agility and quickness test after someone sustains a concussion. This measure a person’s aerobic ability and helps us determine if they are able to return to normal activities without symptoms like headache, nausea and dizziness.”

For more information about M&M Physical Therapy’s concussion baseline testing, please visit www.mmptnj.com.

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M&M Physical Therapy:

M&M Physical Therapy provides personalized care and hands-on treatment that promotes health and well-being, geared toward middle-aged adults and youth athletes. The practice specializes in programs focused on sports injuries, pre- and post-op services, balance training, back rehabilitation and occupational therapy. With locations in Mt. Laurel, Marlton, Columbus and Hamilton, N.J., M&M Physical Therapy creates a consumer-centric experience and serves as a healthcare advocate for its patients. For more information, please visit www.mmptnj.com.