New Concussion Policy Establishes Six-Step Program for Athletes to Return to the Field

The brain is a mysterious and often misunderstood and misdiagnosed aspect of human anatomy. One need look no further than recent discoveries about Lou Gehrig’s disease to fully comprehend just how difficult it is to correctly diagnose head injuries, as doctors have only recently made the connection between hits to the head and the onset of the disease.

Given all that is unknown about the brain and how it can be affected by head injuries, it can be difficult for coaches at all levels of sports to correctly diagnose a concussion.

On Oct. 23 of this year, for example, San Diego Chargers lineman Kris Dielman unknowingly suffered head trauma during their game against the New York Jets, and suffered a seizure on the plane ride home following the game.

New state regulations concerning concussions, however, are taking the onus off coaches who were once put on the spot to make a decision about a head injury on the spot, in the heat of the game.

“The new policy takes the pressure off the coaches,” Athletic Director Tim Waldman said of the new concussion policy expected to be passed by the school district upon a second reading at the Board of Education meeting on Nov. 14. “There’s no question anymore. Coaches know if this happens, then this is what I have to do.”

The new policy, based on statistics that there are more than 300,000 concussions nationwide annually, establishes a six-step process for athletes who suffer head injuries on the field to complete before being able to return to action. These include:

• No activity, the completion of a physical and cognitive rest;
• Light aerobic exercise, keeping the intensity below 70 percent maximum percentage heart rate, and no resistance training;
• Sport-specific exercises, with no head impact activity;
• Non-contact training drills;
• After medical clearance, participation in normal training activities; and
• Return to full competition.

The policy also states that “a student who participates in interscholastic athletics and who sustains or is suspected of sustaining a concussion or other head injury shall be immediately removed from competition or practice.”

All coaches, school nurses, school/team physicians and certified athletic trainers must complete an interscholastic head injury training program, which includes the recognition of symptoms of head and neck injuries, concussions and injuries related to second impact syndrome and a timeline for the return of a student athlete who suffers a head injury.

“Our coaches learned to question the athletes,” Waldman said. “They ask basic questions and if the athlete isn’t responding the right way, they take them out of the game. Our coaches know their athletes and get to know how they act, so they can tell if they’re not acting like they normally would.”

After a head injury is sustained on the field, it is up to the student athlete’s physician to guide the student through the process and help determine when they are able to return to the field.

The new policy applies to the entire school district, but the Galloway Township Middle School is the only school that has sports, and while Waldman sees it as a policy that would be more effective at the high school level, it still has a practical application at the middle school level.

The school is already operating under the guidelines of the new policy as of the beginning of the fall season, even though it won’t be officially approved until the next Board of Education meeting.

According to Waldman, there have been four head injuries sustained during the fall sports this year, and in each situation, “the coaches have acted appropriately.”

“We’ve had no concussions,” Waldman said. “We had a situation where two players collided, and one came up with a mast over their eye and they couldn’t open it. They won’t be back until that injury is dealt with. We’ve also had a girl hit in the face with a field hockey ball, and the coaches followed the procedure.

“Everybody is on the same page and looking out for that stuff. The parents need to be more aware, too. The more we can educate people, the better off we’ll be. The public is becoming more aware of the consequences of head injuries. You can see it at the pro and college level, and it’s trickling down.”

Waldman is a coach for the Atlantic United traveling soccer team, and he went through the same training program the coaches at the middle school must undergo.

Prior to this new policy, there was no specific policy in place concerning concussions, according to the Galloway School System’s Human Resources Manager James Bruffy.

“This is a specific policy for concussions, as opposed to our policy covering more general injuries,” Bruffy said. “ … It’s very comprehensive and provides a very specific direction as to how to handle head injuries.”