The Athletic Department at Red Bank Catholic has recently implemented a new concussion education program featuring comprehensive baseline concussion testing and education for coaches and parents.
“Concussions have been a problem in sports for as long as I can remember, and several news stories have made them even more prevalent now,” said Michael DeSocio, Athletic Trainer at Red Bank Catholic. “We know that no matter the proper safety precautions our athletes take, we’ll never be able to completely prevent concussions, but we can make an aggressive attempt to diagnose and treat them properly. Here at Red Bank Catholic, we feel that diagnosis is key, which is why we have begun an aggressive concussion program.”
“We decided to partner with Dr. David Bertone with db Orthopedic Physical Therapy’s ConcussionRXcare program to provide comprehensive concussion baseline testing,” DeSocio said. “In addition to conducting the baseline testing with both a neurological and a balance component for our athletes, Dr. Bertone will conduct education workshops for our coaches and parents about the benefits of concussion baseline testing and proper rehabilitation following a concussion.” In addition, the program includes a detailed procedure to help guide coaches and parents about what direction to turn for treatment following a concussion. This full policy was sent to every parent and posted on the Red Bank Catholic website.
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“A concussion is a brain injury and should never be passed off as just a ‘bump on the head,’” says Dr. David Bertone, PT, DPT, OCS, Physical Therapist, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, and President of db Orthopedic Physical Therapy in Lincroft. “We have been hearing more and more about how concussions are not only sidelining our children for a few weeks, but are also causing severe, long-lasting health effects and potential life-threatening injuries. That is why it is so important to make sure coaches and parents are completely educated about concussion prevention, identification and treatment to be sure an athlete does not return to play before a concussion is completely healed.”
According to research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38 million kids ages 5 to 18 play organized sports in the United States. Of those children, one in 10 will suffer a sports or recreation-related concussion each year.
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“A lot of schools have concussion programs, but not everyone is adding the balance component to the baseline testing,” said DeSocio. “Here at Red Bank Catholic, we decided that you can test someone’s cognitive abilities to determine if a concussion has healed, but the athlete also has to feel good physically and show they can play safely before we return him or her to the field. The balance test proves that they are 100% ready to return to play.”
To help with the diagnosis of concussions, Red Bank Catholic also teamed with Dr. Stephen Rice, Director of Jersey Shore Sports Medicine Center. “Most public schools have a school physician, but since we don’t have one here at Red Bank Catholic, we decided to team up with Dr. Rice to help us with diagnosis and treatment of concussed athletes,” said DeSocio. Dr. Rice will also assist with the education of coaches and parents by explaining the signs and symptoms of a concussion and the dangers of Second Impact Syndrome.
For more information about baseline concussion testing, diagnosis and treatment of concussions, visit http://dborthopt.com/concussion-management/ or call db Orthopedic Physical Therapy at 732-747-1262.
