UHCL : HHPI Supports Brain Injury Recovery Through Exercise, Service

Press release from University of Houston-Clear Lake:

July 29, 2021

"This is why we need to talk about recovery, and the Health and Human Performance
Institute program at this university can be a key feature in that recovery, because
it's about exercise and service," said Joe Hazzard, the new clinical director of the
Health and Human Performance Institute at University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Among the HHPI's missions is to serve the community by offering recovery support to
those struggling with the after-effects of all types of brain trauma, whether it's
a mild concussion or a more serious, potentially life-altering TBI.

"I have two visions for the work I'd like to do in the HHPI," Hazzard said. "Athletic
trainers from the high school level up to professional sports are at least in some
way assessing and referring concussions. Everyone at every level has a protocol. My
plan is to talk about how to get athletes back to playing sports safely. The time
of injury to the time getting back to play is paramount."

Research indicates that exercise is a critical factor to that plan. "Our HHPI program
at UH-Clear Lake is perfect for people in that position," he said. "Everyone knows
that exercise increases blood flow. The brain, like other parts of the body, will
respond to increased blood flow. It promotes and contributes to recovery and reduces
the lingering effects of concussion."

To that end, he said, he hopes to offer TBI injury recovery programming at HHPI. "I've
learned that as the saying goes, if you've seen one concussion, you've seen exactly
one concussion," he said. "No two are alike."

As he develops the TBI recovery program, he said he would like to reach another segment
of the community besides athletes that needs support — victims of intimate partner
violence.

"When we think about how concussions happen, we think about a direct blow to the head,"
he said. "It's a rapid turning of the head by force. With athletes, you can imagine
two soccer players running at each other, or the head coming into contact with the
ground or a wall."

In many cases, similar mechanisms occur among victims of intimate partner violence.
"There's an uptick in research in concussions in females, gaining insight into the
differences in recovery and the predisposition to head injuries," he said. "If we
can reach into this community, we can offer this service and build a recovery program
around that."

Hazzard said there is a significant percentage of resource personnel who serve the
needs of these women who don't recognize the signs and symptoms of concussion. "If
people are relying on these resources, and they're not educated in identifying those
factors, then there's a disconnect. We have an obligation to educate those resources,"
he explained.

Having assessed and studied concussions his entire 31-year career in athletics and
higher education, Hazzard said that he had created the Institute for Concussion Research
and Services at Bloomburg University of Pennsylvania.

"I was involved in the most comprehensive nationwide longitudinal study of concussion
that has ever been completed to date," he continued.

The study, funded by the NCAA-DOD Grand Alliance Care Consortium, is a prolific study
involving multiple universities and military academies focusing on guiding policy
to ensure safety and outcomes regarding concussion events.

"Concussions have been very much in the media over the last few years," he said. "Every
mother was frightened about her child in sports. The media was driving a message about
the dangers of participating in sports, but I refused to have this tried in the media
because a lot of the information was inaccurate."

Through his involvement with that study, Hazzard said he learned much more about concussion
and the tools he could utilize to help athletes recover. "I now have the opportunity
to be directly involved in shaping students and practitioners for the future here
at HHPI, remain involved with students who are embarking on this career while they
learn," he said.

"If I can work to create this program, we will have done something for our community,
we will have aligned expertise with delivery of services, and the single most important
factor — we will have made every graduate of this program different," he said. "Our
students will leave with a skill set far beyond that of other students with an exercise
science degree."

Learn more information about UHCL's Health and Human Performance Institute online.

This press release was produced by University of Houston-Clear Lake. The views expressed here are the author’s own.