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The Flash

The student news site of Fraser High School

The Flash

The student news site of Fraser High School

The Flash

Caution on Concussions

By Josephine Morenski

According to WebMD, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. From professional athletes to high school athletes, concussions are a known fact in the sports world, with many athletes suffering from minor to severe ones. Here at FHS the athletic teams are taking precautions this year for all.
Over the summer, Fraser fall athletes took a concussion test online. If a student is injured throughout their season, this test is designed to determine whether or not the athlete has a concussion by comparing the test taken in the summer versus the one taken after the injury. Among the many athletes that took the test, Senior Sarah Baur of the Varsity Dance Team was one of many that took the test.Concussion - Josie
“The test was a lot different than I thought; kind of like a game. You had to remember things that would show up. There were different sections testing different things,” Baur said.
The concussion test is just one improvement Fraser is taking with concussions, in the midst of the many other improvements are new policies, verifying all coaches and PE teachers have concussion recognition training, providing training and educational materials to all students and their parents, purchasing the ImPACT Concussion testing system, and developing a standardized return to play program that uses the Michigan Neurosport Brain protocol.
“There certainly has been a lot published in the past couple of years that have raised the awareness level of the public and have resulted in new laws regarding the recognition, treatment and return to play guidelines for student-athletes that have suffered concussions,” Former Head Athletic Trainer Marti Van-I said.
A concussion can happen at any time, during any sport. According to the Journal of Athletic Training, High school athletes prolong an estimated 136 thousand to 300 thousand concussions a year; rates vary by sport, gender, and type of exposure. Football receives the highest rate for concussions followed by boy’s ice hockey. There are approximately 67 thousand football players diagnosed with concussions every day, and at least 50 youth players from around the United States have died or sustained a serious injury to the head. Football players suffer the most brain damaging injury of any sport.
Now that more coaches and students understand concussions and their symptoms, Fraser is seeing more and more happening.
“That really varies by year and sport. There have been several years where we had very few. Now that more people understand the signs and symptoms, we are seeing more and more. More athletes are coming forward as opposed to hiding their symptoms. I’m going to take a wild guess and say last year there may have been a dozen. I only worked as the head athletic trainer for the fall sports season,” Van-I said.
While Football players are more prone to concussions some studies suggest that girls have a higher concussion rate than boys, and represent a greater proportion of injuries in girls. It appears that there is not a gender difference, but a difference in the sport that is being played. According to the winter 2007-2008 Journal of Athletic Training they suggest that girls in sports like soccer and basketball were more at risk to concussions.
A key role in preventing a concussion, is properly knowing what to do when they occur. To have the best and safest results steps to help prevent a concussion should be taken before, during, and after the season. Preseason: check with the league, district, etc. about policies, create a concussion plan, educate athletes, parents, and coaches, and monitor the health of the athlete. During the season: insist that safety comes first, teach athletes it’s not smart to play with a concussion, prevent long-term problems by letting the injured athlete rest, and work closely with the league and district officials. Postseason: keep track of the concussion, and review the policy.
By taking these simple steps, it can help prevent a concussion from happening or becoming very harmful.

Football is the number one sport with concussions.
Photo Credit: Josephine Morenski

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Caution on Concussions