Whitman Concussion Forum

Recently, it had been reported that concussions were on the rise among High Schools in Montgomery, Co.  This prompted Principal Alan Goodwin to team up with Dr. Michael Singer of Brain Scope and bring together the areas' top authorities on concussions and traumatic brain injuries.  The evening was designed to educate and inform the public of the most current clinical findings and issues surrounding concussions today.
 Definitions of even what a concussion truly is were discussed as well as the loss of consciousness (LOC) and a good graphic was shown to differentiate the ratings. 

A few quotes from the Whitman Concussion Forum:

“We Don’t Know”:  With mandatory helmet rules only being passed in the NFL in ’78 and required in HS and college in ’80, there are no longitudinal studies to show whether so called advancements in helmet technology have had an impact on the actual number of concussions or not.  We do not know the answer to most questions surrounding concussions.

“You don’t need symptoms to have a concussion”: The brain can be altered at a sub-concussion level.  The level of tolerance is individual for vibrations to the brain.  There is no way to test for a players’ ability to withstand repetitive concussion forces.

“There is no correlation between loss of consciousness and severity of concussion”: Take a look at the recent concussions among professional players.  Kobe Bryant did not lose consciousness and yet he was out for weeks while many NFL players routinely return to play after only 7 Days following a concussion.

“If a child has had a concussion and recovered fully, they are considered not at risk to play.  But even though there are no long-term studies currently, it is accepted that multiple concussions are bad!

Heading a soccerball is not a risk if done with appropriate form and technique.  The whipping of the head and collisions with other players are where the risks lie.  And again, we do not know about the effect of repetitive sub-concussion forces on the human brain.