Tag: head injury

‘Vigilant On The Sidelines’: KCHD Discusses Head Injuries In Youth Sports

After recent youth football deaths nationwide, including that of a Boone County middle schooler last month, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department hosted a Thursday morning discussion to educate coaches, staff, athletic directors, and youth league leaders on detecting signs of head injuries in youth sports.

“You have to be vigilant on the sidelines, watching frequently,” Dr. Calvin Whaley, a neurosurgeon who has treated deadly youth head injuries, said at the panel. “Our athletes are not going to tell us when they are experiencing signs of a concussion.

Whaley pointed to headache, nausea or vomiting, and balance or coordination problems as leading symptoms of a concussion. If exhibiting symptoms, athletes should be removed from play and assessed. Whaley cautioned that symptoms of more severe, possibly fatal, head injuries that need emergency medical attention include loss of consciousness for over a minute, fluid coming out of the nose or ears, or progressively worsening signs of confusion.

Dr. Jim Kyle, an emergency physician, directed attendees to Friday Night Medical Timeout resources to help those on the sidelines to be prepared in case of an injury.

“This discussion is really to bring to light how important it is to prevent unnecessary concussions and [symptom] recognition so that parents, teachers, coaches, referees, athletic directors, pull kids out of play after they sustain a concussion and get them evaluated before they return to play,” Dr. Steven Eshenaur, KCHD Health Officer and Executive Director of the Kanawha-Charleston health department, said.

The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission requires a medical professional to clear athletes returning from a concussion for play. Whaley said clearance should follow updated protocol that takes at least five days off from play.

The panel and following audience discussion also pointed to expanding access to athletic trainers, correcting tackle form to eliminate impacting the heads, and reducing time spent on risky contact drills during practice.

The Health Department partnered with Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority for the event, which was also open to surrounding counties. The next session in the series will be on October 9, geared towards medical professionals. Details will be on The Kanawha County Ambulance Facebook page.

State legislators concerned with head injuries

There’s been a lot of attention on how head injuries are affecting football players, and athletes, on all levels—including when they are very young. Stakeholders concerned about this issue hope new protocols will sufficiently prevent serious injuries.

Last year, the state legislature passed a measure that provides protocols for head injury protections for student athletes in West Virginia. These guidelines require coaches to have course training on head injuries and concussions, as well as being mandated to remove players from competition who are suspected of having concussions. It’s something that State Senator Ron Stollings said there’s a specific mission with these new rules.

“I think this bill is a good bill, we will see it being implemented as we speak. Me, being a volunteer physician on Friday nights, I have to take that educational piece myself. It’s a good thing,” said Stollings.

Also under the guidelines, a concussion and head injury sheet must be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete’s parents before practice or competition begins, to make officials aware of previous injuries. If a player has been removed from a game due to a head injury, that person may not return to action until he or she has written clearance from a licensed health care professional.

Gary Ray with the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission said these new guidelines give “teeth” to his organizations, and other interested parties, in protecting students. But he says parents must also play a role.

“I was guilty when I played sports, you didn’t want to tell mom or dad because you might not get to play the next day. You’ve got to let people know, you’ve got to communicate. Mom and Dad work with their child, they need to make sure they are in constant communication with the school if they feel this is an issue,” said Stollings.

Senator Stollings said he wants to make sure that all medical professionals like him, who administer to athletes during games, are protected from excess liability issues.

“I think just basically saying that volunteer physicians while at a volunteer event, Friday night football, that you would have coverage by the Board of Risk and Insurance Management,” said Stollings. “I’d like it to be spelled out in statute, that we’re covered, a volunteer physician.”

One final requirement of the new guidelines is that when students do suffer a concussion or head injury in a practice or game, a report must be sent from the school to the WVSSAC within 30 days of the injury. The report must state whether an evaluation, done by a medical professional, verifies that a concussion has occurred. This report must also state how many days it’s been between the injury and athlete’s return to competition.

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