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Concussion Management
“Our athletes…will benefit directly from the ImPACT Concussion Management test and it will make a big difference in how we manage concussion injuries…It’s an excellent tool in making better return to play decisions.” — Mike Hunker – Certified Athletic Trainer, Cathedral High School

Injuries/Conditions

The Center for Disease Control estimates that there are 300,000 reported concussions related to organized high school athletics per year in the United States.

The total number of concussions per year clearly exceeds this, given the high participation in sports outside the school setting and the potential for these injuries to go unreported.

Injuries that occur to the brain may leave an athlete with a wide variety of symptoms such as:

  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Dizziness
  • Memory problems
  • Concentration difficulties
  • Academic difficulties and more

These symptoms can be transient in most athletes, but a percentage of them may have permanent symptoms from what is termed a “mild traumatic brain injury.”

It is felt that suffering a second blow to the head while still recovering from a first injury may lead to much more severe injuries and possibly catastrophic outcomes such as “Second Impact Syndrome,” also known as SIS.

Athletes that are not fully recovered from the initial injury are vulnerable to a second blow.

With that in mind, the best way to manage a concussion is to allow athletes to return to sporting activity only after they have been completely cleared from the first injury.

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