CONCUSSION TESTING
Kids’ safety top priority
J.P. Chartrand remembers the blistering headaches to this day.
The 40-year-old physiotherapist suffered through two concussions playing football for his high school team at Sandwich and then the University of Windsor Lancers.
So anxious to get back on the field as a freshman for the Lancers, Chartrand snuck over to the trainer’s table and self-administered a hit of smelling salts.
“I knew I had gotten a bell ringer and I wanted to get back out there,” he said.
He remembers heading back into a high school huddle so confused he couldn’t understand the running play being called for him.
“I did what any kid would do, I under complained, I under reported (symptoms),” Chartrand said.
After his second concussion in university, he was unable to read or study for two weeks. The headaches were brutal. Knowing that at five-foot-eight he was never going to play professionally, Chartrand eventually quit football. He graduated from Windsor’s human kinetics program and then added four more years of study in physiotherapy at Queen’s University.
Now, as owner/operator of Active Body Physical Therapy, Chartrand is working with the Windsor Minor Football Association to educate players and parents alike about concussion protocols.
In an unique partnership, Active Body is administering baseline concussion testing to WMFA players at a discounted price. Often, health insurance covers the noninvasive test, which determines normal brain function. If not, the full out-of-pocket cost is $75 but registered WMFA players will pay just $44.
“I have a passion for concussions,” Chartrand said of the partnership.
His own introduction to football came courtesy of LaSalle’s entry in the Windsor minor league when he was in Grade 8.
Chartrand was just finishing the process of becoming certified and credentialed in concussion testing when WMFA officials reached out in a search for sponsors.
Paul Horoky recently took over as WMFA president and he was looking for ways to bolster the league and boost registration.
He’d seen player numbers slide in recent years from a peak of 600 in 2013 to 430 for the upcoming. season.
Horoky knew parental concerns about concussions were part of the downward trend.
“We had to address it. Everyone saw the movie Concussion. We had a lot of concerns from parents,” he said of the 2015 film that highlighted the demise of several former NFLers suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
As Horoky saw it, offering baseline testing and education were two proactive ways to keep kids in the game.
Two of his own sons, aged 13 and 11, just got baseline tested last week.
The results can be compared to subsequent testing if a concussion is suspected and the data can help pinpoint appropriate treatment.
“I’ve got four kids and throughout their careers they have a long list of injuries and none of them are football related,” Horoky said.
“The game is as safe as it’s ever been.
“The rules have changed, practice has changed, what’s being taught at practice has changed.”
Last year, Football Canada mandated all amateur coaches take Safe Contact training. As of this past March, all head coaches and half their staff must have completed the training. By 2017, a team’s entire staff must be trained in methods emphasizing tackling with the chest and front shoulder and blocking where the primary point of contact is the hands.
“We try to stress it’s as safe as anything else your kid could be doing right now. Like riding a bike or climbing a tree,” Horoky said. “Adding baseline testing is us trying to be proactive and help alleviate fears.”
While Chartrand’s two sons, aged 12 and 10, are busy with travel baseball and hockey, he has no problem with them playing football in the future.
“I would have no hesitation,” he said.
“It’s about informing people on how we can keep your kids safe. It’s being able to identify what symptoms are concerning and protecting them at that time.”
The partnership between Active Body and WMFA is among the first in the province.
“I don’t think there’s anything formal with any other association, although I know there are some high schools in Hamilton that require baseline testing,” said Don Edwards, the president of Ontario Football Alliance.
Horoky would love to make baseline testing mandatory but won’t since a significant number of players need financial assistance through programs like Jumpstart just to join the league.