CONCUSSION GUIDELINES
On Tuesday night, Chris Pronger appeared as a presenter at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas. Many here will remember Pronger as a dream-crusher; the mean, nasty giant who helped the Anaheim Ducks swipe the Stanley Cup away from their beloved Ottawa Senators back in the spring of 2007.
At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds and still just 39 years old, there’s a decent chance Pronger would still be competing for awards instead of handing them out, had his hockey career not ended in 2011 due to symptoms related to multiple concussions.
Suddenly, taking a light skate with his kids was a no-go because of dizziness, and just watching games was out, due to the motion and bright lights inside hockey rinks.
It was just the latest reminder of the potentially devastating effects of brain injuries, from lawsuits against the NHL and NFL, to U.S. President Barack Obama’s recent call for better research into youth concussions, to the 900 visits to CHEO’s emergency room each year by children and adolescents who’ve suffered them.
Given how much we’ve learned about the injury (though there still is much we don’t know) and its immediate and long-term effects, it’s surprising that no one had yet come up with a set of comprehensive guidelines for treating pediatric concussions. We applaud CHEO scientist Dr. Roger Zemek, his team and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation for stepping in to fill the void.
On Wednesday, they released a guide meant to assist doctors, parents and others to recognize the signs of concussions, to explain how to treat the injuries, and to lay out when and how to return children to full activity without jeopardizing their health. The latter may be the most important, given how dangerous subsequent concussions can be when the patient hasn’t fully healed from the first (as Pronger and any number of players who’ve been forced from the game can attest). Zemek’s rule of thumb, which can’t be repeated enough: “If in doubt, sit them out.”
In addition to the overall guidelines, the group has come up with handy, pocket-sized assessment tools — a useful item for coaches — listing concussion symptoms and emergency red flags. The researchers also make the sound suggestion that kids playing high-impact sports such as hockey and football undertake baseline neurological testing, just like the pros do.
In the past, parents of concussed children were sent home with vague instructions on how to assemble what can be a very complex puzzle. Zemek’s team is showing them the picture on the box.