Concussion Protocol - Youth Sports Safety (2023)

FAQs

What are the 5 protocols for concussion? ›

After suffering a concussion, no athlete should return to play or practice on that same day. An athlete should never be allowed to resume play following a concussion until symptom free and given the approval to resume physical activity by an appropriate health-care professional.

While some sports have a higher risk of concussions, it's important to remember concussions can happen in any sport, and even outside of sports. Teens have the best chance of recovering from a concussion and avoiding complications when students, parents, and schools follow the three R's: recognize, report, and recover.

Do not let the child perform any strenuous activity or go back to playing in sports. Do not use aspirin or ibuprofen for headaches for the first 48 hours. Use acetaminophen (Tylenol) only. Encourage your child to rest and eat a light diet.

You rate your current symptoms out of 10 (0 being no symptoms at all and 10 being the worst symptoms you can imagine). Then, you are allowed to continue your specific activity (going for a run, watching TV, typing on a computer) until your symptoms increase by 2 points, then you must stop.

A majority of people who have sustained a concussion will need to be sidelined for at least seven to 10 days, but in some cases, an individual could take several weeks to heal. CT scans and MRIs from concussion studies don't show structural changes, such as bleeding, in a concussion.

Ask the person the following questions; • What do you remember just prior to the impact? Do you remember what happened? How did you get here? Did you come by yourself, if not who came with you?

Physical and mental rest

In the first few days after a concussion, relative rest is the most appropriate way to allow your brain to recover. Your doctor will recommend that you physically and mentally rest to recover from a concussion.

The signs and symptoms of concussion reported within 1 to 7 days post injury (see Table 3-3) typically fall into four categories—physical (somatic), cognitive, emotional (affective), and sleep—and patients will experience one or more symptoms from one or more categories.

What is the NRL concussion rule? ›

The NRL introduced a rule in 2021 where players diagnosed with concussion were not allowed to play under an 11-day stand-down period, but could return sooner with the clearance of an independent concussion doctor. The ability to detect concussions in players has been a thorny one for medical experts.

Concussions can range from mild to severe, however even mild concussions require a recovery period. On average, it takes approximately 7-10 days to recover from a concussion. However, this can vary from individual to individual and you may continue to experience concussion symptoms for longer than 7-10 days.

Step 1: Rest

24-48 hours off school. Rest and only do activity that doesn't worsen symptoms. Activities such as watching television, texting or using a computer might make symptoms worse, so try to limit this as much as possible.

Rest (for 1–2 days after the concussion)

Have your child relax at home. Calm activities such as talking to family and friends, reading, drawing, coloring, or playing a quiet game are OK. If symptoms interfere with an activity, your child should take a break from it.

Watch Your Child Closely for 2 Hours:

Watch your child closely during the first 2 hours after the injury. Have your child lie down and rest until all symptoms have cleared. Note: mild headache, mild dizziness and nausea are common.

How long is concussion protocol? There's no set duration for a concussion protocol because there's a great deal of variation in how long it takes for the brain to recover and heal. In general, the length of the protocol depends on the length of recovery, which in most cases is about two weeks.

Recovery. After experiencing concussion, careful monitoring is needed. This is usually for 48 hours.

Our i-STAT TBI plasma test is the first rapid handheld traumatic brain injury (TBI) blood test, which will help clinicians assess individuals with suspected mild TBIs, including concussions. Tests results are available within 15 minutes after plasma is placed in the test cartridge.

A baseline concussion test shows how well your brain is currently functioning and may be useful in diagnosing a concussion after an injury. A doctor may perform the test by asking questions, or testing may be done via computer.

How many concussions can you have before you can't play sports? ›

There is no set number as to how many concussions humans can have before they suffer permanent damage. After all, some athletes experience symptoms for years after just one concussion, while others are seemingly okay after having more than one.

If you play through a concussion, you are putting yourself at risk for Second Impact Syndrome. If you get hit in the head again before your first concussion heals, you could collapse and end up with brain damage, in a wheelchair or dead. No game or practice is worth the chance of dying.

Concussion protocols are supposed to help take the guesswork out of concussion assessment and management. Their purpose is to improve post-injury treatment and outcomes and prevent long-term post-concussion symptoms or damage for every concussed player.

If children have concussion, they must immediately stop what they're doing. Seek medical attention or go to an emergency department. Call 000 if children have severe symptoms. Children should rest for 24-48 hours after the injury and return to normal activities gradually.

Concussions might cause a kid to look or act slow or foggy, or even develop emotional symptoms, such as anxiety, irritation, depression or trouble sleeping or extreme sleepiness.

“Red Flag” Symptoms To Remember

Increasing confusion. Worsening headache. Vomiting. Double vision or other vision problems.

In most people, symptoms occur within the first seven to 10 days and go away within three months. Sometimes, they can persist for a year or more. The goal of treatment after concussion is to effectively manage your symptoms.

Under the league's concussion protocols, players displaying instability after a hit are evaluated by both the team doctor and an independent neurologist, who is hired by the league but not on team staff. Together, they determine whether a player can return, with the team doctor having the ultimate say.

What is a serious concussion? ›

A severe concussion is where you lose consciousness for more than five minutes. The symptoms can also last for weeks before they may begin to subside. You are at risk of permanent brain damage with a grade 3 concussion.

A: Concussion left untreated can lead to long-term complications. Potential complications of a concussion include chronic headaches, memory problems, vertigo, and post-concussion syndrome, which is headaches, dizziness, mood swings, and brain fog that can continue for months or years after a concussion.

Types of concussions

grade 0: headache and difficulty concentrating. grade 1: headache, difficulty concentrating, and a dazed feeling for less than a minute. grade 2: grade 1 symptoms, with a longer period of feeling dazed, possibly accompanied by dizziness, confusion, amnesia, ringing in the ears, and irritability.

When concussion symptoms have lessened and are tolerable for up to 30 to 45 minutes, a child should return to school. This will usually happen within a few days and certainly within the first week of the concussion. Prolonged absences from school following a concussion is discouraged.

Most students will need to take 1 to 4 days off from school after a concussion (see Table 2). In the early phases of recovery from a concussion, students should limit overstimulation and cognitive activity (including TV, texting, video games, homework or reading).

Once your child has been diagnosed with a concussion, it is important to let him or her sleep, as rest encourages healing of the brain. Sleeping, in fact, encourages healing of the brain.

Call an ambulance if your child has had head injury involving high speeds or heights, or if after a knock to the head they lose consciousness or vomit more than once. Your child may develop a number of different symptoms in the weeks after a head injury. Many of these require immediate medical attention.

What should I do if my child hits his head on the hard floor? ›

For anything more than a light bump on the head, you should call your child's doctor. Your child's doctor will want to know when and how the injury happened and how your child is feeling. If your child is alert and responds to you, the head injury is mild and usually no tests or X-rays are needed.

If they fell on their head and have anything more than a minor bump – or if your child isn't acting normally – call their doctor immediately or take them to the emergency room. Serious head injuries are rare, but your child may need to be evaluated or monitored.

It's recommended that individuals with a concussion have a 1-2 day period of rest followed by progressive increases in activity. This return to activity should always be monitored by a trained healthcare provider. Most providers will try to see their patients 24-72 hours after the injury to assess their functioning.

apply a cold compress to the injury to reduce swelling – a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel will do. take paracetamol to control any pain – do not use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen or aspirin, as these can cause bleeding. avoid drinking alcohol or taking recreational drugs.

Ask the person the following questions; • What do you remember just prior to the impact? Do you remember what happened? How did you get here? Did you come by yourself, if not who came with you?

Step 1: Rest

24-48 hours off school. Rest and only do activity that doesn't worsen symptoms. Activities such as watching television, texting or using a computer might make symptoms worse, so try to limit this as much as possible.

Children and adolescents with concussion can take up to four weeks to recover, but most concussions will get better on their own over several days. Following a mild head injury, your child will need to get plenty of rest and sleep, particularly in the first 24 to 48 hours.

Watch Your Child Closely for 2 Hours:

Watch your child closely during the first 2 hours after the injury. Have your child lie down and rest until all symptoms have cleared. Note: mild headache, mild dizziness and nausea are common.

How long should you rest after a minor concussion? ›

Take it easy the first few days after a mild TBI or concussion when symptoms are more severe. You may need to take a short time off from work or school, although usually no more than 2 to 3 days.

In most people, symptoms occur within the first seven to 10 days and go away within three months. Sometimes, they can persist for a year or more. The goal of treatment after concussion is to effectively manage your symptoms.

The signs and symptoms of concussion reported within 1 to 7 days post injury (see Table 3-3) typically fall into four categories—physical (somatic), cognitive, emotional (affective), and sleep—and patients will experience one or more symptoms from one or more categories.

Our i-STAT TBI plasma test is the first rapid handheld traumatic brain injury (TBI) blood test, which will help clinicians assess individuals with suspected mild TBIs, including concussions. Tests results are available within 15 minutes after plasma is placed in the test cartridge.

A baseline concussion test shows how well your brain is currently functioning and may be useful in diagnosing a concussion after an injury. A doctor may perform the test by asking questions, or testing may be done via computer.

A cranial computerized tomography (CT) scan is the standard test in adults to assess the brain right after injury. A CT scan uses a series of X-rays to obtain cross-sectional images of your skull and brain.