Concussions and sports are in the news as Congress sets to take up hearings on the issue and professional football’s response to concussions. Bishop Ireton’s sports medicine has been active with this issue and moved recently to expand its concussion monitoring program.
In addition to the supervision of Ireton’s sport medicine department, the School began utilizing a sophisticated, research-based program called ImPACT in 2007, and has tracked concussion injuries with football players for the past three seasons. Beginning this fall, athletic department physician, Dr. Kathleen McHale, and athletic trainer, Matt Horton, have expanded the ImPACT program to include all sports where physical contact or the potential for concussion makes tracking each athlete reasonable.
ImPACT was designed by a team of doctors at the University of Pittsburgh in 1995 and they established the ImPACT program in 2002. ImPACT is a computer test designed to help clinicians evaluate the recovery of athletes following a concussion. Basically, the program allows programs to administer a computer test to each athlete to establish a baseline of the cognitive status of the subject prior to a concussion injury. In the event of a possible concussion, follow-up ImPACT tests can offer cognitive results to compare with earlier baseline data.
While developers point out that CT scans and MRIs can detect the fractures and hematomes, they are not effective in identifying the functional damage resulting from the concussion. Before ImPACT, athletic trainers and physicians had to rely on more subjective observation and self reporting in making determinations about an athlete’s concussion and fitness for participation. With the addition of this tool to the Cardinals’ sports medicine program, a computer-based evaluation has added critical information to the process of injury management.
Currently 28 NFL teams, 18 MLB teams, MLS, US Lacrosse, US Hockey, and over 300 colleges use the ImPACT program in addition to more than 1,000 high schools across America. “We are starting the winter season by testing our hockey and basketball players as well as all our wrestlers,” said Horton of the expanded program. “We will continue the expanded baseline testing in the spring as well.”
Aided by the IT department at Ireton, dozens of athletes are tested in computer labs to establish baseline profiles for possible future use. The program also allows for baseline and follow-up test results to be anonymously forwarded to Pittsburgh for on-going concussion research by the test’s developers or for more expert advice.
At Bishop Ireton the five-step approach to using the program includes working with the athletes, coaches, and sports medicine department to properly educate them on concussion management. From there the preseason baseline testing is accomplished. In the case of a possible injury, the sideline evaluation is conducted to determine if an athlete needs to be removed from participation. Step 4 is the post-concussion testing with the ImPACT program and finally, the return-to-play decision by clinicians that are aided by the test results that are medically-based.
More information on the program is available at www.iimpacttest.com or by contacting Mr. Horton in the sports medicine office, (703) 212-5171.
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