Impact Concussion Management

Fall sports season in Indiana produces a number of sport related concussions—mainly from football and soccer; however, concussions do not cease to exist when these sports end.  Young athletes are exposed to potentially concussive blows in many sports year-round, but also in daily life (e.g. car accidents, horseplay, falls).  While most parents and athletes know the importance of addressing orthopedic injuries occurring from these events, many people are unaware of the importance of proper concussion management. 
 
Indiana Sports Concussion Network (ISCN) is dedicated to increasing awareness and promoting proper management of sports related concussion in high school athletes.  ISCN is able to provide baseline ImPACT tests through a donation from Clarian Health to all IHSAA high school athletes (although club sports—lacrosse, rugby, hockey—are not eligible for this program).  Currently, ISCN has 116 high schools that have expressed interest with participating in the program.  Nearly half of those schools have been trained to use the ImPACT program through ISCN.  Twelve clinicians (MDs and PhDs) have been trained by ISCN to administer, read, and interpret the post-injury ImPACT tests.  These clinicians are located statewide in an effort to provide all athletes easier access to an ISCN trained clinician.  Nine more physicians have expressed interest to ISCN, wanting to join the network and help the program grow.
 
 
Concussion management is improving across the state, and Methodist Sports Medicine The Orthopedic Specialists (MSM/TOS) is also seeing the effects.  This year to date, Dr. Tom Arnold, Dr. Patrick Kersey, and Dr. Daniel Kraft have seen 148 concussion new patients and concussion return patients.  This number is up from last year, when all concussion patients (including office visits) totaled just 94 appointments.  ISCN is continuing to promote the use of ISCN trained physicians to provide the most uniform concussion management care for Indiana’s athletes.  Just as many athletes turn to MSM/TOS for the best in orthopedic care and assistance with return-to-play, Indiana Sports Concussion Network is working to increase education about the importance of proper concussion management and return-to-play only when the brain has fully recovered from a concussion.
 
If you are interested in a baseline test please visit www.methodistsports.com/concussionmanagement.  The test is $5.00