During cheerleading practice in April, Jana Duey's sixth-grade daughter Karter suffered a concussion when she fell several feet headfirst onto a gym floor mat. Days later, Karter still had headaches, dizziness and sensitivity to light and sound.
Karter rested at home in Centennial, Colorado, for per week and a half, then returned to high school when her concussion symptoms were tolerable – initially for under half days and with accommodations that allowed her to do schoolwork on paper as an alternative of on a screen taking more time to get to and from class. Karter went to the nurse when she had a headache, Duey said. She began physical therapy to rehabilitate her neck and regain her balance after the accident left her unsteady on her feet.
After a concussion, the largest concern for them and their parents or caregivers is when children can play sports again, he said Julie WilsonKarter's physician and co-director of the concussion program at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora. Returning to high school as quickly as possible, with appropriate support, and fascinating in light exercise that doesn’t pose a risk of head injury are necessary first steps in concussion recovery and are consistent with the most recent research.
“It's really important to get children and young people back to their normal daily activities as quickly as possible and as soon as they can tolerate them,” Wilson said.
In August, the Colorado Department of Education updated guidelines We dispel common myths about concussions, akin to that a lack of consciousness is crucial to diagnose a concussion. The revised guidelines reflect evidence-based best practices on how return to high school and physical activity can improve recovery. Medical experts say educating families and schools in regards to the latest guidelines is critical, especially given the rise in concussions in sports like football and soccer in the autumn.
More than 2 million children Nationwide, people have been diagnosed with a concussion or brain injury in some unspecified time in the future, in accordance with the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. A flood of studies within the last decade have shown that teens get better more quickly from concussions and reduce the danger of persistent symptoms by engaging in light exercise, akin to on an exercise bike or taking a brisk walk, two days after a concussion. This time-frame may be the optimal time for this back to the classroomso long as the youngsters can tolerate the remaining symptoms of a concussion.
“Although the brain is not a muscle, it behaves like one and exhibits a use-it-or-lose-it phenomenon,” he said Christina MeisterPediatrician and sports medicine and brain injury specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Instead of waiting at home for full recovery, Meister said students should return to high school with additional support from teachers and breaks of their schedule to alleviate symptoms akin to headaches or fatigue, with the goal of steadily doing more.
Every state has return-to-sport laws for student-athletes, which include policies akin to exclusion from sports, medical clearance to return, and concussion education. While some states like Virginia and Illinois have return-to-learn policies, Colorado will not be one among them. It and 15 other states have community-based concussion management protocols in place.
Colorado updated this this summer. REAP – which stands for Remove/Reduce; Educate; Customize/Customize; and Pace – is a protocol for families, healthcare providers and schools to assist students get better in the primary 4 weeks after a concussion. For example, school staff can use an email-based system to alert teachers that a student has suffered a concussion after which provide them with weekly updates with details on the right way to manage symptoms, akin to: B. Difficulty concentrating.
“We have new protocols in place to support these children,” said Toni Grishman, senior brain injury consultant for the Colorado Department of Education. “They may still have concussion symptoms, but we can support them.”
Symptoms of a concussion resolve throughout the first month for many patients. However, patients with persistent symptoms, called persistent postconcussive symptoms, may profit from a multidisciplinary care team that will include physicians, physical therapists, psychologists and extra educational support, Wilson said.
David HowellDirector of the Colorado Concussion Research Laboratory on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, studies how children and their families address the physical, cognitive, social and emotional effects of concussions. In some studies, teens wear sensors to measure exercise intensity and volume, in addition to common concussion symptoms akin to sleep and balance problems. In other cases, children and their parents answer questions on their perceptions and expectations of the recovery process.
“What comes with an injury is often made worse by the injury,” Howell said, referring to anxiety, depression or just a difficult social time. Recovery could be influenced by peer and family relationships.
Duey said the toughest a part of Karter's recovery was that she was unable to take part in cheer for nine weeks, including her team's final competition in Florida. Karter, now 12, watched practice within the spring and supported her teammates, however the absence tore her apart inside, Duey said.
“There were a lot of tears,” Duey said.
While recognizing a concussion and acting quickly will help anyone, in practice, Grishman estimates that greater than half of Colorado students with an undiagnosed concussion can fall through the cracks.
According to Grishman, there are numerous reasons for missed diagnoses, including lack of education, barriers to medical care, parents' reluctance to inform schools a few concussion because they fear their child may be excluded from activities, or the dearth of seriousness of the condition Symptoms in a student with a history of behavioral problems.
Getting schools to generally comply with concussion policies is a challenge, Grishman said, adding that some districts still don't. She said it was difficult to find out the number of faculties that followed Colorado Department of Education guidelines last 12 months, but hopes improved data collection this 12 months will provide more accurate information. Last school 12 months, Grishman and her colleagues trained 280 school staff members in concussion management in 50 school districts in Colorado.
Whenever possible, athletic trainers needs to be on the sidelines to support student-athletes, Master said, and athletes should concentrate on concussion symptoms in themselves and their teammates and seek immediate treatment.
But concussions are usually not just limited to the varsity playing field or sports like football or soccer. Adventure sports akin to parkour, slacklining, motocross, rodeo, skiing and snowboarding also pose a risk of concussion, Wilson and Grishman said. “Cheerleading is actually something that has a lot of problems,” Howell added.
Duey said Karter has occasional headaches, but with the assistance of physical therapy, she has regained her balance and now not has any symptoms of her concussion. She's flying along with her cheerleading squad again and preparing for the competition.
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