Hospitals Expecting Rise In Student Concussions
VALHALLA, NY (WCBS 880) - The school year is just beginning and hospitals may see a rise in young students suffering from concussions due to school sports.
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Consider the desire to win and those adolescent feelings of invincibility and you get a sense of the difficulty hospitals are facing, according to Dr. Jay Selman, chief of pediatric neurology at Blythedale Children's Hospital in Westchester County.
"The trainers, the coaches, school nurses, school teachers, families all need to be aware of the symptoms," he said.
Many districts have apparently stepped up.
"They will look at speech, orientation, gait, and they may do some provocative tests at the sideline, for example, having the athlete do some push ups, do some sprinting," he told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane.
Neuropsychologist Christopher Rackley says many districts have concussion management efforts including computerized baseline testingand knowledgeable trainers but some districts don't have the resources for such efforts.
Evidence of the danger has been around for years, but even among student athletes, awareness is a work in progress.
"If you ask a room full of football players, high school football players, and said, 'How many have had a concussion?' you might see one or two hands. You ask them, 'How many times [have] you had your bell rung? How many times [have] your head been hit so hard you see stars?' a lot more hands go up," he said.
But NFL and other sports stars speaking out on their experiences maybe the greatest boost for awareness.
Legislation to combat concussions has passed the New York state legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has until next Friday to either sign of veto it.
A Cuomo spokesperson tells WCBS 880 that the legislation is "under review" by the governor.
Blythedale is holding an event about sports injuries on September 20. CLICK HERE for more information.
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