Ten Steps Identified To Successfully Manage Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries Common In Youth Sports

Main Category: Neurology / Neuroscience
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 23 Mar 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Traumatic brain injury expert Gerard Gioia, PhD, Chief of Neuropsychology at Children's National Medical Center and director of the Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery and Education (SCORE) Program, has published a successful concussion management program for children based on his pioneering work in this area. The program is one of the first of its kind. Currently, most concussion management programs for youth sports lag behind collegiate and professional sports, despite the serious consequences of brain injury on a developing brain.

Dr. Gioia's "ten steps" to a successful concussion management process are detailed in the latest edition of Brian Injury Professional (Vol. 4, Issue 4, pp14-15).

"Implementing an effective sports concussion management program is essential to safeguard young participants and reduce long term risks," writes Dr. Gioia. "Management of this serious injury must consider the various effects in the home, school, social and sports environments."

The "ten steps" of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI)/concussion management is a translation of the neurocognitive testing model currently used in professional athletes who have suffered from a mild TBI. This work, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), uses computer-based testing and standardized parent/ teacher reports of the student athlete's neurocognitive functioning to better guide recovery after a mild TBI.

Research into mild traumatic brain injury, and education about proper treatment of mild TBI, helps change the mindset among young athletes, parents, coaches, teachers, and physicians about the seriousness and long term effects of these injuries, and assists in defining more accurately when it is safe to return to the field - and the classroom. Dr. Gioia is a primary author of the CDC tool kit that instructs physicians on proper diagnosis and management of concussions, also based on this research. The toolkit employs the Acute Concussion Evaluation (ACE), developed by Dr. Gioia and his colleague, Dr. Micky Collins, to improve the physician's initial identification and treatment of mild TBI.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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About Children's Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program:

The SCORE program is the only program in the region that specializes in the evaluation and management of concussions/ TBIs in children. The SCORE clinics see over 700 children each year. The clinic is staffed by neuropsychologists and neuropsychology fellows who specialize in precise identification, monitoring, and management of children and adolescents ages 4 -18 who have sustained a concussion. The SCORE program instructs physicians, public health, and school officials, athletic coaches, and parents about concussions through seminars, workshops, in-services, and consultations.

Children's National Medical Center, located in Washington, DC, is a proven leader in the development of innovative new treatments for childhood illness and injury. Children's has been serving the nation's children for more than 135 years. Children's National is proudly ranked among the best pediatric hospitals in America by US News & World Report and the Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit http://www.childrensnational.org/.

Source: Janiene Torch
Children's National Medical Center