New Tool Gives A Heads-Up For Athletes After A Concussion

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Also Included In: Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 30 Aug 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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For 19-year-old Karlee Carbert, rugby isn't just a sport, it's a passion.

But the rough and tumble game can be physically demanding, as Carbert reveals "some games you can hit your head as many as five times."

Carbert has suffered three concussions in her career but after the first two her response was the same, "usually you hit your head, get a headache and once the headache is gone you go back."

After her last hit in March, she wasn't as quick to head out onto the field because of a new tool being used at the University of Alberta.

The U of A is the first university in Canada to adopt IMPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing). It's a computerized system that uses a series of memory and motor skills tests to help better decide when the brain is sufficiently recovered from an impact injury.

"It helped me realize the extent of damage that was done," said Carbert who was surprised by her test results. "I realized, wow I bruised my brain."

Educational psychology professor Martin Mrazik says he has been using IMPACT to assess university football, hockey and rugby players since last fall. Starting this season he's adding soccer and women hockey players. Mrazik has also served as a consultant to the Edmonton Oilers and the Edmonton Eskimos, assisting them in implementing the system.

"This is an important piece of the assessment process for determining when a player is ready to return to play," said Mrazik. "It will help reduce the number of injuries because if we return a player too early, research shows they're at a three times greater risk of receiving another concussion."

Mrazik hopes the use of this tool will one day be common practice in doctors' offices so athletes of all ages can be regularly tested.

As for Carbert, she admits players are often stubborn, wanting to get back into the game as soon as possible, but adds "this new tool will likely result in players sitting out for longer, so they can fully recover. Which in the long run is a good thing."

University of Alberta
685 General Services Bldg.
Edmonton, Alberta T6E 2H1
Canada
http://www.ualberta.ca