Concussion: It is not Just the NFL Paula Powell and Dr. Anthony Salvatore

What is a concussion? A concussion is a blow to the body or head that causes jarring motion of the brain inside the skull. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that results in a disruption of the brain to process information.

What happens to Brain During concussion

Jello demonstration Select students will take part in a demonstration that shows how fragile the brain really is.

Child Vs Adult Brain CHILD ADULT

What happens in a child’s brain during a concussion More room for the brain to move and potentially causing more damage than adult brain.

Why all the fuss? Kids are resilient I thought. There is a difference between the adult brain and the child brain when it comes to traumatic brain injury. http://www.brainline.org/content/multimedia.php?id=3510 (Dr. Jeffrey Barth, University of Virginia Medical School) There is a difference between the adult brain and the child brain when it comes to traumatic brain injury and I am going to focus just on mild concussion at this time. The child's brain appears to be more vulnerable to injury and it appears that it takes longer to recover from a mild head injury. In research done at University of Virginia Medical School, they have looked at mild head injury in football players primarily and this is an age group that is at the end of development of the brain, so it is almost a mature brain. And to make a long story short, the research suggests that the mature brain recovers within five to ten days of any concussion. So, in college football for example most of our concussions on the field result in the player being out for a few days and slowly working themselves back once they are symptom-free and that usually is by the next game. In children, it may be a very different story and when I say children I mean anywhere up to about 21 or 25. The brain continues to develop until about 25, but the vulnerability is probably at the middle school and the high school level for the brain not quite being mature at the point. And we know that is the case, the frontal lobes certainly aren't as developed as the rest of the brain. The brain develops from the bottom up and from the back forward. So, the last thing that kicks in is the frontal lobes and that is the area of judgment and so on. So, that is a good reason not to give your kids the car keys at age eight. We at least wait until 15 or 16 these days and of course you can't vote until a certain age, you can't drink until a certain age. That probably reflects a lot of neurodevelopment that the frontal lobes have not yet developed.

NOW that I’ve scared you to death, What can you do as a Parent? Know the symptoms. Listen to your child

Rule Changes for Youth Football in El Paso

Alarming Statistic One in 30 football players ages 5 to 14 will sustain at least one concussion per season. This correlates to 100 El Paso kids per season! (JAMA Pediatrics, May 2015)

USA Football’s Response to El Paso Rule Changes Matt DeLuzio, regional manager at USA Football's Heads Up Program: Rule changes are in line with his organization's practice guideline recommendations. USA Football will use El Paso as a model program for other parks and recreation departments. El Paso is setting the trend for other parks and recreation departments in the country. National league programs are looking at how to establish and set standards with regards to player safety, but parks and recs have not completely done so yet.“

Rule Changes for Youth Football Concussion training will be provided to all coaches in multiple training sessions prior to Fall season. Parents will have a concussion component added to existing required Parent Training.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Reason for Change- Coaches Previously only one coach was being trained and there was not good accountability. This resulted in some teams having no coaches trained on the subject.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Reason for Change- Parents "It's critically important to educate parents on concussion awareness," he said. "Concussion symptoms don't always present themselves at the time it happens. It's important for parents to understand and know the signs and symptoms. They know their kid as well as anybody, so they're going to be able to recognize signs and symptoms better than a coach would be able to. ---Matt De Luzio, USA Football

Rule Changes for Youth Football Schedule & Results Week 1        Sun 8-30-15   11:00 AM Saipan Ledo Flat Field 1 Westside Mustangs SE T-Birds 8 34   Sun 8-30-15   12:30 PM Saipan Ledo Flat Field 1 [NE] NE Texans Central Panthers 16 30 Week 2        Wed 9-2-15   6:00 PM NE Regional Flat Field 1 [NE] NE Warhawks Central Panthers 8 12 Wed 9-2-15   7:30 PM NE Regional Flat Field 1 [NE] Muddawgs SE T-Birds 6 38 Rule 2: Limit the number of games any player plays to one per week.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Reason for Change- Schedules In previous years our schedules had children playing two games in one week. This new restriction protects the players from excessive contact. *This may extend the season depending on teams dates, weather etc.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Requiring that all City Coaches of Middle School football players have less days of hitting in practice. The City will not schedule games on same day as Middle School games.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Reason for Change: Practice This rule protects players who play in both Middle School and City from having too much contact.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Players who play in City leagues may not join an outside league at the same time. Offer both recreational and competitive divisions to give opportunities to all levels of participation.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Reason for Change- Play Reducing the number of hits that an athlete takes always reduces the risk. The players playing in multiple leagues were playing two or three games per week. This rule protects players from excessive contact.

Rule Changes for Youth Football The Mighty Might Division: Modified to be 6 and 7 year olds only. 5 year olds can join our Mini Sports Flag Football Program. Age group will also have a change in rules making it Recreational in nature. There will not be a Little Bowl or playoffs for this age group.

Rule Changes for Youth Football Reason for Change- Play The difference in size and ability between 5 and 7 could be a lot posing a risk to the smaller less developed players. Playing competitive takes away from the instruction that these players need in order to develop into life long players. (There will be a winner and loser and league champ….just no Little Bowl) This age group does not have: Fully developed brain. Verbal skills to inform of concussion symptoms. Recovery is twice as long as an older child.

Sources for Information on this Project Concussion and Our Kids, Robert Cantu, MD and Mark Hyman, 2012 USA Football Heads Up Program sponsored by NFL, 2015 Dr. A Salvatore, UTEP Concussion Study, 30 years Texas Amateur Athletic Federation, Mark Lord

Community Input Synopsis Rules Agree but need more classes No change (3 meetings with parents, 1 meeting with coaches, 1 meeting with players) Rules Agree but need more classes No change Middle School kids spoke up which resulted in this rule change Players loved this rule Most in agreement about 5 year olds. There was not a consensus on the 6 and 7.

Elected Leaders Requests after first presentation Three Action Steps: Educate Officials, Coaches, Parents and Athletes: Inform and educate officials, coaches, athletes and their parents and guardians about concussion through training. Remove Athlete from Play: An athlete who is believed to have a concussion is to be removed from play right away. Obtain Permission to Return to Play: An athlete can only return to play or practice after at least one week and with permission from a medical doctor.

Other Actions as a result of the Mission Reducing the Risk of Concussions of Young Athletes Updated policies in all other sports Developed inspection checklist of outdoor sports areas Developed safety changes in gyms Showing Results: Working with UTEP on Data collection project

Concussion Training

OTHER SPORTS Mandatory Face Mask Padded Score Tables

ONLINE TRAINING

CHANGE STARTS WITH US Complete MOU with UTEP and Analyze Data Continue Making Adjustments to Rules Complete Online Classes Continue Education Campaign

How can we do it as Parks and Recreation Professionals RESEARCH

ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORTS HOW CAN YOU GET DATA? ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORTS

How will the data be used? Continue improving rules Monitor progress of rule changes Start the process of gathering stats for youth players Demonstrate Performance

Questions