Randy Griffith
CNHI News Service
August 24, 2007 10:04 pm
—
In 15 years of coaching, Greg Martz has seen serious injuries.
As an Indiana high school football coach, he also has seen information about how to spot head injuries.
So when a star player collapsed on the practice field last fall, experience told Martz how to handle the situation. Within seconds, an assistant coach also trained as an emergency medical technician was giving first aid to the fallen player, Cody Lehe. Another assistant was calling for an ambulance.
Martz himself calmed other players while Lehe – later diagnosed with a condition known as second-impact syndrome – was rushed from the Frontier High School field to a hospital in nearby Lafayette, Ind.
About 300,000 brain injuries afflict athletes each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Alarmed by that number, the CDC enlisted experts to write about the causes, symptoms and effects of such injuries. It compiled the information into education kits, which it has now distributed to more than 100,000 high school coaches, with even more downloaded from the Web.
A new version of the kit, designed for youth sports coaches, will be launched this year.
The CDC is not alone in sounding the alarm on the seriousness of head injuries. The National Football League this year handed down rules for how such injuries should be treated. Any NFL player who loses consciousness is not allowed to return to a game or practice. The league also set up a hotline for players to call if they feel they are being forced back into action too soon after a brain injury.
In concussions, a blow to the head forces brain tissue against the inside of the skull, causing a limited interruption of the brain’s activity. There may be no actual damage to brain tissue, though a player may briefly lose consciousness.
The brain’s electrical “malfunction” can also disrupt chemical activity. In that scenario, the brain is more susceptible to another injury, in which even minor jarring can cause major bleeding.
Discussions on the field are familiar to coaches. A player appears dazed after a hard hit. The CDC tells coaches to lead the player to the sidelines. Does the athlete know the score, the opposing team or the last play? Does the athlete appear lethargic or clumsier?
Players with any symptoms should be removed from the game, the CDC says, and referred to a medical professional before returning to activity.
Jane Mitchko, a CDC spokeswoman, said the education campaign began by distributing information about head injuries to doctors.
“The doctors said ‘This is great information you are giving us, but you know who else needs to know this? Coaches,’” she said.
Martz and his staff are among those who have since reviewed the CDC’s kit.
Coaches’ education is crucial to help spot head injuries, Martz said, but also to help players themselves understand the risks.
“We have to get these kids to admit when they are hurting,” he said.
Randy Griffith writes for The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown, Pa. He is a CNHI News Service Elite Reporting Fellow.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.