[Chemar]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/healt...,3382371.story

Doctors believe the staggering increase in hospital visits reflects a growing awareness among parents and coaches that head injuries are serious conditions. Public awareness campaigns have spread the message in recent years, as have celebrity injuries.

[Mark in Idaho]

It is great to see parents and coaches paying attention to head injuries.

Now, we just need the medical professionals to understand closed head injuries. In the articles it says

<Thomas doesn't remember falling to the ground, cradling his head and yelling to his teammates that his brain was dying. Nor can the 15-year-old recall his trip to the emergency room and an MRI scan with promising news: He didn't have permanent brain damage.>

If the MRI was done looking for brain damage, it will rarely show it. It takes a high Tesla MRI, 6 Tesla and higher to show the diffuse axonal injuries and even some of the coup-contra-coup injuries.

At CT at three days will show small brain bleeds best. Unfortunately, there is not yet an established protocol for concussion and mTBI diagnosis except GCS, LOC, PTA, nausea, confusion, etc. The SCAT2 is a good start as is the ImPACT Test and such. But these are rarely used at the ER. A normal neurological exam will likely fall short.

Again, the patently false statement of <He didn't have permanent brain damage> leaves the athlete and his/her parents with a false sense of security.

It also says

<Judging when an athlete is ready to jump back on the field is usually a subjective call, says LoGalbo. But now, trainers have a tool based on numbers, not rules of thumb.

The beauty of tracking a player's upward scores on mental tests, says LoGalbo, "is knowing when they might be eligible to go back and play.">

Nobody has done any research that backs up this statement. Thomas already demonstrated that he is at risk by just being in or near the game as was the case when he was hit in the face by a kicked ball.

There is no link between a neuro-psychological assessment based 'recovery' and the brain's tolerance for another impact. The 'recovered' brain will still be much more susceptible to a devastating injury, Second Impact Syndrome, Multiple Impact Syndrome or by any other name.