Software Measures Severity of Head Injury

By CARY LEIDER VOGRIN THE GAZETTE
A computerized test now available in Colorado
Springs can help assess whether a ding is really just a
ding or whether an athlete has suffered a concussion
that deserves off-the-field recovery time.

The software, a “brain physical” that measures an
athlete’s attention, concentration, motor speed and
memory, helps physicians and trainers evaluate when
it’s safe for a player to go back in the game. Athletes
take a baseline test, and the data are used for
comparison should a head injury occur.

Athletes who return to competition before their brains
have healed are at higher risk for recurring
concussions or a potentially fatal swelling of the brain
called second-impact syndrome.

But because concussions are difficult to detect —
MRIs don’t show them — they are sometimes brushed
off as insignificant, said Michael Nunley, a
neuropsychologist with Memorial Hospital’s
rehabilitation program.

Symptoms of a concussion — when the brain is
shaken inside the skull — can include confusion,
forgetting what happened just before the injury,
headache, loss of balance, and a sense of
fogginess.

“They talk about that feeling when you wake up in the
morning — you know who you are but haven’t had
your coffee,” Nunley said. “You can have blurred
vision or double vision. Sensitivity to light is pretty
common.”

Nunley and others who are launching the test here
say another goal is to educate young athletes,
coaches and parents that concussions are serious.
They hope to market it to high school athletic directors
and to club sports and will make it available to
competitors ages 11 and up; it’s already used at
multiple high schools in metro Denver.

The test — developed at the University of Pittsburgh
Center for Sports Medicine — is used at hundreds of
schools across the country and by several pro sports
teams.

Nunley said it’s common for kids to head back into a
game if they’re symptom-free for 20 minutes.
“That should never happen,” he said. Athletes should
be pulled from that day’s game and not allowed back
in until they are checked by a doctor.

He said 63,000 high school athletes across the
country suffer a concussion each year; most are
football players, but Nunley said the injury also is
common among hockey, lacrosse and soccer players.
Nunley wants to dispel the typical line of thinking that
if a person is not knocked out, then he or she is fine.
“Loss of consciousness used to be the hallmark to say
someone’s had a concussion. But only 9 percent of
athletes who have a concussion actually had a loss of
consciousness,” he said. “That’s a real old myth that
needs to go away.”

Guy Ristoff, an athletic trainer who works at Memorial
rehab, said he often encounters parents who are more
concerned about their kids’ playing time than the
possibility of a concussion.

“The reaction I get from people is they don’t think
concussions are a big deal,” he said.

Parents make comments like, “He’s fine. He just got
his bell rung,” or “He’s just seeing stars a little bit, but
he’ll be fine in 10 minutes.”

“It’s that kind of mentality that gets parents in trouble,”
he said. “You really are risking your kid’s life.”

TO BE TESTED

Memorial Hospital will offer the Im-PACT baseline test
(Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and
Cognitive Testing) by appointment from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. Dec. 3 and 4. Call Mike Bigelow at 365-6543 to
set up a slot for the test, which takes 20 to 30 minutes.
The cost is $40.

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