Trainers association urges concussion awareness.

2004 JUL 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A national organization of athletic trainers is urging coaches, parents, and school officials to be more aware of the dangers of sports-related concussions, which often go unreported.

Recognizing concussions is extremely important for high school athletes because damage to the maturing brain can be catastrophic, the National Athletic Trainers' Association said in a position statement to be released June 16, 2004, in Baltimore at its annual meeting.

The statement "really emphasizes the need to do a better job of educating athletes, parents and coaches about concussions and the danger of playing while still symptomatic," said Kevin Guskiewicz, MD, its coauthor and the director of the sports medicine research laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

An athlete who shows signs of concussions and reports symptoms after contact to the head should be considered to have suffered a mild concussion and be treated, the statement says.

Athletes should see a doctor on the day of injury if they have lost consciousness or experienced amnesia lasting longer than 15 minutes. Athletes who lose consciousness or suffer amnesia, or whose symptoms last more than 20 minutes should not return to play on the day of the injury.

High schools, colleges and professional teams also should conduct baseline memory, mental speed and balance testing of athletes. ...