Hibiclens MRSA handout

This is a handout that can be printed and passed out to students that discusses the danger of MRSA.

Weigh Out Sheets

There is a description of how to use these sheets at the end of the file. Print them out in landscape mode on a color printer and you should get four pages. Here is the link to the weigh out sheets.

Vacation

It was almost possible to completely avoid my job for four full weeks. ALMOST. I have to admit it will be nice to get back.


PirateATC

PPE's - an important, tedious task

We have finally reached the most relaxing time of year. The school year is over and the kids are enjoying their summer break. I am also on a long vacation and am trying to enjoy the break. The only drawback is having to work through the monotonous pre-participation examinations that are also seem to occur with great frequency at this time. While I fully understand the importance of the screenings and agree that they are a vital tool to the sports medicine process, performing them can be quite tedious.

Ohio High School Athletic Association Adopts New TBI Rules

The OHSAA adopted new rules regarding the treatment of Traumatic brain injuries in high school athletes of all sports in its May 13th meeting of the board of directors. The rules appear to have been adopted as expected by the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association, but the full wording of the precise rule has yet to be published on the website's meeting minutes. The above link gives nothing more than a synopsis of these meetings.

Big Ten adopts a waiver for Traumatic Brain Injuries

The Big Ten Conference has adopted a waiver after an educational program for all its athletes. I wonder if this idea could be applicable to the high school athletes and their parents as well.

New High School Concussion Rule

So I understand from our state convention that the new rule applies to every high school sport, not just football. I am very glad to hear that. Furthermore, it looks like the rule in Ohio will state that only AT and MD/DO (with experience with traumatic brain injuries) will be able to make a return to play decision. This is another big step in the right direction. I see a few issues cropping up and each school system will need to have a policy in place when an MD/DO other than the team physician gives a student-athlete a clearance to play that the team physician does not agree with. Needless to say, that will be sticky. Other than that, there will need to be a significiant amount of parent, coach, school administrator, and student-athlete education regarding the new rule. I applaud the OHSAA for their efforts and willingness to work with other groups to define the rule for Ohio.

Youth football leagues and concussions

With the new rule that is going into effect at the high school level, I now question what many youth football leagues will do to try to comply with the rule. It will be a significant liability to simply volunteer as an Athletic Trainer to clear a kid to return to play. I imagine that if any ATC does volunteer to do it, they would certainly maintain a very conservative stance on allowing a kid to return, even more so than for the high school student athlete. (If being more conservative is even possible.) Our local youth league is already looking into various options and I plan on consulting to offer them insights as this develops.

Youth Sports Injuries

I am glad to see that there are some positive role models stepping up and starting to state that youths specializing in one sport all year long is not going to guarantee future success. The fact that these high profile athletes are stepping forward and telling eveyone that it is okay to participate in more than one sport while growing up.

NY Times article from March 30, 2010

This is an interesting article posted in the NY Times. I would like to say that I found this one on my own, but I will call it a "reblog" (I guess that is the blogging equivalent of retweeting) from Joe Przytula's blog.

I am not entirely sure what to think of this since I have my own opinions of the national debates, but I am not ready to apply them to such a specific case here.

Another article to underscore the current attention given to concussions

Concussions policy fuzzy for student athletes

On the lighter side of things..

Today I was talking to a few parents about people that I have encountered during my career and how potentially serious problems became fairly humorous situations once the truth was known. I guess the best way to explain this situation is to give a couple of examples.

The first one realtes to an individual who was up in arms about how the school district is trying to cut budgets, but I was somehow able to order "personalized coolers" at some unknown high cost tothe district. The Athletic Director, who was at the center of a long list of questions about how the district was spending money, was able to respond very quickly top this accusation. The A.D. simply explained that we found a stash of older football helmet stickers that we weren't using anymore since we had changed the emblem on the sides of our helmets. He also stated that he would pass on the information to me the following day about this conversation. When it was toild to me, I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be feel complimented that it looked so professionally done or if I should feel like I was reprimanded. The best part was that the A.D. wasn't sure either.

The second instance occurred during a track meet and softball game. The parent of the injured girl was upset that I was not immediately on scene and had to be called in to attend to their daughter. They even went so far as to accuse me of being sexist. Nevermind I left a girls' softball game for that. The A.D. also thought that the accusation was extremely unfounded and in poor taste.

CDC - Recognizing Concussions

CDC on recognizing concussions.

Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports

New drug K2 stirs concern - NCAA.org

New drug K2 stirs concern - NCAA.org

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Timing is everything

It seemed unusual that no sooner had I read an article about the young pitcher in California who was hit in the head with a baseball, that I had a near miss at one of our first games of the year. The pitcher in our game was hit in the left shin with a line drive and, despite being able to remain standing, was in obvious pain. He tried to minimize the injury and continue to play, but his coach (they were the visiting team) decided he didn't want him to continue. (Fortunately, I would have recommended the same.) The young man spent the rest of the game on the bench with ice on his leg.

What I found most interesting was the conversation that ensued. An older gentleman who was watching the was horrified "to see this happen again" and wondered why the metal bats were still permitted in the game. To say that this person was a traditionalist would be an understatement. He continued to complain until a couple of younger fans accused him of being "outdated, out of touch and being an alarmist." I found it disconcerting to see the younger fans with such a lack of concern for the potential severity an injury. I assume that it was primarily because I have been around the game long enough to see some terrible injuries from line drives. It also demonstrated for me the "invincible attitude" that adolescents possess and use in their decision making process.

While I am not convinced that the metal bats have increased the number of injuries that have occurred from the line drives, I do feel that the severity of the injuries are certainly greater. I also understand that the home run makes the game much more exciting, but I question if it is worth the risk of injury.