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New Concussion Rules Planned in NJ

By Andrew Wagner

| Thursday, Mar 11, 2010 | Updated 5:43 AM EST

DeshaCAM

Proposed regulations in New Jersey would require high school student athletes to get a doctor’s approval after a concussion before going back into the game.

The new rules were scheduled to be reviewed by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association next month.

Many other states have taken greater interest in the treatment of head injuries to student athletes. And the the process for getting kids back into the game.

Washington and Oregon have already passed laws covering head injury procedures, the federal Centers for Disease Control said. Maine has also created a head injury prevention group to combat the problem.

From 2005 to 2008, 41 percent of high school athletes at 100 high schools across the nation who suffered a concussion returned to the game too soon under the guidelines set out by the American Academy of Neurology, said a study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

The guidelines state that if an athlete’s concussion symptoms last longer than 15 minutes, the athlete should not return to play until one week of being symptom-free.

The Injury Research study found that 16 percent of high school football players who lost consciousness during a concussion got back on the field the same day.

Football players suffered the most concussions with girls’ soccer and boys’ soccer coming in second and third, according to the study.

Research also indicates that younger, less developed brains are at a greater risk of second-impact syndrome. This is especially alarming because only 42 percent of high schools have certified trainers who know how to handle concussions, according to the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

Having a certified trainer is important because some high school athletes feel pressure from coaches and teammates to return to the field too soon. Athletes also might not report head injuries or give the most accurate information because they know they could be pulled from the game.

The new regulations laid out in New Jersey requiring doctor’s approval before returning to the game will hopefully eliminate a lot of those problems.