The current issue of Journal of the American Medical Association features an article co-authored by Dr. Michael Collins, a Hermon native and University of Southern Maine grad, exploring the association between concussion and neuropsychological functioning in college football players. Coaches and parents of high school athletes need to understand the findings in this study.

Normally, an athlete who is a little groggy after a hard hit will be kept out of the game until his mind is clear. Coaches and trainers will ask the player questions that assess basic mental clarity. Once the athlete answers the questions satisfactorily, he generally returns to the game. In Dr. Collins’ study, about 400 athletes from four universities underwent preseason evaluations measuring cognitive function including memory, learning, attention, concentration and information processing.

More than half of these athletes had experienced one or more concussions. Players with a history of two or more concussions scored significantly worse overall than those who had experienced one or no concussions. This should give parents pause when considering rehabilitation for their injured child athlete.

While those findings are important, the recovery pattern of the 16 athletes who had concussions during the study was startling. The vast majority of these concussions were classified as mild, in that symptoms were resolved within 15 minutes of the injury. The results of this study find that fully five days after the concussion, injured athletes were still not able to perform on the tests as well as athletes who had not had a concussion. While Dr. Collins cautions not to make too much of these findings because of the very small sample size, the weight of the evidence seems to suggest that the brain remains injured after even mild concussion far longer than previously thought. Follow-up studies are needed to further investigate these results.

Dr. Collins has put together a software package of neuropsychological tests that can be easily given to high school athletes to determine a child’s baseline level of functioning. If the athlete does sustain a concussion, then these tests can be used to find out when he or she is ready to return to the playing field. Coaches should learn about this important advance in the field of sports rehabilitation. Parents need to be cautious about any injury, but particularly a brain injury like concussion.

Sports provides an important opportunity for young people to devote oneself to a larger whole, to develop character, to meet and exceed challenges. Often, athletes are encouraged to play through injuries such as sprains, contusions and bruises. Dr. Collins’ study suggests that with brain injuries like concussion more time on the sidelines is needed.