Concussions are a common risk of tackle or contact sports, but with advances in technology and screenings for athletes, a baseline is established to help identify potential injuries in the future. Arming coaches and athletic trainers with that vital information is just the first step of preventive action that helps athletic trainers and care providers collaborate on a return to competition plan.
Sports Impact on Health
Freshman Brady Richardt is looking to be the next big man on campus.
“Here at Roncalli, I do football and basketball and then during the summer, I also play baseball. So I get to knock people on their butts basically,” joked Richardt.
But this past football season, it was Brady who took quite the knock.
“It was hot out, a normal practice. I was on the scout team, so I was helping our varsity players get ready and I just got knocked,” said Richardt.
“I saw his helmet come off and so that's always a concern,” said Theresa Backous, athletic trainer with Avera Sports.
“I banged my head on the ground, I felt a little off. So the coaches like right away told me to get off the field. Then we had a water break so I went and talked to Theresa and she pulled me out almost instantly,” said Richardt.
“I could look in his eyes and see that there's a pain in the eye and I thought maybe you do have a concussion, maybe you don't, but right now you're not looking right. So I said let's err on the side of caution, sat him on the sidelines and I called his parents and just told them what to watch for and this is what's going on. Then told him to get into the doctor after that,” said Backous.
Dedication to Athletic Training
For the past 34 seasons, Theresa Backous has been on the Roncalli sidelines. When an athlete is pulled for medical reasons, she starts the process of elevating care. For Brady and his concussion symptoms, that meant a trip to Avera Family Physicians and Gabe Gehrke.
“The biggest concerns is long-term complications, things like post-concussion syndrome, long-term brain fog, difficulty with cognition, so we're trying to prevent future injury that could potentially make those worse. Those are always big concerns from a medical aspect,” said Gehrke, a physician’s assistant with Avera Health.
Before the fall sports season, Brady completed a sway analysis to establish a concussion baseline, meaning all members of his care team are able to collaborate with the same data and information to help determine when athletes like Brady are ready to return to the field.
“These reports really give us a measurement point so that we can follow a student or follow an athlete with time seeing how they cognitively return after a graded return to activity. Starting with cognitive rest, then with mild physical activity, eventually attempting vigorous activity before returning to any type of contact sports in the long run,” said Gehrke.
“I rested for a while and then he had me do like a couple day period where it'd be like first day, walk a little bit, walk like for like 10 minutes and then the next day was a little light jogging in between. Then the last day, Theresa guided me and another kid that had a concussion as well, running around the track and doing some walking in between and just getting back into the flow, doing some high knees and stuff like that,” said Richardt.
“Concussions and your brain, it affects your whole entire life. You need it to breathe, you need it to eat, you need it to do everything. It's just really important to get them to realize how important this is to their health,” said Backous.
Avoid Learning Lessons the Hard Way
He's now on the mend, but will look to next season and take extra precautions to avoid suffering another concussion. Brady also hopes his story resonates with his classmates and that they could learn something from his injury.
“I hope they take concussions seriously. So that when they're doing these tests or whatever, that they take it seriously the first time so they can get good results. Not cheat the system because it could come back to bite,” said Richardt.
Learn more about athletic training and concussion care
