The Prospectator: American Academy of Neurology Revamps Concussion Tests

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The American Academy of Neurology is changing the way it handles concussions, treating athletes on an individual basis instead of along a standardized scale, officials announced Monday in San Diego. They say the revisions would accelerate recovery.

Courtesy, ESPN

With those revisions, the AAN now approaches concussions in a way similar to the NFL and other sports organizations. The decision fundamentally accepts that all head injuries are unique and should be treated accordingly.

“We’ve moved away from the concussion grading systems we first established in 1997 and are now recommending concussion and return to play be assessed in each athlete individually,” said Christopher C. Giza, a doctor at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Mattel Children’s Hospital at U.C.L.A. and a lead author of the new guidelines. “There is no set timeline for safe return to play.”

Giza and other authors of the report say predetermined concussion tests are indeed useful and should be practiced. But they also say more should be done because those tests only scratch the surface of the issue.

“Symptom checklists, the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC), neuropsychological testing (paper-and-pencil and computerized) and the Balance Error Scoring System may be helpful tools in diagnosing and managing concussions but should not be used alone for making a diagnosis,” the report states.

The guideline revisions were announced during the ANN’s 65^th-annual meeting. They were also published in Neurology, the academy’s medical journal, which centers on nervous system conditions.

The report says more than a million American athletes suffered concussions last year. I says the injuries were most common among athletes who played football and rugby. Concussions were also common among athletes who played hockey, soccer and basketball. In regards to football, the report says all football helmet types provide equal protection from concussions.

Akima Dima, the head athletic trainer for Florida A&M University’s football team, says it’s important to view concussions uniquely because the impact that causes them is never uniform.

“It all boils down to how the individual reacts to that concussion,” Dima says. “For athletics, the severity of the impact plays a role in recovery. And no impact is ever necessarily the same.”

Concussion symptoms include headaches, light and sound sensitivity, and poor coordination. Some athletes might also experience changes in their speech, judgment, awareness and sleep patterns. ANN guidelines call for athletes to be sidelined if they experience these signs.

“If in doubt, sit it out,” said Jeffrey Kutcher, a doctor at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and a member of the academy. “You only get one brain; treat it well.”