BETTENDORF and RIVERDALE, Iowa (KWQC) – Within the last few weeks, multiple NFL players such as Miami Dolphins Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Indianapolis Colts Running Back Nyheim Hines were seen with one of the many symptoms of a concussion, gross motor instability.
Allowing these players to return to game action has led to a reworking of the NFL’s concussion protocol. In an interview with the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills, he said changes are coming.
“We will get this right,” Sills said. “We will get this right in the sense of going back and reviewing very carefully the steps that led to the sequence of events that you described. We will also take a critical look at our own protocol and these definitions and the points that you’ve mentioned.”
The changes at the professional level have a trickle down effect to the high school level. On average, one in five high school student athletes suffer from a concussion per year.
The Bettendorf athletic trainer, Jessica Rummery, says concussions are a part of sport, so early detection and early intervention are key.
“If you can identify it soon and get some help to either alleviate or work through your symptoms and then return to play,” Rummery said. “I think you’re in a better situation because concussions are part of sport. It’s something that we just have to treat appropriately to protect the athletes safety.”
Concussions are not always a surface level injury according to Pleasant Valley athletic trainer, Jason Viel. He says baseline tests are done before the season to know what a normal test looks like.
“It’s that hidden injury is kind of what it’s called, you know, kids can hide it, athletes can hide it,’ Viel said. “But what this does is we take a baseline when they’re not concussed. So that’s tells us they’re normal. And then we put them back on it. And if the scores are off, if they’re if they’re not normal, if they’re reduced, if they’re, you know, whatever you want to call it, then we know functionally something’s going on up there.”
For more information on concussions, visit idph.iowa.gov and search concussions.
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