"A study by researchers at Purdue University suggests that some high school football players suffer undiagnosed changes in brain function and continue playing even though they are impaired (Science Daily, 2011).
A question that arises in my mind as I read the title and before looking at the article, how are we, as Athletic Trainer's, supposed to battle an invisible foe? Because after reading a little of the article, these specific athletes show no signs and are relatively symptom free.
21 players at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Ind where fitted with special helmets that included six "accelerometers" that can detect magnitude of impact, and where the impact itself is coming from. This is ideal because it can (and later on in the article it in fact states) identify if an individual is hitting incorrectly, which can be corrected before serious injury is incurred. We have all read about studies of individuals that have been previously diagnosed with a concussion, but the researchers were "surprised to find cognitive impairment in players who hadn't been diagnosed with concussions." 4 individuals on the team, whom where not diagnosed with a concussion were later tested and showed that they did in fact show changes in brain function.
It is not always the magnitude, as much as the frequency of blows to the head. The article states that some of the kids could average 50-60 blows to the head a week, and up to 1,600 throughout the season.
One important fact I took away from the article is that, although not all undiagnosed individuals showed signs of brain function change, but the ones that did showed that they took more hits to the front and top of the head (which is the portion of the brain involved in memory).
Now, to the obvious question of how, as Athletic Trainer's, can we prevent this? This question wasn't posed in the article but going into the profession, this is the first question I think of. One potential solution would be to, after baseline testing in preseason, test the individuals again periodically throughout the season (perhaps every three or four weeks). This may be very time consuming but it is the only thing I can think of. It is very difficult to deal with since there are no signs present.
I will leave you with a fact pointed out by the article, " helmet sensor data indicate impact forces to the head range from 20 to more than 100 Gs. To give you some perspective, a roller coaster subjects you to about 5 Gs and soccer players may experience up to 20 G accelerations from heading the ball."
Matt - very interesting as well as worrisome. I agree with you that it is nearly impossible for ATs to treat a pathology that we don't even know exists for our patient. I think that with concussions being in the forefront of research, and with the monies being made available for further research, we may be able to find out better strategies to uncover some of the hidden pathologies.
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