After week one, many concerned fans questioned the Eagle’s decision to put two of their players back in the game after they suffered severe head injuries by hard tackles made on the field. After being taken out of the game for good, the players were diagnosed with concussions. The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with David B. Gealt, DO, Assistant Director of the Concussion Program at Cooper, about the team’s evaluation of its players and their initial missed diagnosis.

“The thing with concussions is, you want to make sure that you don’t miss it because you want to make sure they don’t go back in too soon,” said Gealt. “If you are thinking that someone does have a concussion, then you obviously want to be on the more conservative side and keep them out until you figure out what’s going on.”

To read the complete article, visit philly.com.

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The Burlington County Times featured an article about the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute’s free educational forum on concussions as a result of sports related injuries. The forum, which took place at Moorestown High School on Wednesday, September 1, 2010, focused on prevention and identification of concussions as well as available treatment options.

“Unreporting is going to be a very big problem this year,” said R. Robert Franks, DO, Director, Concussion Program and Assistant Director of Sports Medicine at Cooper’s Bone & Joint Institute. “And it’s really going to depend on everyone, from athlete to coach to athletic trainer to parent to let us know. The key to this is, if we handle concussion No. 1 and No. 2 right, hopefully we’ll never get to No. 4, 5 and 6.”

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FREE Program Scheduled for September 1 at Moorestown High School

Sports medicine professionals from the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute of Cooper University Hospital are advising parents, athletes and coaches to educate themselves about head injury and concussion before the start of the fall and winter sports seasons. They also recommend baseline brain function testing for all athletes prior to the season, and within days after a head injury.

“The diagnosis and treatment of concussions and their long-term effect on athletes continues to be an evolving discipline,” explains R. Robert Franks, DO, Assistant Director of Sports Medicine and Director of the Concussion Program at the Cooper Bone & Joint Institute. “It’s very important that people recognize the signs and symptoms of concussion and take appropriate steps to manage the injury.”

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Cutting-edge research being published tomorrow in a leading journal of neurophathology suggests a link between concussions and other brain trauma and the diagnosis of amyotrohic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

R. Robert Franks, DO, Assistant Director of Sports Medicine and Director of the Concussion Program for the Cooper Bone and Joint Institute, explains the research and what it means for current concussion management.

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Robert Franks, DO, Director of the Concussion Program and Assistant Director, Sports Medicine of Cooper University Hospital, speaks at the 2010 Sports Concussion Summit.

A panel of renowned medical experts in the field of sports related concussion presented the latest scientific evidence in practical concussion management techniques, at the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey (ATSNJ) 2010 Sports Concussion Summit in Plainsboro. The ATSNJ held the Sports Concussion Summit as a means to educate physicians and health care providers who play a role in the management of sports related concussion. Over 200 health care providers attended this event which was held less than 2 weeks prior to the start of the 2010 fall high school sports season.

Among the topics discussed by the panel which included Dr. Robert Cantu, the Medical Director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research and Co-Director of the Neurological Sports Injury Center, was the recent concussion policy introduced by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). While all experts applauded the NJSIAA for their efforts in concussion education and school policy development, many expressed concerns over the policy’s return to play guidelines

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