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.”
A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury – a disturbance of function of the nerve cells in the brain – caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head, or that radiates to the head from the trunk or neck. Concussions range in severity, but they all share one common factor: They temporarily interfere with the way the brain works. They can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination.
Concussion is particularly common in contact sports, such as football and soccer. About 300,000 sports-related concussions occur in the U.S. each year. An additional 750,000 to 2.25 million cases go unreported.
The Cooper Bone & Joint Institute is a credentialed provider of ImPACT, a computerized brain function test that measures brain processing, speed, memory and visual motor skills. The test helps physicians decide when a child should return to play after a head injury by comparing the baseline test results to later test results. Cooper is the only hospital in South Jersey that offers the ImPACT technology, which is used by many national sports teams and is considered most useful in identifying the effects of concussion.
Cooper will hold a FREE educational forum for athletes, parents and coaches to address sports-related concussion. “Concussion in Sport: A Night for Parents, Athletes and Coaches,” will be held on Wednesday, September 1, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Moorestown High School, 350 Bridgeboro Road, Moorestown. The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is requested.
For additional information or to register, email rosenblum-leslie@cooperhealth.edu or call 1.800.826.6737.