Sports-Related Head Trauma: Current concepts in assessment, treatment, and prevention

A 2014 continuing medical education event that updated doctors, trainers, and coaches on the state of the art in diagnosing and treating traumatic head injury

Sports-related concussion is a major public health concern. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention estimate that there are between 1.6 and 3.8 million concussions (diagnosed or untreated) each year in the U.S. These estimates work out to more than at least 5,000 concussions per day. These events are most common during the teenage years, primarily due to sports, and in persons over age 65. However, no one is immune to sustaining a concussion, and a simple fall can have the same effect as a strong hit in football. Clearly, concussions have become a major health hazard in need of vigorous prevention and treatment.

Concussions have been receiving increasing attention in the media and scientific research communities. Media coverage especially has increased public awareness about concussion-related sports injuries and spurred numerous discussions about how to handle the concussed athlete. Recognizing the importance of preventing and treating concussions, Governor Cuomo signed legislation that went into effect on July 1, 2012, that mandates every school system in New York institute a formal program for evaluating and treating sports-related concussions in the school systems. The Concussion Management and Awareness Act follows similar initiatives recently instituted in New Jersey and Connecticut. Since this legislation passed, combined with the media storm of attention paid to concussion, many concussion clinics have sprouted up offering numerous services, some of which are expensive, burdensome, and unnecessary. This course was designed to illuminate the facts about concussions so that these discussions, and the decisions about concussion management that come from them, are rational and science-based.

This course provided health practitioners with a current understanding in the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of sports-related head trauma. It introduced the fundamental concepts of concussion with evidence-based facts and figures, and clarified the role medical practitioners serve in concussion management as it applies to patient diagnosis, intervention, and prognosis.

The course instructors brought years of experience and expertise working with concussed patients in sharing their knowledge of concussion management. Participants left the course equipped with new skills and evidence-based knowledge to enhance their ability to treat concussed patients.

Many of the course faculty have agreed to post their presentations here.

Baseline & Post-Injury Neuropsychological Testing
By Kenneth C. Kutner, PhD, ABPP-CN
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology Department of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College

Concussion: Sideline Assessment
By Damion A. Martins, MD
Director, Orthopedics & Sports Medicine
Program Director, Sports Medicine Fellowship — Atlantic Health System
Director of Internal Medicine — New York Jets
Administrative Medical Director — Major League Soccer
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine & Orthopedics — Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai

Post-Concussive Headaches and Dizziness
By Louise M. Klebanoff, MD
Associate Professor and Vice Chairman for Operations
Chief, General Neurology
Department of Neurology

Return-to-Play Decision Making
By James Kinderknecht MD
Hospital for Special Surgery
Dept of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medical College

Pathophysiologic Insights and Implications for Return to Play Following TBI
By Barry E. Kosofsky, MD, PhD Chief, Division of Child Neurology, NYPH
Goldsmith Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology and Neuroscience, and Radiology, WCMC

Management of Post Traumatic Seizures
By Nitin K Sethi, MD
Assistant Professor of Neurology
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Weill Cornell Medical Center

Adult Neuropsychological Issues: Impact on Intellectual Functioning and Return to Work
By Kenneth Perrine, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
Weill Cornell Medical College

Psychological Issues of Concussions: Coping with Prolonged Symptoms
By Sarah Hickman, PhD
Clinical and sport psychologist, New York Jets/Brooklyn Nets

Cognitive Remediation of Brain Injury
By Amanda Sacks, PhD, ABPP-CN
Weill Cornell Medical College

Pediatric Concussion
By Jeffrey P. Greenfield MD PhD
Victor and Tara Menezes Clinical Scholar in Neuroscience
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Pediatrics
Weill Cornell Medical College

Pediatric Concussion: Return to Learn
By David H. Salsberg, Psy.D.
Clinical Instructor, Department of Pediatrics NYU School of Medicine

Concussion Recovery and Prevention: Neuroplasticity, Normal Concussion Course vs. Complicated Course
By Roger Härtl, M.D. and Kenneth Perrine, Ph.D.
Weill Cornell Medical College