Concussion Legislation

Concussions have gained considerable notoriety recently on all levels of sport. Consequently, the spotlight has been turned to the need for concussion recognition education among parents, athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and physicians. There are a number of states as well as the federal government that have passed or proposed legislation detailing steps that school districts must implement. As of December, 2010 the list is

• New Jersey (Assembly Bill No. 2743 and Assembly Resolution No. 85/Senate Resolution No. 74
• Pennsylvania (House Bill No. 2728 and House Bill No. 2060)
• United States (House Resolution No. 1347/Senate Bill No. 2840)
• Connecticut (Public Act No. 10-62)
• California (Assembly Bill No. 533 and Assembly Bill No. 1646)
• Maine
• Massachusetts (Senate Bill No. 796)
• Missouri (House Bill No. 1548)
• Oregon (Senate Bill No. 348)
• Rhode Island (House Bill No.7036)
• Suffolk County, New York (No. 1174)
• Texas (No. 4627)
• Washington (Senate No. 1824)

In the proposed New Jersey legislation, the spotlight is on education. The New Jersey Department of Education will develop a fact sheet for school districts to distribute annually to coaches, athletes and parents. The state department will also develop a model concussion policy for school districts to use. In addition, the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners will require athletic trainers in both public and private high schools to obtain 24 hours in concussion education in order to renew their state license biannually. In order to return after a concussion, New Jersey’s proposed legislation will require written return from a physician trained in the evaluation & management of concussion.

Sports Health carries a Sports Concussion Tool Kit for Athletic Trainers and Coaches with contributions by noted authors Phil Hossler, ATC, Michael Collins, Ph.D., Chris Nowinski, John Leddy, M.D., Ron Savage, Ed.D., and Barry Willer, Ph.D. that contains many unique items to assist school districts in their preparation for safely dealing with student-athlete concussions.

For more information on concussion and legislative efforts go to:
http://www.kttc.com/Global/story.asp?S=13629611
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/58285

Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.

The wrestling mat as the first stop on the road to lifetime achievement

Bill Campbell wrote in “A Parent’s Guide to Youth Wrestling” published in USA Wrestling magazine in 2000 that although even the most accomplished wrestlers receive little if any public notoriety, quite a few famous people began their lifetime of achievement on the wrestling mat. A stroll through the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater Oklahoma offers the surprising discovery that, many historical and current day prominent people were once wrestlers. A partial list includes:

U.S. Presidents - George Washington, Zachary Taylor, William Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Chester A. Arthur.

Several well-known Congressmen, Senators, and other Statesmen and Military leaders including General Norman Schwarzkoph.

Several Scientists including Benjamin Franklin and Nobel prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug.

Several well known actors including Tom Cruise, Tony Danza, Kirk Douglas and Robin Williams.

As wrestling season begins, high school athletic trainers are very aware of the need for accurately assessing hydration levels of their wrestlers. Weight certification is a vital step requiring objectively determining healthy hydration levels via a refractometer to assess urine specific gravity. This measurement is so vital for today’s safe conducting of the sport that national standards are in place.

While many wrestling coaches, athletic trainers and state athletic associations are still struggling with the procedural ease or difficulty of accomplishing this measurement procedure, check out Sports Health’s choices of refractometers available to make this process easier.

Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.