The change for the NFL in searching for and making sure all players with concussion symptoms get checked out will make its debut this weekend. The addition of non-team paid (NFL) athletic trainers will help with game observation. The wide angle and TV in the booth should alleviate some of the issues of being preoccupied or blocked from the action.
The concussion observing athletic trainer will not have the authority to actually pull the players nor make any recommendations regarding evaluation. Rather they will be in communication with both teams to insure that Player X has been checked out. This process would be similar to the Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS) being employed on college and high school fields. Instead of using a pager to notify the athletic trainer of an exceedingly high impact, the “independent” athletic trainer will call down to the sidelines.
Yesterday on the Baribeau & Scarbo Show I discussed how it may in fact go down. I was and still Continue reading
As an athletic trainer one of the most difficult tasks is convincing the athlete, parent, and coaches that their son or daughter is hurt. With a concussion everything “looks normal” most times (except for the cases of overt signs). Even with the signs that present most resolve rather quickly and again those affected by the head injury think everything is OK; it’s not like a bone is broken or there is imaging to SHOW an injury/problem.
The Concussion Blog 