Seminar preaches injury safety

The topic of sports-related concussions has never been more popular.

As part of the ongoing debate and discussion on player safety, Terrebonne General Medical Center recently hosted a two-hour seminar on concussion awareness.

The seminar, held last Thursday at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, featured guests in the field of sports medicine discussing some of the more crucial elements related to concussions.

Namely, what to do when a concussion is suspected, how to obtain proper treatment, and what are some of the warning signs that indicate a person has suffered a concussion.

The event was aimed at promoting public awareness in a town-hall style format, which Layne Mistretta, a registered nurse and clinical educator at East Jefferson Hospital in Metairie, said is becoming more frequent, thanks to laws such as the Louisiana Youth Concussion Act No. 314, passed in 2011 and geared toward player safety.

“We’ve been trying to work on this and getting it moving and rolling since 2011 when the act came out,” Mistretta said. “It’s finally gotten some teeth and we’re seeing some progress.”

Mistretta highlighted the four bullet points of the act:

-Players suspected of having suffered a concussion must be removed from play immediately.

-Players must receive a medical examination before they can be cleared to return to play.

-Information on concussions and subsequent risks must be distributed to the public.

-Coaches and other professionals must meet proper educational requirements to help recognize the signs and symptoms of concussions.

As a result of the act, Mistretta said South Louisiana has become a leader in the field of public awareness on concussions.

“Region 3 is one of the only regions in the state that has gone this far as to have the largest seminars to promote concussion prevention,” he said.

Among the warning signs of a concussion, he said, were persistent nausea and vomiting, headaches, blurred vision and sensitivity to light and sound.

More severe signs of a concussion are the loss of consciousness, disorientation and confusion, and worsening of a headache or nausea.

In those cases, “We advise that they have to come in for a further extensive evaluation,” Mistretta said.

With regards to the increase in concussion awareness meetings, Larry D’Antoni, a certified athletic trainer and the coordinator of sports training and athletic training at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, said it’s not necessarily that concussions are more frequent in sports today, but that the attention given to them is at an all-time high.

“The incidents of concussions are probably close to the same since I’ve been an athletic trainer,” D’Antoni said.

On that front, the NFL has played a large role in concussion awareness.

Due in part to a litany of lawsuits brought against the league by former players and their families, more and more people are becoming aware of the dangers of concussions.

“The youngsters emulate their heroes and with the NFL and all of their issues right now with the lawsuits that are occurring or have occurred, that’s certainly brought concussion awareness to the forefront,” D’Antoni said.

A second meeting will be held Oct. 3.