Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015 - (Page 6)

Getting Ahead of Concussion Protecting the brain through awareness, diagnosis and treatment at Towson Sports Medicine A wareness about the dangers of concussion is at an and access to care for schools, athletic programs, athletic all-time high, in part because of the highly publicized trainers, coaches, parents-and, of course, players. concussion lawsuit brought by professional football players against the National Football League. On a local level, to protect young student-athletes, Towson Concussions are serious injuries, even if they seem mild. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a blow to the head or by a violent, sudden movement Sports Medicine (TSM) is leading the way in the prevention, of the head. About 3.8 million sports-related concussions recognition and treatment of concussions through outreach occur annually in the United States. Sports are the second leading cause of TBI in youths ages 15 to 24 (car crashes are first). Traumatic brain injury can lead to lifelong problems with learning, memory, behavior and emotions. So what is TSM doing about concussions, and how can it help your sports-oriented child or teenager? TSM not only specializes in diagnosing and treating concussions but also offers preconcussive testing to assess neurocognitive function (areas of the brain responsible for memory, perception and reasoning). EXCELLENT BRAIN TEST Certified athletic trainer John Bielawski, director of outreach at TSM, explains: "We offer two types of neurocognitive The Towson Sports Medicine team at UM SJMC. 6 MARYLAND'S HEALTH MATTERS testing, called the ImPACT test and the XLNTbrain Sport test, that provide baselines of certain brain functions. This Read about all of the orthopaedic services

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015

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Maryland's Health Matters - St. Joseph - Spring 2015