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Concussion Health Launches Educational Platform to Aid Best Practice Management of Concussions

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SOURCE: Concussion Health

Comprehensive, easy to use resource for meeting concussion guidelines addresses needs of medical providers, coaches, schools administrators and families.

Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 27, 2012

Concussion Health (concussionhealth.com), founded to meet the educational and assessment needs of medical providers, coaches, and parents, has announced the launch of its concussion education platform.

The Concussion Health team will introduce a series of educational videos and its related certification process at the 2012 National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia, held at the America’s Center Convention complex, St. Louis, from June 26 to June 29, 2012. This event is the largest exhibition of athletic training products and services in the world.

Through a subscription to Concussion Health services, medical providers receive six hours of online education in an effort to piece together a better understanding of concussions, current guidelines, and treatment plans to help improve outcomes and prevent long-term health issues associated with brain injuries. The online education includes a competency-based exam as well as ongoing clinical support and access to concussion community forums. Dr. Steven Erickson and Mark A. Letendre, ATC, have partnered with Concussion Health to provide online educational modules and training specific to concussion management for Professional Baseball Umpires in an effort to maximize safety and standardize best practices. However, this is the first time Concussion Health’s product has been made available to the public.

“When it comes to best-practice guidelines for managing sports-related concussions, experts agree no one concussion test or tool should be used in isolation,” said Concussion Health Co-Founder Bridgett Wallace, PT, DPT. “Recent guidelines recognize the importance of assessing symptoms, cognition, balance and vision as part of a comprehensive concussion evaluation at baseline, time of injury and throughout the recovery process. Although computerized testing is often considered ideal, such technology is not always available. Thus, it is critical for individuals involved in the care of the athlete to know what clinical tools are available to assess these components."

In a related move, the team is also offering an easy-to-use web-based resource, Concussion Compliance, for meeting the new concussion requirements in Texas. About a year ago, Governor Perry signed HB 2038, commonly referred to as Natasha’s Law. Among other call outs, it requires high schools to assemble Concussion Oversight Teams and participants to complete two hours of training on concussions by Sept. 1, 2012. While high school coaches and trainers across the state are required to implement concussion management policies, there is a great deal of misunderstanding about the best methods for addressing concussion health needs and how to comply with the new law.

“While it’s important to have regulations in place to encourage the health and safety of our student athletes, coaches are not well trained in determining the signs and symptoms of a concussion,” said Dr. Michael Reardon, pediatric neurologist and medical director for the Concussion Center at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. “This partnership aims to fill that education void and provide greater awareness about proper concussion management.”

More than 3.8 million children are involved in organized sports in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

•     For males aged 10-19 years, sports- and recreation-related Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) occurred most often while playing football or bicycling.
•     Females aged 10-19 years sustained sports- and recreation-related TBIs most often while playing soccer or basketball or while bicycling.

Concussion Health will showcase its educational programming at its booth (#1116) throughout the annual meeting. Booth visitors can also register to win a one-year subscription to Concussion Health’s education and online tools for best-practice concussion management.

About Concussion Health
Concussion Health provides education and online tools for concussion management. Through a comprehensive training and certification program, it enables healthcare providers, hospitals, outpatient clinics and sports organizations to expand their practices to successfully provide comprehensive concussion management services.

Concussion Compliance, a community outreach project by Concussion Health, offers school superintendents, coaches, athletic trainers, primary care physicians, parents and athletes a free online resource to increase the safety and care of student athletes while complying with the concussion guidelines.

For more information, visit concussionhealth.com

Media Contact
Jeseka Kreitner, Co-Founder & Director of Operations
Concussion Health
jeseka(at)concussionhealth(dot)com
800-406-5080

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