U. Nebraska-Lincoln intramural and recreation sports are in full swing this semester, and for medical staff on campus this means it’s concussion season.

Although there is no particular sport that consistently produces more head injuries than others, the importance of education on the issue is stressed for all. Ignoring concussions and their symptoms can be detrimental to health, leading to complications such as loss of memory, mental health issues, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS – or as it’s more commonly known, Lou Gehrig’s disease – and even death.

There isn’t much the University Health Center can do to protect students from cranial collisions, but they can educate students on the proper procedures when one occurs. The health center is conducting a project with the Campus Recreation Center’s Injury Prevention and Care program, said Dr. James Guest, director of the health center.

“There were only 13 concussions in the last year, with three related to sports, reported at the health center,” Guest said. “This new study is meant to delve into the specifics of these injuries.”

The injury prevention center and UHC are working together to come up with new procedures for clinical management of head injuries.

“You’re going full speed and things are going to happen,” said Jay Thomas, a senior majoring in criminology.

Thomas has had three concussions in the last two years. He played starting guard for the Benedictine College football team in Atchinson, Kan.

“One game I was pulling for a block when I met up with an all-conference line-backer and we had head-to-head contact,” Thomas said.

The collision knocked the two out cold, forcing Thomas to sit out of all football activities for two weeks. But head injuries can be more dangerous than that.

According to an article on ESPN.com, “detailed examination of the brain of a Penn (University of Pennsylvania) football player who died from suicide showed he had the same disease caused by hard hits … (The player) was in the early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a disease that has been linked to depression and impulse control, primarily among NFL players.”

Rugby, lacrosse, soccer, flag football, basketball or most any contact sport include the danger of receiving a concussion. The Injury Prevention and Care program sees a concussion once a week.

The Injury Prevention and Care program assists students who get hurt in Campus Recreation programs and facilities.

“For every one concussion that is reported here, there is one that will probably go unreported,” said Michael Obermeier, injury prevention and care coordinator at the health center.

All times of the year can have high reports of head injuries, said Robin Whisman, assistant director of injury prevention and care. Fall and spring are busy but winter is also just as busy, because it’s cold out and people come inside to play.

Typical head injury evaluations at the injury center look at four major aspects: memory, concentration, neurological function and balance. Let it be noted that tests for a concussion are strikingly similar to those used by police officers to determine if someone is driving drunk.

From those tests the injury center can determine whether the student is suffering from a concussion. Specific guidelines are followed to determine when a player can return to activities. If conditions are severe, the center will advise the injured person to seek professional treatment.

Under no circumstances can the player return to play within a week because a second impact concussion may occur, which could result in death. This is something both the Injury Prevention

Care program and the health center are trying to prevent as much as possible. With any symptoms persisting more than 24 hours, reference to a doctor is recommended. Another recommendation is that the student doesn’t go to bed right away and that a friend be designated to watch the concussed individual.

Next Saturday, Oct. 2, officials from the two centers will speak about what they have found in their studies and possibly change both of their protocol for treating concussions.

“Different people exhibit different symptoms,” Whisman said. “Concussions are very subjective and that is why it’s necessary to investigate any kind of head injury.”