New Tool for Sports Trainers, Coaches and Parents in Battle Against Concussions
Smartphones might be the next best tool in the growing campaign against concussions in sports.
A team of head trauma researchers at the University of North Carolina has developed an application for mobile devices that will help athletic trainers, coaches and parents recognize the signs and symptoms of a concussion, and if necessary, make a referral to a medical doctor. The new aid is the first observer-based concussion app. It allows the user to answer a set of questions. Based on the answers to those questions, the app determines the likelihood of a concussion. If a concussion is suspected, the app can email appropriate information to a doctor. The intent of the tool is to speed up the response to possible concussions.
The app was introduced at the recent National Sports Concussion Cooperative. Bill Griffin, of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, said the documentation of immediate concussion symptoms is very important. That’s where this new smartphone app comes into play.
Concussions are a major issue in the world of sports today. While concussions and their after-effects are garnering more media coverage at the NFL level, the biggest area of concern should be the high school and youth athletes whose brains are not fully developed and require more care and more recovery time from concussions than adults. Here’s the scariest issue in a nutshell: Too many high school and youth athletes suffer concussions without their coaches or parents knowing it. And too many of these young athletes return to action too quickly.
Let’s hope this new smartphone app helps change that fact.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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