Seminar on sports related concussion: Assessment and management

Wednesday, 5 March 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Director, Paediatric Neuroscience Network, Goryeb Children’s Hospital Morristown, New Jersey and Vice President, Advocare Paediatric Neurology Associates, Morristown, New Jersey Sandran Para Waran, MD will conduct a seminar on sports related concussion, its assessment and management, at the Auditorium, Institute of Sports Medicine on Saturday 8 March. The symposium is organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Institute of Sports Medicine, Ministry of Sports, the Western Province Rugby Union and Eisenhower Fellowships, Sri Lanka and will primarily discuss the effect of concussive injuries on the health of rugby footballers as well as the symptoms of concussion.

Dr. Sandran Para Waran, commenting on assessment and management of concussive injuries on a sports field said: “Correctly recognising the symptoms of a concussion and evaluation at the outset – side line assessment – is crucial to ensuring and protecting the health and well being of the injured in the future. If a concussion is suspected, athletes should not return to play. Part of the presentation will focus on the POCKET SCAT 2 (Standardised Concussion Assessment Tool) – a tool which has been developed by a group of international experts at the 3rd International Consensus meeting on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, Switzerland in November 2008. This one pager is invaluable in accurate side line assessment and should be a part of the ‘kit bag’ of every trainer and coach.” The symposium conducted by Dr. Waran is an effort to raise awareness of the effects of concussion in sports and provide access to tools for accurate and speedy evaluation, so as to prevent exacerbation and increase in the extent and effects of the injuries sustained. Concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain and induced by biomechanical forces such as direct trauma to the head, neck or jaw, violent shaking of the head or upper body, and can occur with or without loss of consciousness. Concussions cause functional (not structural) disturbance and symptoms can be divided into 4 categories: physical, cognitive, emotional and as factors affecting sleep. ‘Concussion in sports’ is a free seminar and available to the first 100 people on a first come first served basis. For more information those interested could contact Dr. Wikum Chathuranga on 0715725545.