Physicians are seeing more players due to new concussion law

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Some physicians said there are more players sitting out of games than ever before because of the new concussion law.

The law went into effect July 1, 2012. Under the statue, if a head injury or concussion is suspected, a player must be pulled from the game at that time.  The athlete may not return during the game or play in days following unless evaluated and cleared by a physician trained in diagnosing head injuries.

Lisa Falotico, doctor of osteopathic medicine at SportONE, said this law states every concussion, no matter how minor it is, must be documented.

"Some of the simpler or less traumatic injuries, I wouldn't see before, now I have to see them," she said.

A baseline test is a part of this documentation. This test is taken before a player starts the season and evaluates their cognitive functions before a serious injury, such as a concussion. Faloticodo said most concussions have symptoms.

Those symptoms (dizziness, blurred vision, sound and light causing headaches, etc.) are compared to the player's cognitive functions from the baseline test, and if it's below their documented skill level, they have to undergo recovery.

The recovery takes time, said Faloticodo. Each players go through certain levels of recovery before a doctor signs off on them to play again. She said if a player doesn't have a symptom within 24 hours, they move to a different level.

They start with minimal training, such as biking or jogging. After that, players are put on more aggressive drills, including passing or kicking a ball or sprints. If a player does well in that, then they're allow to practice with the team and play in scrimmages. Any time during this recovery training a player shows any symptoms of a concussion, the training starts over again with the minimal training.

"Kids are always afraid to tell you they're hurt," Faloticodo said. "They're always afraid to tell you something is wrong because they want to get back out there."

She said this new law could change how games are played in the future to reduce the number of concussions. Faloticodo said this law will help physicians keep a closer tab on the number of concussions happens over a certain time span.

The state is now educating family physicians, that would not have been trained in concussions, on certain protocols they have to go through before they send a player back into the game.