KALISPELL – The Montana High School Association has adopted stricter rules regarding the treatment of athletes suspected of suffering a concussion during competition.
It basically boils down to: When in doubt, sit them out.
The National Federation of State High School Associations changed its “return to play” rule, and the MHSA followed.
MHSA Executive Director Mark Beckman said the new rule takes into consideration that in many cases, athletes that suffer a concussion do not lose consciousness.
The new rule requires that any athlete exhibiting signs of a concussion including loss of consciousness, dizziness, headache, confusion or balance problems be removed from a game and evaluated by coaching staff. If they are suspected of having a concussion, they cannot return to play until cleared by a doctor, physician assistant or nurse practitioner.
“If they are injured and they are showing signs (of a concussion) then they will be evaluated,” Beckman said.
Previously, the “return to play” rule only applied of an athlete lost consciousness or appeared to lose consciousness momentarily.
Beckman said several schools in Montana are doing baseline testing of athletes’ attention span, memory and reaction time, giving them data to compare to after an athlete suffers a possible concussion and a way to tell how well an athlete is recovering.
“These concussions affect the student’s ability to participate on the field and in the classroom,” Beckman said.