Cache Valley athletic trainers following concussion protocols for local sports

Across America, there are more concussions per participant in the sport of women’s soccer than in football.

Marcus Maw said that is consistent with his years at Mountain Crest High as the school’s certified athletic trainer.

“It’s true because there aren’t nearly as many athletes participating in that sport, plus those girls play like they’re invincible,” he said. “They don’t think that they’re going to be injured as you might be in football.”

Maw said after a possible concussion the athletic trainer poses simple questions of the athlete on the field, asking about today’s date, what year it is and so forth.

Maw said getting “knocked out”, or losing consciousness, is not a sure sign of a concussion.

“Oddly enough, an athlete can lose consciousness and not be suffering from a concussion.

“Some of the main symptoms I have seen in working with athletes include headaches, dizziness, nausea and they will have a hard time balancing and just remembering certain things.”

Maw said working through Intermountain Healthcare with athletic trainers at the valley schools a “Return To Play” protocol was established. It is about a seven-day process they must complete before they are allowed to return to competition.

“We do baseline testing at the beginning of each new year. We try to test every single athlete. This is when you test an athlete when he or she is functioning normally and that results in a baseline score. Later, if they are injured, you test them again and compare the two scores, before a return date is determined.”

Maw said the proper wearing of appropriate equipment and use of correct technique for the individual sport can help to prevent injury to the head.

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