Concussions
Awareness and Treatment Resources/Return to Play Protocol
What is a Concussion?
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a blow to the body that causes the head to move rapidly back and forth.
A concussion can have any one or more of the following symptoms:
- Positive loss of consciousness (blackout)
- Headaches and sensitivity to light
- Physical signs (such as nausea, vomiting or unsteadiness)
- Impaired brain function (such as confusion)
- Abnormal behavior (agitation/aggression)
Please be aware that adults typically take longer to show symptoms than children and that some symptoms may take several hours to manifest.
If you think it might have been a concussion, please treat it like a concussion!
WFTDA Concussion Guidelines and Clarifications
WFTDA members must follow the Return to Play Protocol that is found in the WFTDA Risk Management Guidelines and summarized below.
Return to Play Following a Potential Concussion Guidelines
The Risk Management Guidelines state: A participant who is determined to show signs of a concussion following assessment may not return to play on the day of the injury. A participant who is determined to show signs of a potential concussion following assessment may return to play under medical or athletic training supervision by a professional trained and certified in return to play following concussions. It is recommended that the participant follow the graduated return to play protocol identified in Table 1 of the Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport (Section 5.2). A link directly to that table is here: http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/51/11/838#T1
ADOPTED GRADUATED RETURN TO PLAY PROTOCOL
If at any point symptoms return, drop back to previous (or earlier) step.
| Rehabilitation Stage | Functional exercise at each stage of rehabilitation | Objective of each stage |
|---|---|---|
| 1. No activity | Symptom limited physical and cognitive rest | Recovery |
| 2. Light aerobic exercise | Walking, swimming, or stationary cycling, keeping intensity < 70% maximum permitted heart rate. No resistance training |
Increase heart rate |
| 3. Sport-specific | Non-contact skating drills, endurance skating, speed skating | Add movement |
| 4. Non-contact training drills | Progression to more complex training drills, still non-contact. May start progressive resistance training |
Exercise, coordination and cognitive load |
| 5. Full-contact practice | Following medical clearance, participate in normal training activities | Restore confidence and assess functional skills by coaching staff |
| 6. Return to play Normal gameplay | Normal gameplay |
Read the complete Return to Play Protocol in the WFTDA Risk Management Guidelines document.
Learn how to manage concussion risk on the WFTDA Concussion Risk Clarifications page.