Phoenix Union has new method to monitor concussions as sports season begins

Serious measures are being taken to ensure the health and safety of youth athletes playing contact sports. Even the State of Arizona recently passed legislation regarding players at risk of sustaining a concussion. But one of the most important measures that can be utilized lies inside each player.

Phoenix Union High School District will now use a software program to implement a baseline testing and post-injury neurocognitive testing program for contact sport team members. ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is a widely used, computerized concussion evaluation system that has been donated to the school district by the Maricopa Health Foundation and will be implemented for the first time, this school year.

Previously, Phoenix Union employed the Standard Assessment of Concussion paper testing to run through cognitive evaluations, which are comparable to ImPACT’s system. Camelback High School’s Athletic Trainer Marisa Medrano is eager to implement the software and take advantage of the ease of data generation regarding a student’s recovery progress after being concussed. She noted coaches especially will benefit the statistics provided by ImPACT and that the test results may be more accurate.

“Teenagers will always tell you that they’re fine because they want to get back in the game,” said Dr. Thomas Eccles, Director of Adolescent Medicine at Maricopa Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics. “But we have recognized that continued concussions without adequate recovery will lead to long term problems. ImPACT gives coaches and trainers the data to make better informed decisions about whether or not a player can come off the sidelines.”

Purchase and licensing of the ImPACT software for the Phoenix Union High School District was a project initiated by the Adolescent Medicine Section of the Department of Pediatrics at Maricopa Medical Center and the Arizona Children's Center. After literally waiting on the bench as a sidelines medical service volunteer at Camelback High School football games, Dr. Eccles is pleased to see the school district have an opportunity to magnify its ability to treat its athletes.

“I’ve told my athletes that they don’t want to be drooling on themselves when they are 60 because they played when they should have been recovering,” said Medrano. “I am glad to say through annual education of athletes, parents, trainers and coaches there is more awareness of how costly a hit that a player took could be. And now with ImPACT we will be better able to monitor concussions and work with a physician to read the scores in order to clear students for play.”

About ImPACT

ImPACT is a 20-minute test that has become a standard tool used in comprehensive clinical management of concussions for athletes of all ages. Inherent difficulties make it important to manage concussions on an individualized basis and to implement baseline testing and/or post-injury neurocognitive testing. This type of concussion assessment can help to objectively evaluate the concussed athlete's post-injury condition and track recovery for safe return to play, thus preventing the cumulative effects of concussion. The program measures multiple aspects of cognitive functioning in athletes, including: attention span, working memory, sustained and selective attention time, response variability, non-verbal problem solving and reaction time.

Maricopa Health Foundation

The Maricopa Health Foundation exists solely to support the services of Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS) which touches the lives of nearly all residents of Maricopa County one way or another. The Phoenix Cancer Center is a leading provider for cancer care, where patients have access to receive high quality cancer treatment through the latest technology with top physicians and specialists. Programs include the Level I Trauma Center, The Arizona Burn Center and the Arizona Children’s Center. MIHS trains more than 400 physicians a year and provides care to the uninsured and underinsured. For more information, please visit http://www.mihs.org/foundation.

Phoenix Union High School District

Phoenix Union High School District serves 25,000 students at 16 schools covering 220 square miles of central Phoenix. Ten comprehensive schools are members of the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) and compete in football. Football practices have begun this week. Over 1,000 student-athletes participate in football each year. Each school has a certified athletic trainer who works closely with the athletic director, coaches and students to ensure the health and safety of each athlete.

Source: Phoenix Union High School District