MORTON, Ill.— More than 100 8- to 14-year-olds flooded the fields at Southwood Park to complete what looked a lot like field sobriety tests: touching their fingers to their noses, walking a straight line toe to heel and reciting the months of the year backward.
“What we’re doing here today, we are actually assessing brain function,” said Cristin Rassi, an advanced practice nurse and leader of the concussion program at Illinois Neurological Institute.
By the end of this week Rassi and about 400 medical professional volunteers will have performed ImPACT neurocognitive assessments on nearly 3,000 players in the Junior Football League as coaches, parents and medical providers take a more proactive approach to protecting the children’s brain health.
As we start to better understand the long-term effects of concussions through research and high profile media reports about ex-football players and other athletes, parents, players and coaches are starting to think differently about how brain injuries are recognized and treated at all levels.
“That’s my son, actually,” Rassi said, pointing out a player completing one of the balance tests. “Believe it or not, my husband is a football coach, and I have done brain injury and concussion for a long time, so this is my way to give back to the community.”
The ImPACT tests are one of a variety of tools available to test things like memory, coordination and balance. A preseason test helps to establish a baseline.
Should a player sustain a concussion, he’d be treated by standard protocols including being pulled from activities and maybe from school. When it’s time to return, he can be re-tested to compare his results to the preseason baseline and determine if there are lingering symptoms of the concussion that aren’t obvious to parents and coaches who have historically made the decisions of when a child returns to the field.
