Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Winter 2014 - (Page 5)

From the Sidelines UM UCH Sports Medicine Clinics help coaches put concussion training to use C oncussion in youth sports is a hot topic these days. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. emergency departments treat more than 173,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including con- Medicine team and requested a cussions, among children and adoles- Coaches Clinic. cents, each year. In the past decade, "The Fallston Recreation Board UM UCH Coaches Clinic participants put their education to use on the ﬁeld. visits among this age group increased thought it should require its coaches player out and by the next game, he or by 60 percent. to receive actual training to focus on she was back to playing. Concussions concussions and head injuries to bet- were thought of as the exception and Department of Parks and Recreation ter protect the kids," Steve says. The not taken as seriously as they should mandated that all recreation councils UM UCH Coaches Clinic was a perfect have been." provide concussion-focused educa- partner in this initiative. So when the Harford County tional materials to their players/ The UM UCH Sports Medicine team worked with the Fallston Rec Program participants, parents and coaches, IN THE BEGINNING Steve Schneiders, president of the When the Coaches Clinic originated once a season. So far, they have been Fallston Recreation Council, took it several years ago, the intent was to well received by coaches and apprecia- a step further and reached out to have UM UCH physicians, physical tive parents. More important, though, is the University of Maryland Upper therapists and other health care experts that the education has proved helpful Chesapeake Health (UM UCH) Sports go out into the community to talk to to coaches on the ﬁeld. Also a football coaches and parents about common coach, Steve had a player who hit his youth sports topics, including hydration, head hard on the ground. He immedi- nutrition, stretching, concussions, com- ately went through a series of questions mon injuries and more. All of these are to determine whether the injury was seri- still covered, but concussion prevention, ous enough to seek medical attention. WE'LL COME TO YOU! If your recreation program or organization is interested in holding a Coaches Clinic-which can be tailored to cover your requested areas of interest-call Nate Albright, director of Orthopaedics at UM UCH, at 443-643-3364. recognition and response has become the emphasized topic of discussion. "For years, we never really paid to tailor its clinics, which are now held "Fortunately, it was not," Steve conﬁrms. "But, had it not been for the clinic provided by UM UCH, I much attention to head injuries," Steve would not have been equipped to says. "We would usually just take the make the determination."  Learn more about head injuries at uchs.org/mhm. Search "concussion" under "Healthy Insights." uchs.org | Winter 2014 5 http://www.uchs.org http://www.uchs.org/mhm

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Winter 2014

Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Winter 2014
Contents
A Healthy Start
From the Sidelines
A Better Chance at Beating Cancer
Back on the Beat
At a Glance
News and Events

Maryland's Health Matters - Upper Chesapeake - Winter 2014