It’s difficult in recent years to find a word related to sports injuries used more than the word ‘concussion’. Despite some of the more gruesome injuries we’ve seen that get played over and over on YouTube (see the Paul George leg injury if you so desire), concussions are unlike any other sports injury. But thanks to the growing national attention, increased awareness, and continued medical advancements, the trickle down effect into our local community is showing positive signs for the future.

There may be no better example of this than in our own back yard at Edina High School, where they have been ahead of the curve when it comes to concussions.

“We’ve probably been doing neurocognitive testing longer than any other high school,” said Edina Head Athletic Trainer Steve Tschida.

Tschida, in his 21 st year at Edina High School and Head Certified Athletic Trainer for Twin Cities Orthopaedics, felt the increased focus over recent years and did not delay at the opportunity to get involved. And while the topic of concussions has created a negative narrative nationally, especially related to the National Football League and National Hockey League, the benefit of such a large movement is the increased focus in the medical world.

“From a sports medicine perspective concussions were kind of an unknown. With the old system they graded concussions but it was so inconsistent. Now we can come up with a better diagnosis and more appropriate plans to assure we’re using a comprehensive approach to the evaluation and treatment process so these kids are okay prior to returning.”

One of those advancements is Baseline (or neurcognitive) Testing. It puts student-athletes through a pre-season test to see how the brain functions when it is healthy. After sustaining a hit to the head or a potential concussion, an additional neurcognitive test can be performed after the injury to compare results and see how the injury is affecting them cognitively or physically.

“I started doing it earlier because there was a value to it. I feel without the neurocognitive testing and impact testing there is a higher chance of returning student athletes back to sport prior to them recovering.”

Of course, as with many new technologies, it is something to pay close attention to and not take lightly.

“Baseline testing is a topic of much debate,” says Tria Orthopaedic Center Doctor Anne Moore. “It’s only one piece of information and is supposed be interpreted by someone that has gone through formal training. So it’s an instrument that you have to worry about how it’s administered, interpreted, and utilized.”

Moore, an Edina resident, says the crux of the changes that have been made are based on research.

“It is so helpful that good evidence based medicine is being put out and promoted, but that’s after randomized control tryouts have been done and solid research that gives us solid evidence to say what the symptoms are and how to best treat all of them.”

With so many questions out there about severity, recovery, and future impact, education has become a key piece of the puzzle, something echoed by both Moore and Tschida.

“Just because you have a certain number of concussions it doesn’t necessarily put you at a increase risk. It’s more severity, how long it takes to recover, or returning too soon, those are more indicators of possible issues down the line,” Moore added.

Moore also touched on the importance of understanding how concussions happen to better understand why preventative measures like wearing a helmet may not always work.

“It’s rotational force, a rapid acceleration and deceleration that puts you at risk for a concussion. A helmet prevents a skull fracture, but you still have torsional forces inside your brain despite having something around your skull.

And while there will likely never be a way to fully prevent concussions, teaching athletes and parents has gone a long way, something Tschida continues to promote at Edina.

“We send out what we do to make new parents aware of what our concussion procedures are, and we stick to it.”

One of the biggest advantages for Tschida in this area is his full-time status at Edina, where he is able to stay on top of the recovery program.

“I see kids throughout the day and we have a great relationship with our health department and academic staff, so when a concussion occurs we start managing them comprehensively with teachers and make recommendations to promote a more effective recovery while allowing them to satisfy their academic requirements as well.”

There is no doubt we’ve seen a major step forward, but Tschida continues to stress the ‘buy-in’ from everyone and sees room for improvement.

“Resistance [from parents] certainly has reduced over the years with more awareness and kids are also recognizing symptoms and reporting more but you have to keep your eye out during games. Coaches have to take the primary role in recognizing symptoms of their own student athletes and address it appropriately at the time.”

So far the reduced resistance has been helpful in giving proper treatment but Tshida believes continuing education for both players and parents will be key to future success.

“Twin Cities Orthopaedics and Tria Orthopaedics put together seminars for coaches, players, and parents to learn more about concussions. We need to do more, we need to offer seminars directed towards parents, go into schools to talk to parents and athletes about concussions, we need to do a better job of that.”

The next such seminar will be hosted by Tria Orthopaedic Center on February 5-6 at the 19 th Annual Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Conference at the Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington. This year’s focus is on hockey injuries and will include Dr. Moore, along with other national speakers and former Minnesota Wild players Wes Walz and Jordan Leopold.