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New clinic helping local teams better manage concussion in young players

June 30, 2021

A new concussion clinic at St George Private Hospital is helping local athletes and sporting teams to gain a better understanding of concussion and how best to treat it.

he concussion clinic run by St George Sports Med, at St George Private Hospital, raises the bar in concussion management by performing ‘baseline testing’ to give doctors a better understanding of an athlete’s health before they suffer a concussion.   

With 50% of concussions never being detected, Specialist Sport and Exercise Physician Dr David Samra said baseline testing gave doctors a solid benchmark to know when an athlete’s brain function had been affected. 

“When we know a player’s normal brain function, by testing things like reaction speed, balance, memory and visual tracking, then if they go on to suffer a concussion, we can use those baseline results to know whether they’ve recovered from a concussion or not”, Dr Samra said. 

“Concussion symptoms can often disappear days to weeks before the brain has recovered, so having this valuable baseline information can help us to accurately determine when it’s safe for the athlete to return to their sport.” 

Several sporting organisations have taken up the option of having their entire team screened ahead of game season. The screening is performed at St George Sports Med, and players can be tested in approximately half an hour. 

Dr Samra, who has been the medical officer for the Sydney Swans, Penrith Panthers, Rowing Australia and Cricket NSW, said parents should consider baseline testing for their children - particularly adolescents playing contact sport. 

“Think of it like we’re testing the software of someone’s brain. Concussion is a software problem, not a hardware problem. If you do an MRI after a concussion it is most likely to be completely normal but concussion symptoms are very real and can evolve and resolve. The more we understand about someone’s brain software to begin with, the more we can personalise treatment and help with their recovery,” Dr Samra said.  

“Our concussion management platform is a game-changer because it allows us to remotely monitor patient symptoms and recovery, using the “Concussion Tracker App. This means we can more effectively keep all parties up to date, such as parents, teachers, coaches and patients, and guide a stepwise recovery of return to school, work and play,” he said. 

In contact sports, about 1 in 10 players will suffer a concussion per season, but less than 10% of concussions actually result in a loss of consciousness. Dr Samra says it’s vital for coaches, managers and parents to know the signs of concussion. 

“The obvious one is a knock out or loss of responsiveness, but other symptoms include headache, blurred vision, unsteadiness and also dazed eyes because the brain and the eyes are so intimately connected,” Dr Samra said. 

“Our concussion clinic is really grassroots and we’re trying to help all athletes from masters right down to adolescents and kids,” he said. 

For more information or to make an appointment, visit https://www.stgeorgesportsmed.com.au/ 

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