The symptoms of a concussion can go away in a week or two. For an athlete itching to get back on the court or playing field, even an additional day on the sidelines can seem too long.
But the issue of sports related concussions will never go away and continued to be a big story in 2012.
The National Football League is facing a lawsuit brought by several thousand former players who claims the league actively concealed the risks associated with repetitive head impacts, denied the consensus of medical experts about their devastating effects and ignored public health issues associated with permanent brain damage from repetitive head trauma.
Last May, the New Hampshire House approved Senate Bill 402, which requires all school boards in the state to develop protocols to deal with concussions.
The bill, supported by the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, asked school districts to distribute information on the risk of concussions to coaches, student athletes and their parents. It mandates that any athlete suspected, by a coach or trainer, of having suffered a concussion be removed from the game or practice and his or her return is contingent on the permission of a health care provider.
At a Sports Concussion Awareness Night at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Nashua in September, about 50 parents, coaches, teachers, school administrators and others attended the two-hour presentation and discussion session.
On the same night, another large group met at Nashua South High School to discuss similar topics. At a heavily attended Nashua Youth Soccer Association organizational meeting in August at the Nashua Public Library, the group discussed coming up with its own guidelines for dealing with concussions.
In October, The Telegraph published an extensive six-day series titled “Broken Athletes,’’ with concussions a major focus.![]()
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