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See Body Active owner Bill Wardle on Discovery Channel!
| Body Active uses ImPACT Neurocognative testing |
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| Body Active can provide preseason baseline testing for your team. |
Sports-related concussions are a major injury in all youth sports. Returning to your sport too
soon after a concussion can have very serious consequences. Far too many athletes, coaches and parents are not aware
of how to recognize and manage a concussion.
Simply put, a concussion is a brain injury resulting in an energy crisis in the brain. It is the state that results from a blow to the head, or even a jarring
hit to the body which causes the head to accelerate or decelerate rapidly. Any
such hit that results in any one or more neurological symptoms should be considered a concussion. It is important to note that a concussion is a metabolic injury
affecting the brain chemistry (and therefore brain function) NOT a structural injury which affects the physical structure
of the brain or skull.
Symptoms include, but are not
limited to: headache, loss of consciousness, memory loss, dizziness, blurred vision, tunnel vision, undue fatigue, vomiting,
difficulty concentrating, emotional/personality changes, feeling “foggy”, generally feeling “out of it”,
discomfort to look into the light, etc…
You should NEVER return to play the same day that a concussion has
occurred. You will need to be seen and cleared by a physician before returning
to play. One tool that your doctor will ask for is computerized neurocognative
testing. This is a test that you take in the beginning of the season (baseline)
to test how your brain functions normally. If a concussion occurs, you take a
follow-up of the same test, to see how your brain is recovering. Your doctor
will compare your baseline to your follow-up, and compare those findings with a neurological evaluation to determine when
it is safe to return.
Bill Wardle can come to your school or organization to speak to your coaching
staff, your parents, or your student-athletes about concussion signs and symptoms, as well as the risks associated with playing
through a concussion. Our goal is to increase awareness in the sports community, to keep our athletes competing
safely.
Knowing when it is safe to return to play can be very difficult; you cannot simply base the decision
on when the symptoms go away. Just because the symptoms are gone, that does not mean that the brain chemistry and function
are back to normal.
This is where computerized neurocognative testing comes in to play.
Bill Wardle provides testing (at your home, school, or at your team's
practice facility), utilizing ImPACT neurocognitive testing for concussion baseline and follow-up tests. Initial baseline
testing should be done in the pre-season. It takes approximately 30-45 minutes and establishes a record of how your
son or daughter's brain is functioning in a healthy state. ImPACT measures parameters such as memory, reaction
time, and processing speed to get a picture of how the brain is functioning in a normal, un-injured state. In the
event of a concussion, contact Bill Wardle and we will administer a follow up test, and consult with your physician
to help you make an informed, and safe plan for your son or daughter to return to play.
- Baseline testing can be done on an individual or group basis
- Testing can be done at your home, or at your team's practice facility
- ImPACT is valid for use in athletes as young as 5th grade (11 years old and up)
- Data will be stored securely, and confidentially
- Follow-up testing will be administered after a concussion occurs
- Test data is forwarded to your doctor
- A physician referral list is available by clicking here
- Check out the news room with articles pertinent to concussions
- Contact Us to request a free Concussion Information Sheet
ImPACT is the same test used by most professional sports teams to assess
neurocognative function among their athletes. William Wardle has been using ImPACT with his athletes at Haverford School
for 3 years.
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