A Concussion Awareness informational session was held on November 10th through Martensville Collective Health & Wellness (MCHW) and Trach Power Skating & Skills. This event was hosted by MCHW Physiotherapist Trevor Adamus, who spoke about what a concussion is, what to watch for, and how best to manage a concussion. Jordan Trach and Blair Jones also spoke about their firsthand experience as athletes who obtained concussions. “The idea behind doing this was to help gain awareness of concussions. Not only what it is, which is an injury to the brain, but also things to look for and questions you can be asking people to help recognize whether they might have a concussion. It is about looking for different signs and symptoms and make sure that these injuries are managed properly,” Adamus said.
Adamus, who has been working within Physiotherapy for approximately 11 years, has worked within various fields of sports including; hockey, volleyball, bull riding, high school football and others. Throughout this time, Adamus has experienced concussion injuries firsthand and wanted to share his knowledge with others in order to create more awareness about the subject. “One of the main things is a return to sport plan following a concussion. If someone obtained a concussion, they should be checking in with a healthcare practitioner, and there should be a minimum of seven days taken before even considering getting back into the sport. When they do return, it should be done so after being cleared by their healthcare practitioner.”
Not only did those in attendance get to learn about the injuries from Adamus, but had a chance to listen to personal experiences from both Trach and Jones. “It was nice to get a personal approach with the talk so parents and coaches could get that appreciation of hearing firsthand,” Adamus said.
Ideally, Adamus noted that even if one or two people learned enough information that could potentially help prevent someone suffering long-term effects from a concussion, then he considers it a success. “This is just the beginning of what we are trying to accomplish. I would like to gain more awareness and reach more and more people. This is important, especially for anyone involved in contact or high speed sports. We aren’t looking for anyone to diagnose a concussion, but recognize the signs and remove that athlete from continuing to play until they can get properly checked. If it happens and they go back to play and sustain another head injury before it is healed, the effects of that concussion can be long term and much more significant.”
More information about concussions can be found in a blog written by Adamus on the MCHW website at http://www.martensvillecollectivehealthandwellness.ca/2017/10/13/concussion/.