Concussion protocol

What do you do when you suspect a concussion?

Emergency treatment is needed if any of the following have happened:

1. Loss of consciousness.
2. Seizures.
3. Spine or neck injury.
4. Change in behavior.

If emergency treatment is not needed but a possible concussion is suspected:

1. Remove the player from the game or practice.
2. Evaluate the player for any of the following symptoms:
   • Dazed look or confusion about what happened.
   • Difficulty with memory.
   • Neck pain, headaches, nausea, vomiting, double vision, blurriness, ringing noise or sensitivity to sounds.
   • Short attention span. Can’t keep focused.
   • Slow reaction time, slurred speech, bodily movements are lagging, fatigue, and slowly answering questions or has difficulty answering questions.
   • Abnormal physical and/or mental behavior. 
   • Coordination skills are behind, ex: balancing, dizziness, clumsiness, reaction time.

If a player has some or of the above symptoms:

• The player needs to be immediately assessed by an on-site athletic trainer or physician (if available).
• The player’s parents or guardians should be notified in person or with a phone call about the possible concussion and they should be given the approved fact sheet on concussions.
• The player should be monitored by parents/guardian or coach every 5-10 minutes for the next 1-2 hours for changes in balance, speech, or memory. If any changes occur, seek emergency treatment.
• The player is required to be seen by a health care professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions as defined by Idaho’s Concussion Law, Section 33-1625 Paragraph 5.

Players removed from a game or practice due to a possible concussion will not be allowed to return to play until the athlete is evaluated and cleared to return, in writing, by a health care professional trained in evaluating/managing concussions as defined by Idaho’s Concussion Law, Section 33-1625 Paragraph 5.

Developed from CDC concussion guidelines and US Youth Soccer concussion protocol.