National experts will offer concussion training to doctors, athletic trainers, coaches, parents and others worldwide during a virtual conference broadcast live from Akron Children’s Hospital.
The daylong, interactive online event, “Bridging the Gap in Concussion Treatment,” will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through www.globalcastmd.com.
“You can order this on your computer and you can see it from anywhere in the world,” said Dr. Joe Congeni, co-director of the Center for Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Akron Children’s Hospital and a director of the online event.
The conference will feature sports medicine and neurology experts from Akron Children’s Hospital, the University of Chicago, Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Neurology & Neuroscience Associates in Akron, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Wadsworth Physical Therapy and Bridgeport Hospital in Connecticut.
Topics covered will include concussion recognition, sideline assessments, complications, cognitive testing, brain recovery, post-concussion syndrome, when to return to play, advanced imaging techniques, rule changes and protective equipment.
Awareness about concussion prevention and proper treatment have increased at all levels of sports in recent years as more becomes known about the risks and long-term effects. Even after headaches subside, silent symptoms can linger that put an athlete at risk for serious — even fatal — consequences from a second concussion.
“Education has got to be at the top of every list,” Congeni said. “Athletes, parents, coaches, educators, officials, athletic trainers, physicians — all those people are important in the education piece, not just medical people.”
Michelle Wiseman of Akron saw firsthand the importance of concussion education when her son Garett, 12, suffered a concussion last month.
Losing consciousness
Garett was attempting to bounce a ball off his body during a soccer game when it struck his head.
“He went limp,” his mother recalled. “It hit him and he lost consciousness right away.”
Garett was taken to Children’s, where he was told to rest his brain until his symptoms cleared. He missed the final week of school and his last soccer games of the season.
“He had no TV, no video games, no physical activity,” his mother said. “Basically, complete brain rest — nothing that would stress your brain.”
His mother said the down time helped Garett’s brain recover completely within a couple of weeks.
“I think that the rest did greatly influence that,” she said.
GlobalCastMD was co-founded by Children’s pediatric surgeon Dr. Todd Ponsky to offer low-cost, virtual medical conferences to professionals throughout the United States and internationally. Participants log onto a secure website to watch experts talk and to chat with each other and ask questions.
GlobalCastMD usually charges physicians $99 per virtual conference to obtain required continuing medical education credits. The concussion conference also is being offered to athletic trainers for $49 and to nonmedical viewers for $15.
GlobalCastMD relies on hospitals and other sponsors to help pay for the costs of running the virtual conferences. Children’s has been co-sponsoring many of the events, including the concussion conference, by providing its studio, equipment and technical support.
For more information, go to www.globalcastmd.com.
Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or cpowell@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow Powell on Twitter at twitter.com/CherylPowellABJ.