All-Star Concussions And Awareness

[Cheer Dad]

Not cheer related but kids related

My middle son has a history of concussions most of them when he was younger and 3 of them were caused by cp when she was 2 and he was 3. Due to this the neurologist told us no contact sports but that soccer was ok but we allowed him to play. He got a couple more from soccer over the years and on of them landed him in the er getting a CT scan because a headache caused him to wake up in extreme pain. The last one in TX came as he got speared by an opposing player (he was a keeper) and he was knocked unconscious- which we were not informed of at the time and went to cp's cheer comp right after...... Since moving he has done really well and has had no concussions....until this past October. He was in the middle of a game and his feet got tangled up with a striker and his head slammed in to the ground. He was immediately taken out of the game with dizziness and the need to throw up. We allowed him to finish watching his team, and he tried as hard as he could to play again but neither his coach nor the ref allowed it to happen. We took him in to the er- saw a PA and they said it was a "closed head injury" and he was cleared to train as long as there was no contact. Sent him to school that week and had to pick him up every day due to headache, ringing in the ears, etc.... took him back to the er where they diagnosed him as a grade 2 concussion......
The next week he had a follow up with his dr where she said he needs to be out of school until he could go a full day without a headache, no video games, no phones, nothing to stimulate his brain- to include school work. The entire time he kept going to practice and not participating- but as team captain he felt he needed to be there. The head coach (not his from his game) kept asking if he would be returning before the end of the season which was the end of November...... ummmmmmmmm nope, not until he is cleared medically. His dr was very reluctant to give him the green light but finally did 8 weeks later with the understanding that we had to get him some sort of safety gear. We got a skullcrate and he was able to start back in the state tournament a few weeks ago. This past weekend though he showed some great maturity. He had 2 headers and then he took himself out of the scrimmage. I was really concerned with his history but talked to him and he told me that they were already winning 3-0 so since he decided he didn't want to be taken out of the tournament because he made a poor choice in a scrimmage so he pulled himself.

It is great he took himself out but with a history like that why is he still playing a sport that has even the remotest chance of head injury like that?

As a parent I would be concerned with long term brain damage.

And had they been losing 3-2 would he have still pulled himself? Maybe but who knows for sure.


**Aaaaaaand what little troll told you that rumor?**

 

[Official OWECheer]

@Official OWECheer is this what you are referring to:

Cheercussion | Uniquely Designed For Protection

That's what they looked like!

 

[cheermomof4]

It is great he took himself out but with a history like that why is he still playing a sport that has even the remotest chance of head injury like that?

As a parent I would be concerned with long term brain damage.

And had they been losing 3-2 would he have still pulled himself? Maybe but who knows for sure.


**Aaaaaaand what little troll told you that rumor?**

Knowing him- he would have pulled himself, no matter what. He is not like my oldest who is a complete dunderhead and thinks that sports is the only thing in life and who cares if he hurts himself, we butt heads constantly with that one. My middle son is more conscious of what is going on and does not take chances that other kids might take just in order to play, when he tried to get back in the game after his concussion- as soon as he was told no you have a concussion he stopped trying. I have been quite concerned with him playing soccer, but he and my husband have convinced me that they are taking every precaution to stay safe on the field, and with his coaches and doctors on board he is playing much better and safer Personally if you ask me- I don't know if I will allow him to continue after this year- he has hopefully 4 games left and then he's done and it will be track and field season which I can't wait for

 

[cheermomof4]

This is what my son and the team's keeper uses Skulcrate

 

[Cheer Dad]

Knowing him- he would have pulled himself, no matter what. He is not like my oldest who is a complete dunderhead and thinks that sports is the only thing in life and who cares if he hurts himself, we butt heads constantly with that one. My middle son is more conscious of what is going on and does not take chances that other kids might take just in order to play, when he tried to get back in the game after his concussion- as soon as he was told no you have a concussion he stopped trying. I have been quite concerned with him playing soccer, but he and my husband have convinced me that they are taking every precaution to stay safe on the field, and with his coaches and doctors on board he is playing much better and safer Personally if you ask me- I don't know if I will allow him to continue after this year- he has hopefully 4 games left and then he's done and it will be track and field season which I can't wait for

I think I'd be done with a head contact sport a long time ago. Bless you for letting him continue.


**Aaaaaaand what little troll told you that rumor?**

 

[CharlotteASMom]

Knowing him- he would have pulled himself, no matter what. He is not like my oldest who is a complete dunderhead and thinks that sports is the only thing in life and who cares if he hurts himself, we butt heads constantly with that one. My middle son is more conscious of what is going on and does not take chances that other kids might take just in order to play, when he tried to get back in the game after his concussion- as soon as he was told no you have a concussion he stopped trying. I have been quite concerned with him playing soccer, but he and my husband have convinced me that they are taking every precaution to stay safe on the field, and with his coaches and doctors on board he is playing much better and safer Personally if you ask me- I don't know if I will allow him to continue after this year- he has hopefully 4 games left and then he's done and it will be track and field season which I can't wait for

Won't even go into the details of our history with multiple concussions (she also plays soccer and is a keeper) but her's haven't quite been as severe as your son's soumd. Right now she's got 3 school seasons and 2 clubs ones left in her career. I'm terrified I'll have to pull the plug before she graduates. Good luck!

 

[cheermomof4]

Won't even go into the details of our history with multiple concussions (she also plays soccer and is a keeper) but her's haven't quite been as severe as your son's soumd. Right now she's got 3 school seasons and 2 clubs ones left in her career. I'm terrified I'll have to pull the plug before she graduates. Good luck!

Luckily- my son's haven't been as bad as they sound. He has had a couple of CTs and MRIs and they have shown no damage whatsoever- that is the only reason the plug hasn't been pulled. He currently only has a possibility of 3 club seasons left- he has no desire to play high school soccer (thank goodness) but even then in the off season we will be having a sit down to really determine if this is something to continue..... personally- I say no..... but husband doesn't always listen especially when medical exams back him up (he's medical field) Good luck to your cp/sp too

 

[Gannon Coach]

@Official OWECheer is this what you are referring to:

Cheercussion | Uniquely Designed For Protection

Just thought I would share that we recently purchased two of these for our team and the girls have really liked them! They are lightweight and comfortable and not restrictive at all.

We got them mainly for the purpose of learning elite baskets. Some of the catches on those when you're learning can be hard - mainly back of the flyer's head to back's chest/shoulder or potentially a flyer's head to bases' shoulders if twists/rotations aren't fully completed.

I will say I'm skeptical as to how effective they truly are, and I doubt they'd be effective in more "catastrophic" situations beyond what I described above. It also makes me nervous that coaches may think wearing a helmet is so much protection that normal progressions or safety precautions aren't needed. We still moved very slowly through basket progressions, did lots of drills on the ground with crash mats and in the pool, and made sure all of our top girls were truly comfortable and ready to move on to the next skill. That being said, I think new baskets are always a little nerve-wracking no matter how prepared you are, and having the helmets on gave the girls just that much more confidence and a sense of security. I think removing some of the nerves because they felt protected really helped them mentally to execute the skills safely, even if the physical benefit is debatable.

My only other concern with them from the beginning has been that having the helmet on could potentially minimize the first effects of a concussion, have the athlete not realize they're injured and continue to practice, and then realize later on that they're injured which can obviously cause worse damage. So we've been very mindful of that and cautious about it, discussed it at length with the girls wearing the helmets, and luckily (knock on wood!) we haven't found ourselves in that situation yet. It also helps that we have our athletic trainer sitting in on all of our practices, so she is there to help evaluate and have the girls do an ImPACT test to compare to their baseline if needed.

So all of that being said, I would recommend them for learning singles/doubles and baskets. I don't think they can hurt in those situations, but I would caution people against thinking it's a magic solution for preventing concussions - it s just one more resource you can make available to your athletes. And I'm all about taking advantage of whatever resources we can!

I'm truly surprised by the lack of awareness around concussion - I have coached at a high school and two universities, and all three took concussions very seriously, as did the university I cheered at. Hopefully conversations like this will help improve the resources and safety protocol across the board.

I hope those of you affected/with children affected by concussion have a full recovery!

 

[CheerBank]

Just thought I would share that we recently purchased two of these for our team and the girls have really liked them! They are lightweight and comfortable and not restrictive at all.

We got them mainly for the purpose of learning elite baskets. Some of the catches on those when you're learning can be hard - mainly back of the flyer's head to back's chest/shoulder or potentially a flyer's head to bases' shoulders if twists/rotations aren't fully completed.

I will say I'm skeptical as to how effective they truly are, and I doubt they'd be effective in more "catastrophic" situations beyond what I described above. It also makes me nervous that coaches may think wearing a helmet is so much protection that normal progressions or safety precautions aren't needed. We still moved very slowly through basket progressions, did lots of drills on the ground with crash mats and in the pool, and made sure all of our top girls were truly comfortable and ready to move on to the next skill. That being said, I think new baskets are always a little nerve-wracking no matter how prepared you are, and having the helmets on gave the girls just that much more confidence and a sense of security. I think removing some of the nerves because they felt protected really helped them mentally to execute the skills safely, even if the physical benefit is debatable.

My only other concern with them from the beginning has been that having the helmet on could potentially minimize the first effects of a concussion, have the athlete not realize they're injured and continue to practice, and then realize later on that they're injured which can obviously cause worse damage. So we've been very mindful of that and cautious about it, discussed it at length with the girls wearing the helmets, and luckily (knock on wood!) we haven't found ourselves in that situation yet. It also helps that we have our athletic trainer sitting in on all of our practices, so she is there to help evaluate and have the girls do an ImPACT test to compare to their baseline if needed.

So all of that being said, I would recommend them for learning singles/doubles and baskets. I don't think they can hurt in those situations, but I would caution people against thinking it's a magic solution for preventing concussions - it s just one more resource you can make available to your athletes. And I'm all about taking advantage of whatever resources we can!

I'm truly surprised by the lack of awareness around concussion - I have coached at a high school and two universities, and all three took concussions very seriously, as did the university I cheered at. Hopefully conversations like this will help improve the resources and safety protocol across the board.

I hope those of you affected/with children affected by concussion have a full recovery!

I actually showed these about a year ago to a friend's friend who is a Sports Med MD, and she said they really would not protect from a concussion in the long run because more often the damage is done by the brain moving around in the head (more like a whiplash movement) following the impact which a helmet such as this would not prevent, and that this would possibly lull parents (and in your case coaches) into a false sense of security.

 

[njallday]

I actually showed these about a year ago to a friend's friend who is a Sports Med MD, and she said they really would not protect from a concussion in the long run because more often the damage is done by the brain moving around in the head (more like a whiplash movement) following the impact which a helmet such as this would not prevent, and that this would possibly lull parents (and in your case coaches) into a false sense of security.

I'd agree with that. When you have extreme flexion of the neck forward, the brain shifts back (where vision is controlled) and when you have extreme extension backwards the brain shifts forward (where your personality/impulse control/lots of other important things come from.) Hitting the head can, of course, also cause brain shifting and trauma but there doesn't have to be a blow to the head for it to happen. unless you're putting a neck brace on them to stabilize that too, I don't see this helmet doing much but prolonging treatment if someone is hit because they think they're fine. (and I don't recommend teaching new skills with a neck brace )

 

[Jfear]

I actually showed these about a year ago to a friend's friend who is a Sports Med MD, and she said they really would not protect from a concussion in the long run because more often the damage is done by the brain moving around in the head (more like a whiplash movement) following the impact which a helmet such as this would not prevent, and that this would possibly lull parents (and in your case coaches) into a false sense of security.

Thank you so much for sharing your insight. I wish more people could see the information you provided. I know after all we have gone through, the doctor thinks it's possible my daughter could have had prior minor concussions. She has been a back spot/base and I can't count how many times she has banged her head/body with flyer or someone in the base group. As I stated earlier, our athletes are known for always trying to push through, and play down injuries because they are truly devoted to their team. Giving them a false sense of security could have a tremendous impact!!

 

[Jfear]

Just thought I would share that we recently purchased two of these for our team and the girls have really liked them! They are lightweight and comfortable and not restrictive at all.

We got them mainly for the purpose of learning elite baskets. Some of the catches on those when you're learning can be hard - mainly back of the flyer's head to back's chest/shoulder or potentially a flyer's head to bases' shoulders if twists/rotations aren't fully completed.

I will say I'm skeptical as to how effective they truly are, and I doubt they'd be effective in more "catastrophic" situations beyond what I described above. It also makes me nervous that coaches may think wearing a helmet is so much protection that normal progressions or safety precautions aren't needed. We still moved very slowly through basket progressions, did lots of drills on the ground with crash mats and in the pool, and made sure all of our top girls were truly comfortable and ready to move on to the next skill. That being said, I think new baskets are always a little nerve-wracking no matter how prepared you are, and having the helmets on gave the girls just that much more confidence and a sense of security. I think removing some of the nerves because they felt protected really helped them mentally to execute the skills safely, even if the physical benefit is debatable.

My only other concern with them from the beginning has been that having the helmet on could potentially minimize the first effects of a concussion, have the athlete not realize they're injured and continue to practice, and then realize later on that they're injured which can obviously cause worse damage. So we've been very mindful of that and cautious about it, discussed it at length with the girls wearing the helmets, and luckily (knock on wood!) we haven't found ourselves in that situation yet. It also helps that we have our athletic trainer sitting in on all of our practices, so she is there to help evaluate and have the girls do an ImPACT test to compare to their baseline if needed.

So all of that being said, I would recommend them for learning singles/doubles and baskets. I don't think they can hurt in those situations, but I would caution people against thinking it's a magic solution for preventing concussions - it s just one more resource you can make available to your athletes. And I'm all about taking advantage of whatever resources we can!

I'm truly surprised by the lack of awareness around concussion - I have coached at a high school and two universities, and all three took concussions very seriously, as did the university I cheered at. Hopefully conversations like this will help improve the resources and safety protocol across the board.

I hope those of you affected/with children affected by concussion have a full recovery!

Thank you for sharing, I have seen a rise in awareness and to hear how seriously the injury is taken makes me believe that the awareness is definitely improving.

 

[Gannon Coach]

I actually showed these about a year ago to a friend's friend who is a Sports Med MD, and she said they really would not protect from a concussion in the long run because more often the damage is done by the brain moving around in the head (more like a whiplash movement) following the impact which a helmet such as this would not prevent, and that this would possibly lull parents (and in your case coaches) into a false sense of security.

Oh I agree completely - that's why I said I was skeptical and cautioned people against thinking this is a "solution" for preventing concussion. Apologies if I did not explain my thoughts clearly! That is exactly my concern, which is why we discussed it at length with our athletic training staff and those who would be wearing the helmets. We agreed that we needed to treat any whiplash or hard catches with contact exactly as we normally would without a helmet, even if the athlete "feels fine" immediately following. It has actually led to a lot of really good dialogue between myself, our training staff, and our athletes, which I think is always beneficial.

I think it also helps that I feel very comfortable that the girls would speak up if they had any concerns (for themselves or a teammate) if they thought there was any possibility of head injury. We do concussion education in combination with our ImPACT testing and our student-athletes actually sign a contract at the start of the season that identifies their responsibilities with regard to reporting concussion symptoms. They're pretty good about doing that and taking it seriously.