A Blow to the Head

Sophie Furigay ’18, Sports Section Editor

Concussions are one of the leading injuries at Peddie, sometimes causing student athletes to miss classes and practice. The Peddie Athletic Training Department has a set protocol that must be followed when an athlete starts showing symptoms of a concussion.

All Peddie students must take an impact baseline test which is an exam that tests neurocognitive functions of the brain. This test is taken on the computer at the beginning of the year. When students report concussion symptoms, they are evaluated by a physician. Some of the common symptoms are headaches, nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, confusion, lack of coordination, memory loss, dizziness, noise sensitivity, sleepiness, and excessive fatigue. Once diagnosed with a concussion, there is a certain protocol that students must adhere to. Students have to check in daily with the health center, and once they are cleared to return to sports, there is a separate plan that they must follow.

However, concussions are hard to diagnose and treat, because they are unpredictable. One individual could have a symptom that lasts for weeks, while another individual could have multiple symptoms and be cleared in a few days.

“Predicting the outcome of the concussion is really hard to do because [the concussions] are so different from one another. No one is like any other,” Jose Roca, the head athletic trainer at Peddie, explained.

Several athletes from a myriad of sports said that they have been diagnosed. Field hockey players Maria Elisabeth de Buck ’20 and Ranya Russo ’20 both said they suffered from concussions. Russo ’20 had to miss three days of school and de Buck has been off the field for two and a half weeks. Swimmer Srikar Surapaneni ’18 hit his head on the wall doing sit-ups in the weight room and experienced headaches and dizziness, but said he was back in the water in three days. Lily Bradshaw ’20, another concussion victim, said she was glad her brain had the time to rest.  

However, some students believe that the concussion protocol is too restrictive.

“[The protocol] can be a bit overprotective. It definitely takes a lot to be cleared after being diagnosed with a concussion. Even if you have minor symptoms, you are required to go to a physician, but on the other hand, it is good because it helps keep students safe,” Surapeneni ’18 said.

“There was so much I could be doing, but I was being held back,” Bradshaw ’20 said.

Although some athletes believe that they are restricted due to the injury, it took much longer for concussions to be diagnosed and cleared in the past. Athletes were kept out of physical activity for weeks longer than the duration that the protocol currently instates.