- 8000 Hwy 12, Unit A3 Orillia, Ontario, Canada, L3V 7W7
- osmadmin@sportsmedicine.on.ca
- 705.325.2200
CONCUSSION PROGRAM LED BY SPORT CHIROPRACTOR, DR. JASON PORR
Concussions are a concern for many parents and athletes. Fortunately, help is available at Orillia Sports Medicine.
Concussion recognition and education are the emphasis of the concussion program at Sports Medicine. The main risk in concussion management is returning an individual to play too soon. This can lead to prolonged recovery and increased severity of symptoms. Further more, should a second impact occur prior to recovering fully from the first impact, significant increases in symptom severity and time to recovery are likely to occur. By raising awareness, players and parents understand the risks of returning to play too soon.
Dr. Jason Porr, director of the concussion program and Orillia Sports medicine states, “Sports Medicine has built its concussion program around educating trainers, coaches, athletes and parents. The major problem with concussions is that symptoms, meaning how someone feels, do not coincide with recovery. Most people feel better long before their brain has recovered to the point that they are actually safe to return to their sport and unfortunately, there is no scan, MRI, or X-ray that can detect a concussion or the degree of healing.” This is where the benefits of multi-modal functional baseline testing come in. ImPact computerized baseline testing alone has shown not to be reliable for baseline testing, but having an objective functional test is heavily supported by recent studies. In fact, The Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation Paediatric concussion guidelines recommend that baseline testing be considered for children engaged in high-risk sports. (http://onf.org/documents/guidelines-for-concussion...)
There are various options for treatment that are highly individualized, depending on the athlete’s specific symptoms and functional deficits. Many patients suffer from a combination of visual and vestibular insufficiencies, as well as the majority suffer injury to the neck which is often implicated in the headaches that most concussion patients suffer. At Sports Medicine, our team of clinicians manage the Return to Play process, step by step. The 10 Step process includes education and communication with your trainer, teacher and physician. Two important check points in the process include a treadmill test before engaging in any practice, and an exertion test prior to participation in a contact sport. Following the exertion test athletes who previously had a baseline test are retested to ensure they have recovered to their pre-injury state. These are essential steps for athletes to safely return to play.
Sports organizations are taking a proactive approach to concussions. Recently, the North Central Predators Hockey Association (https://northcentralpredators.com) has implemented a concussion management strategy and provided concussion education for their bench staff. Roger Crandell, Predator President states, “Having the professionals at Sports Medicine manage the safe return to play of our players, with a standardized medically approved approach improves the safety of our players. Our relationship with Sports Medicine this year has been very well received by all our players and parents.”
Orillia Sports Medicine is located in the West Ridge Mall and can be contacted at 705-325-2200.
Dr. Jason Porr is a Sport Chiropractor, and Director of the Concussion Program at Sports Medicine. (https://completeconcussions.com). To see Dr. Porr's credentials, visit our website "ABOUT/Our team" tab: https://orillia.sportsmedicine.on.ca/people.php