Under the NHL's new rules this year, a player who suffers a concussion no longer has to remain inactive for seven days, but must pass a series of tests.
Players are examined in the arena using the SCAT2. Their baseline and subsequent concussion testing is done using ImPACT.
The SCAT2 stands for Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 2. It is approved for athletes aged 10 and older. It has categories for symptom evaluation, physical signs, the Glasgow coma scale, which is a measure of responsiveness, sideline assessment to test orientation, a cognitive assessment, balance and coordination assessment and a repetition of the cognitive assessment. The lower the score from baseline, the increased chance the player has a concussion, however, the test alone is not an indicator of concussion; medical judgement still needs to be used. The imPACT is a more in depth, computerized version of the SCAT2. Again, the lower the score, the greater the likelihood of concussion.
Concussion symptoms sometimes take days to show up, hence the old 7 day rule. But these new computerized tests can rule out a lot of things earlier. The article states, however, that there is still a medical judgement to be made by the doctors. The fact Lupul is skating is a very good sign, but I would think he might be out for a few more days to ensure it is not a concussion as there is no foolproof diagnostic tool.
I'm confused about why this topic is so pessimistic. He's back on the ice and looked fine and it's getting spun into "he was only on a bit, he must have post-concussion symptoms!" or, of course, his entire career's kin jeopardy and we should keep him out all year...
The actual evidence in front of us suggests that he does not have anything more than a mild concussion and might not have one at all, he's back on the ice at practice, and he'd probably be playing against the Rangers if the team wasn't (rightfully) being cautious. I'm going to go with that.
My son's doctor says after his concussion"you're the only one that can tell how you feel,you will know when your better,don't lie to your parents or yourself about anything,don't play again until you are sure you're better".
It's all up to the person injured,no one else can tell if you're better or not.
Concussions are completely overrated in the NHL. For some reason, when a player in this league gets even a mild concussion, people start to assume it's the end of his career. Unless it's a seriously huge concussion, then it isn't THAT serious. Just like any other minor day-to-day injury. 'Concussion' is like the f-word now, people are scared to see it or say it.
Why do people who know little to nothing about medicine and brain injuries insist on making a medical diagnosis?
I have the same question for Mr. Randy Carlyle:
I have a theory on concussions," he said. "I think the reason there’s so much more of them — obviously the impact and the size of the equipment and the size of the player — but there’s another factor: everyone wears helmets, and under your skull when you have a helmet on, there’s a heat issue. Everyone sweats a lot more, the brain swells. The brain is closer to the skull. Think about it. Does it make sense? Common sense?"