Concussions for Kids update

The bad news on the sports scene is that soccer seems to tolerate unrepentant multidimensional a-holes like Suarez of Uruguay.  The good news is that people are taking concussions far more seriously than a few years ago.*  The major kids hospital in Ottawa, CHEO, just came out with standards for parents and coaches and doctors to treat kids with concussions. 

It contains some common sense and then some.  So, the obvious "err on the side of caution" if you think a kid might have a concussion should have been something that does not need saying, but it does.  More striking are the recommendations for dealing with kids who have been concussed--especially much less screen time.  The idea is that if the brain takes a hit, it needs not only to recover without any subsequent physical shocks, it also needs to really rest--so cut down on video games, computer time and all the rest.  Rest means rest apparently. 

The most unsurprising part of the study--in Canada, the plurality (but not majority) of concussion patients received their injuries via hockey.  I am sure that in the US it is football and then probably soccer (especially for girls).  I think we have turned the corner on taking this stuff seriously, but we definitely have much room to improve.  I fully expect kids football to change seriously or die out in the near future.  Hockey?  That ain't going nowhere, but better treatment, perhaps new rules and better equipment might be in order.  

*  I blogged a lot about concussions when I first started Spewing, but have not as much lately.