Treating concussions.

The National Athletic Trainer's Association released helpful tips on treating athletes with concussions during its annual meeting in June. Among the recommendations:

* If an athlete shows concussion-like signs and reports symptoms after a contact to the head, the athlete has, at the very least, sustained a mild concussion and should be treated. Do not use the term "ding" to describe even the mildest form of concussion;

* In addition to a thorough clinical evaluation, formal cognitive and postural-stability testing is recommended to assist in objectively determining injury severity and readiness to return to play (RTP);

* Once symptom free, the athlete should be reassessed to establish that cognition and postural stability have returned to normal for that player;

* An athlete with a concussion should be referred to a physical on the day of injury if he or she lost consciousness or experienced amnesia lasting longer than 15 minutes;

* Athletes who are symptomatic at rest and after exertion for at least 20 minutes should be disqualified from returning to participation on the day of the injury;

* Athletes who experience loss of consciousness or amnesia should be disqualified from participating on the day of the injury;

* Because damage to the maturing brain of a young athlete can be catastrophic, younger athletes (under age 18) should be managed more conservatively, using stricter RTP guidelines than those used to manage concussion in the more mature athlete;

* Any athlete with a concussion should be instructed to rest, but complete bed rest is not recommended; and

* Because of an increased risk for future concussions, as well as for slowed recovery, athletes with a history of three concussions should be advised that terminating participation in contact sports might be in their best interest.