Nipomo High School senior tight end and linebacker Derek Pirotte suffered a concussion on Aug. 15. He suffered another on Sept. 3.

He hasn?t played since. If he suffers another concussion this season, BHe can?t play the rest of the year,C said first-year Nipomo High School Athletic Trainer Saboora Chaudhry.

BThe rule is, three concussions and (an athlete) is out,C for the season, she said.

Provided he doesn?t suffer that third concussion, a test Pirotte took before the season even started will help determine when 8 or if 8 he will play again this season.

That test is a baseline concussion test, and football players at all San Luis Obispo County high schools took it before the 2009 football season started. San Luis Obispo-based Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center and San Luis Sports Therapy collaborated to bring the ImPACT Concussion Testing Program to San Luis Obispo County high Schools beginning this year.

Participating schools include Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, Mission Prep, Paso Robles, Templeton, San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay.

If a player suffers a concussion, he re-takes the test and his school?s athletic trainer analyzes the results to see if the player?s cognitive skills match what the first test revealed they were.

Pirotte was to be evaluated by his personal physician Friday. Nipomo had a bye week that week. Chaudhry said Pirotte re-took the baseline concussion test recently, and that results of the test were available to Pirotte?s parents and his physician.

Jim Glinn and Stacy Ritter of San Luis Sports Therapy are two of the point people involved in the baseline concussion testing program. Glinn is San Luis Sports Therapy?s president. San Luis Sports Therapy provides the athletic training program for seven county schools, and Ritter directs that program.

BDr. (Otto) Schueckler started the program at Mission Prep,C Glinn said in a recent phone interview.

BIt?s a great way to educate people about when to bring an athlete back.C Schueckler is a sports medicine specialist with Central Coast Orthopedics and is the program?s local medical consultant.

Chaudhry said that whether or not any of her school?s players can get back into action after an injury rests with the athlete?s personal physician?s clearance.

BThe baseline test is an excellent tool to provide a player?s personal doctor with,C said Chaudhry. BThe test (after a concussion) is an excellent way to judge a player?s mental reflexes, memory, alertness. It?s very good information to send to a physician.

BWhen the physical pain goes away after a concussion, the mental reflexes often still remain sub-par. You don?t want a player with sub-par mental alertness in a football game.C

In Pirotte?s case, BCognitive skills take longer to get back to normal after a second concussion, so a player is out longer,C said Chaudhry.

Pirotte said the baseline concussion test was a very involved one, involving, among other things, questions concerning colors, shapes, recognition of letters and subtle wording on some questions.

For example, BYou?d look at a triangle and have to decide what shape it was in,C from various angles, said Pirotte.

And, BThere?d be colored boxes. If you?d see a box and it was blue, and the question asked if it was blue, you?d need to hit a button (to respond >yes.?) If you?d see a blue box and the question asked if it was red, you weren?t supposed to respond.C

BThe purpose of the testing program is two-fold,C said Glinn. BWhen kids were getting hammered on the football field, kids were asking physicians about their baseline status without really knowing what to do. Parents and players were asking about players coming back without an idea of what a baseline program was.

BThe second reason for the testing is 8 when can you go back? You would see all these boxers coming back too early (from head injuries) and having long-term consequences from it.C

Glinn said, B(The test) gives physicians an objective way of figuring when athletes can come back and play again. Coaches want them back as soon as possible. Parents want to keep them safe. They?re fit to go back when their cognitive skills are the same as when they were (first) tested.C

BA lot of people were not aware of the exact purpose of the program at first,C said Ritter.

BNow that they see how the baseline process is implemented, they understand that head injuries result not just in physical symptoms but cognitive symptoms as well.B

Ritter added, BThe problem with the traditional concussion testing to this point is that it relies heavily on what an athlete can report to a physician.

BWe have gotten a very positive response, especially from the parents as they understand they now have an extra layer of head injury management. Coaches feel better about putting athletes into play knowing they?re not putting them into play too soon.C

Glinn said, BAthletic trainers love it. It makes their life less unpredictable as to when to bring people back.C

If other athletic trainers involved in the program concur with Chaudhry?s opinion of it, the program has a ringing endorsement.

September 27, 2009