The return to the game started a huge amount of criticism for the football staff to endure, from fans, fellow students, and the announcers. Head coach Brady Hoke issued a statement after the game saying that he would never put an athlete back in the game after enduring a head trauma and that he had been cleared by the medical staff, with no concussion. The athletic director then issued another statement on Tuesday, September 30 that Shane Morris had, in fact, suffered a "probable, mild concussion" and that his return to the field was due to a serious lack of communication. This event has sparked a couple changes that Michigan will make to prevent something like this from happening again. The first is to have a medical professional in the press box or video booth with the ability to communicate with the medical personnel on the sidelines. The second change is that the school will examine and address the sideline communication processes.
With all of the research regarding concussions and football this article and video caught my attention. There is a clear lack of communication on the field that needs to be addressed, especially when dealing with the health and safety of the athletes. No matter what level an athletic trainer is working at, whether it be high school, collegiate, or professional the athletic trainer needs to make sure there are eyes on the field at all times. Working with a Division I football team the game and injuries can sometimes get a little chaotic and stressful for the athletic trainer. There is no possible way that one person can be watching what is going on, on and off the field at all times. This is where having assistant athletic trainers, interns, physicians, and other medical staff can really come in handy. One of those many people will have their eyes on the field and should immediately communicate with the necessary personnel that an athlete needs to be evaluated. Not only should these people be looking out for any possible hits, but the coaches should be aware of them as well and should pull the player aside to be evaluated. Luckily, in this situation Morris was pulled out for the remainder of the game and no additional damage was done. In other situations athletes may not be as fortunate, so this situation should be used as a learning experience for other programs as well.
Article Link: USA Today Article on Michigan Football
(Above is a picture of the quarterback Shane Morris, #7, stumbling into the arms of one of his offensive linemen)
Thank you for sharing this article, Emily. That happened at the game. I understand that the athletic trainer could miss the blow to Shane's chin. It is not his fault. Nobody can see everything happening on the ground. This is why we need good communication processes.
ReplyDeleteThey learned from this experience and will improve ways to protect student-athletes. I hope this kind of accident would not happen again in any sports.
I am sure further 'fall out' will continue with this. One thing, I believe is said to happen is to have a set of medical 'eyes' in the press box who is supposed to be watching the field for any prospective concussed patients and then using a radio to let the ATs on the field be aware of the player/number as to who they should assess.
ReplyDeleteEmily, this article is extremely interesting and frustrating for practicing athletic trainers. As athletic trainers, whether we work in the high school, collegiate, or professional settings, there is still only one of us and over 100 of them (football players and other athletes). As athletic trainers, we do our best to keep an attentive watch over all of our athletes but we cannot be at two places at once, which may have been the issue here. I feel that it was not completely the athletic trainers fault that he did not catch the athlete with a concussion. I believe that there should be another set of eyes besides the on-field athletic trainer. Another certified athletic trainer or a well trained medical professional should be viewing plays for injuries and concussions. Concussions today have been the highlight in the world of football due to the aftermath. It is important that we communicate with all medical professionals in charge at a sporting event and highlight the policy and procedures when handling a concussion. Athletic trainers must also be extremely thorough when it comes to a concussion side-line evaluation in order to protect the lives of our athletes.
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