Concussion protocols? | Golden Skate

Concussion protocols?

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
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I have a friend who is an adult skater. Apparently she fell backwards and slammed her head into the ice today and her husband is on Facebook asking what to do. She was checked out by ER and “may” have a concussion. Any advice? Don’t skate for x amount of time?
 

tstop4me

Final Flight
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This isn't the sort of advice that should be asked for on social media and dispensed over the InterNet. Didn't they ask the ER doctor for follow-up instructions and precautions?
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
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This should be advised by her doctor or doctors and any other medical professional she would deal with in her healing process.

She would have to be cleared by the above to return to skating.

Again, doctor and only doctor should advise.
 

bostonskaterguy86

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I’m a registered nurse with about a year of experience working in a concussion clinic. I obviously can’t give very specific advice about your friend but from my experience, if there’s a concussion it’s really important to avoid both physical and mental exertion while you’re healing. Concussions can be tricky to diagnose because it’s not something that shows up on a head scan (CT/MRI) but the symptoms are often pretty reliable (headache, nausea, fatigue, etc). I’d strongly recommend careful followup with a doctor and I wouldn’t return to skating just yet, especially if there are any symptoms at all. Concussion recovery is tricky because folks often start to feel better when they’re resting, and then any type of physical or mental exercise will suddenly trigger symptoms. It’s best to be very cautious.
 

moonvine

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I posted "no skating until cleared by doctor." Will she listen? I doubt it.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
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I posted "no skating until cleared by doctor." Will she listen? I doubt it.

Sadly, if she chooses to skate against doctors orders and protocol, she could do permanent damage, and never skate again because of it. She might want to consider if she would want to risk it.
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
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Sadly, if she chooses to skate against doctors orders and protocol, she could do permanent damage, and never skate again because of it. She might want to consider if she would want to risk it.

I agree, and I might be wrong in what she will do, but whatever it is I can't control it. Personally I think I might wear a helmet when I finally find a LTS program. I know there is debate on how much they protect a person, but they would at least keep my head from making direct contact with the ice, which has to HURT and can't possibly be good for you.

Funny story about my friend, she is Canadian and used to follow Canadian figure skating, but she got in a car accident and couldn't skate any more for a long time, and then I guess didn't skate for years. I said something to her about Keegan and she was like who? I was like...your Canadian figure skater who just won the silver medal in the GP. Apparently she quit watching while she was unable to skate. I guess I can gently nudge her and say "remember how it felt when you couldn't skate for years, this could make it permanent."

When I took my first karate class, the same thing happened to me - I pitched over backwards - but there were trained people right in my vicinity and they were able to catch my head and lower me to the ground, or I could have been seriously hurt. Black belts have quick reflexes.:)
 
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