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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / 2016
An ‘Iolani School football player leaves the playing field after an intermediate team practice in 2016.
Mehmet Oz, M.D., is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D., is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Email questions to youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.
QUESTION: My son, who’s in the eighth grade, had a slight concussion playing football last week.
He seems to be fine now, but his doctor and coach say he can’t play again for three to four weeks, even though they let him go back to school on the Tuesday after his Saturday injury.
Does that make any sense?
— Joel B., Sacramento
ANSWER: They are doing it right by following the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols for kids and concussions. Your son needs to avoid all sports activities, because kids his age take a lot longer to get back to 100 percent after a concussion than grown-ups do.
New England Patriots tight end Ron Gronkowski cleared the NFL’s five-step protocol in less than two weeks after suffering a concussion. That let him play in the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. But for kids, it’s different. In fact, according to the American Osteopathic Association, children experience concussion symptoms three to four times longer than older teens and adults.
Depending on the degree of your son’s head injury he may have as many as 19 steps to clear before his doctor clears him to get back to any sports. He should be excused from gym classes for a few weeks, and make sure he’s not playing pick-up basketball games after school. Also, look out for any mood changes and physical illness; they could be signs that he’s struggling to recover.
As for why he is allowed to go back to school — well, that’s based on a new principle called “active recovery,” which promotes faster clearing of symptoms such as dizziness and visual focusing, balancing and spatial-orientation problems. It helps the brain re-establish or establish new neurologic pathways to regain full function, as long as his symptoms don’t return or worsen. This is not unlike the NFL guidelines, it’s just four times longer.
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