By Kate Ruder, KFF Health News

During cheerleading practice in April, Jana Duey's sixth-grade daughter Karter suffered a concussion when she fell several feet headfirst onto a gym floor mat. Days later, Karter still had headaches, dizziness and sensitivity to light and sound.

Karter rested at home in Centennial, Colorado, for per week and a half, then returned to high school when her concussion symptoms were tolerable – initially for under half days and with accommodations that allowed her to do schoolwork on paper as an alternative of on a screen taking more time to get to and from class. Karter went to the nurse when she had a headache, Duey said. She began physical therapy to rehabilitate her neck and regain her balance after the accident left her unsteady on her feet.

After a concussion, the largest concern for them and their parents or caregivers is when children can play sports again, he said Julie WilsonKarter's physician and co-director of the concussion program at Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora. Returning to high school as quickly as possible, with appropriate support, and fascinating in light exercise that doesn’t pose a risk of head injury are necessary first steps in concussion recovery and are consistent with the most recent research.

“It's really important to get children and young people back to their normal daily activities as quickly as possible and as soon as they can tolerate them,” Wilson said.

In August, the Colorado Department of Education updated guidelines We dispel common myths about concussions, akin to that a lack of consciousness is crucial to diagnose a concussion. The revised guidelines reflect evidence-based best practices on how return to high school and physical activity can improve recovery. Medical experts say educating families and schools in regards to the latest guidelines is critical, especially given the rise in concussions in sports like football and soccer in the autumn.

More than 2 million children Nationwide, people have been diagnosed with a concussion or brain injury in some unspecified time in the future, in accordance with the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. A flood of studies within the last decade have shown that teens get better more quickly from concussions and reduce the danger of persistent symptoms by engaging in light exercise, akin to on an exercise bike or taking a brisk walk, two days after a concussion. This time-frame may be the optimal time for this back to the classroomso long as the youngsters can tolerate the remaining symptoms of a concussion.

“Although the brain is not a muscle, it behaves like one and exhibits a use-it-or-lose-it phenomenon,” he said Christina MeisterPediatrician and sports medicine and brain injury specialist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Instead of waiting at home for full recovery, Meister said students should return to high school with additional support from teachers and breaks of their schedule to alleviate symptoms akin to headaches or fatigue, with the goal of steadily doing more.

Every state has return-to-sport laws for student-athletes, which include policies akin to exclusion from sports, medical clearance to return, and concussion education. While some states like Virginia and Illinois have return-to-learn policies, Colorado will not be one among them. It and 15 other states have community-based concussion management protocols in place.

Colorado updated this this summer. REAP – which stands for Remove/Reduce; Educate; Customize/Customize; and Pace – is a protocol for families, healthcare providers and schools to assist students get better in the primary 4 weeks after a concussion. For example, school staff can use an email-based system to alert teachers that a student has suffered a concussion after which provide them with weekly updates with details on the right way to manage symptoms, akin to: B. Difficulty concentrating.

“We have new protocols in place to support these children,” said Toni Grishman, senior brain injury consultant for the Colorado Department of Education. “They may still have concussion symptoms, but we can support them.”

Symptoms of a concussion resolve throughout the first month for many patients. However, patients with persistent symptoms, called persistent postconcussive symptoms, may profit from a multidisciplinary care team that will include physicians, physical therapists, psychologists and extra educational support, Wilson said.

David HowellDirector of the Colorado Concussion Research Laboratory on the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, studies how children and their families address the physical, cognitive, social and emotional effects of concussions. In some studies, teens wear sensors to measure exercise intensity and volume, in addition to common concussion symptoms akin to sleep and balance problems. In other cases, children and their parents answer questions on their perceptions and expectations of the recovery process.

“What comes with an injury is often made worse by the injury,” Howell said, referring to anxiety, depression or just a difficult social time. Recovery could be influenced by peer and family relationships.

Duey said the toughest a part of Karter's recovery was that she was unable to take part in cheer for nine weeks, including her team's final competition in Florida. Karter, now 12, watched practice within the spring and supported her teammates, however the absence tore her apart inside, Duey said.

“There were a lot of tears,” Duey said.

While recognizing a concussion and acting quickly will help anyone, in practice, Grishman estimates that greater than half of Colorado students with an undiagnosed concussion can fall through the cracks.

According to Grishman, there are numerous reasons for missed diagnoses, including lack of education, barriers to medical care, parents' reluctance to inform schools a few concussion because they fear their child may be excluded from activities, or the dearth of seriousness of the condition Symptoms in a student with a history of behavioral problems.

Getting schools to generally comply with concussion policies is a challenge, Grishman said, adding that some districts still don't. She said it was difficult to find out the number of faculties that followed Colorado Department of Education guidelines last 12 months, but hopes improved data collection this 12 months will provide more accurate information. Last school 12 months, Grishman and her colleagues trained 280 school staff members in concussion management in 50 school districts in Colorado.

Whenever possible, athletic trainers needs to be on the sidelines to support student-athletes, Master said, and athletes should concentrate on concussion symptoms in themselves and their teammates and seek immediate treatment.

But concussions are usually not just limited to the varsity playing field or sports like football or soccer. Adventure sports akin to parkour, slacklining, motocross, rodeo, skiing and snowboarding also pose a risk of concussion, Wilson and Grishman said. “Cheerleading is actually something that has a lot of problems,” Howell added.

Duey said Karter has occasional headaches, but with the assistance of physical therapy, she has regained her balance and now not has any symptoms of her concussion. She's flying along with her cheerleading squad again and preparing for the competition.

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©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nearly three years ago, with a conference title on the road, Baylor's defense was a wall of silence.

In the ultimate minute of the 2021 Big 12 Championship Game, Oklahoma State had 4 attempts to realize 2 yards and rating a touchdown to take the lead. The Bears allowed just 1 3/4 and Baylor won the Big 12 crown in coach Dave Aranda's second season.

On Saturday night in Colorado, Baylor needed one other game-winning stop in the ultimate minute with less on the road (the teams' opening game within the Big 12) and so much more room to play: 45 yards to defend and just two seconds for the Buffaloes to cover. But in a scene paying homage to that of Kordell Stewart and Michael Westbrook 30 years ago, Shedeur Sanders and LaJohntay Wester pulled off a miracle that sent the sport into additional time, where the Buffaloes eventually won 38-31.

These two finals, 33 months apart, highlight how far Baylor has fallen from its peak under Aranda, who now has a 25-27 record with this system.

“I have never seen the game at the end of regular time,” Aranda told reporters.

This could be a spontaneous postgame exaggeration, however the Bears executed their defensive plan so poorly that it was reasonable to assume Aranda had never seen a game-winning Hail Mary.

Aranda was once the highest-paid assistant in college football, revered for his defensive genius. In his fifth yr as head coach, he began the season on a rough patch, and the Bears' crushing loss to Colorado looks like a possible turning point. Can he bounce back?

Since the 2021 season, when Baylor went 12-2 with the Big 12 title and a Sugar Bowl win, this system is 11-18. The offensive and defensive teams have modified, which has been a difficulty during Aranda's tenure.

After this system appeared to hit all-time low last yr with a 3-9 record, Aranda vowed to make more changes. He would focus more on the transfer portal, place more emphasis on name, image and likeness compensation and establish himself as a playmaker on defense for the primary time since becoming LSU's defensive coordinator in 2019.

The first three weeks of the season showed lots of promise. The Bears looked more talented and played with a grit they looked as if it would lack last yr, and Aranda's switch to a more lively defense worked well.

Even against Colorado, there have been encouraging signs. Sanders had eight sacks and plenty of more pressures, a few of which got here from Steve Linton, who transferred from Texas Tech. Quarterback Sawyer Robertson and receivers Monaray Baldwin and Hal Presley had great offensive plays. The entire team exuded a competence that was often absent a yr ago.

But the way by which Baylor lost on Saturday was embarrassing. The Bears gave up a 24-10 lead and wasted several opportunities to tie the sport in regulation time.

After back-to-back sacks by Sanders led to a punt on fourth-and-31, Baylor — which led 31-24 with 3:58 left — took control on the Colorado 26-yard line with a likelihood to take a two-point lead. The Bears ran the ball thrice and settled for a 46-yard field goal attempt by Isaiah Hankins that went wide right with 2:16 left.

On Colorado's final drive of the fourth quarter, Baylor had the Buffaloes in trouble once they faced a second-and-24 at their very own 31-yard line with 55 seconds left. But the Bears gave up all of those yards on the subsequent three plays and kept the Buffs alive.

And before Wester's catch to tie the rating, Colorado had flirted with a game-winning rating on the previous play when receiver Will Sheppard dropped a pass from Sanders on the 2-yard line after getting behind Baylor cornerback Caden Jenkins.

On Baylor's final defensive play of regulation, dubbed the “Victory Cigar” by Aranda, the Bears pressured Sanders, forcing him out of the pocket to the left before throwing the ball to Wester. Aranda detailed a missed project on the pressure that he said was “inexcusable” considering Baylor had taken a timeout to establish the defense before the play.

“I take full responsibility for that,” he said. “I have to be able to train better.”

Baylor fans in all places nodded in agreement. It is likely to be the Bears' most painful loss since September 11, 1999. That night, Baylor led UNLV 24-21 and had the ball with 20 seconds left and no timeouts by the Rebels. Instead of taking a knee, the Bears ran with the ball and dropped it; UNLV returned it for a 100-yard touchdown and won 27-24.

Instead of returning home with a positive 3-1 rating, Baylor will now need to recuperate from the emotional gut punch with less room for error on this extremely competitive league.

If Saturday's loss snaps a losing streak, it’ll be a 3rd straight yr of frustration for Baylor fans. The upcoming schedule is unforgiving. This weekend, Baylor hosts No. 22 BYU, which just dominated Kansas State, then back-to-back road games at No. 18 Iowa State and Texas Tech before heading back home to face No. 20 Oklahoma State to shut out October.

If the Bears don't bounce back quickly, Aranda's spot may very well be on fire come November. Although Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades hasn't publicly specified a particular variety of wins for Aranda to survive the season, bowl appearances are a basic expectation. That was made that rather more difficult by Saturday's botched game at Folsom Field.

The season is way from over. Baylor (2-2) is just a 3rd of the best way through its schedule, and if the Bears can quickly rebound and pull out a win over the Cougars, it might go a great distance toward putting Saturday's nightmarish ending behind them. This yr's Big 12 will definitely be tough to navigate, with three of the highest 4 teams within the league's preseason poll losing their conference openers.

But there’s an urgency to flip the script. The 2021 Big 12 championship season is the outlier of the Aranda era. Baylor has had losing records in the opposite three years and is now 13-25 overall in yearly except 2021. The last time Baylor had consecutive winning seasons were the ultimate two years of the Matt Rhule era (2018 and 2019).

Baylor's leadership wants Aranda to succeed. He is well-liked throughout the constructing because he seems thoughtful and real. He isn’t the fire-breathing caricature that is commonly portrayed as a stereotype of a football coach. As a school coach, being nice should purchase you overtime, and that definitely helped Aranda this yr despite declining results.

Whether he gets one other will rely upon how Baylor responds to its latest debacle. The decision won't be made based on Saturday's result. But the way by which the Bears lost will definitely stand out if there’s any uncertainty in regards to the future when Rhoades weighs the choice at the top of the season.

After Saturday's loss, Aranda said the Bears would attempt to get their heart back on top of things and called the loss a “big wake-up call.”

“I know we will respond,” he said. “I know this team. And I know we will come out stronger because of it.”

If they wish to win one other trophy of any kind under Aranda, they higher do it.

Soft-hitting Mickey Moniak landed the decisive blow on Tuesday night because the Athletics squandered their likelihood for a giant inning early and late with a 7-5 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

Moniak, the Angels' center fielder because Mike Trout was injured, hit a grand slam within the fourth inning against the A's' starter and loser, Mitch Spence (4-4). Tyler Anderson kept getting the A's free baserunners, but didn't pay for his mistakes often enough. He made it through five innings and improved his record to 7-7.

The Athletics, 29-53, hope to avoid a series sweep against the Angeles on Wednesday afternoon before leaving for Arizona and have won 14 of their last 17 games. The Angels are 32-46.

The grand slam was Moniak's fourth home run of the season. The A's got a house run from designated hitter Brent Rooker, his 14th. Taylor Ward hit a solo shot against Sean Newcomb within the seventh inning, his 14th of the season and his second home run in two nights.

The A's scored twice within the eighth inning against Jose Marte to get inside 7-5, with Armando Alvarez scoring a run on a bloop single that got here immediately after a bloop single by Gelof that brought home Shea Langeliers, who got here in on an error by Luis Rengifo at third base.

Pinch hitter Lawrence Butler hit the ball hard to center, but Moniak chased after him and scored on a sacrifice fly, and the rally ended there when Ben Joyce got JJ Bleday to hit a ground ball and make a double play.

Carlos Estevez picked up his 14th save for the Angels, allowing only a two-out single to Tyler Soderstrom and striking out two players.

The Angels chased Spence within the sixth inning after he allowed a walk to Moniak, who reached second base on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Jo Addel, putting the A's behind 6-3.

“There were a lot of errors in the inning where he allowed five,” A's manager Mark Kotsay told reporters. “The lefties seemed to have a good plan against him tonight. Other than that inning, I thought he did a good job.”

Anderson was replaced by Hunter Strickland after five innings after throwing 109 pitches, including 62 strikes, with five walks and two strikeouts.

“We have released him from responsibility,” said Kotsay. “All the best to him and the year he has.”

Rooker's home run against Anderson was a no brainer, driving the bat 107.2 mph down the left field line and traveling 418 feet, putting the A's inside 5-3. It was his first home run in 11 games since June 9 against Toronto.

Rook absolutely rocked it pic.twitter.com/cFKxc02pYP

— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) 26 June 2024

Moniak's first profession grand slam was the game-winning five-run hit within the fourth inning after Spence had effortlessly played through the primary three innings.

Ward hit a double to start out the inning and was hit by a single to 3rd base by Willie Calhoun. O'Hoppe hit a single to center to attain the Angels' first run, and Spence hit Zach Neto on a bunt try to load the bases.

That brought in Moniak, who got here in with a .193 batting average but sank a 1-1 pitch over the right-side fence for a 5-2 lead.

has taken the lead in a GREAT way #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/9nmhuk55iZ

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) 26 June 2024

The Athletics had Anderson in trouble within the third inning, scoring on an RBI bloop single by JJ Bleday and a bases-loaded walk by Tyler Nevin, however the rating was 2-0 and might have been higher.

Alvarez, the 29-year-old rookie who was called as much as the team on Saturday, opened the inning with a double to right followed by a walk to Max Schuemann. Daz Cameron struck out before Bleday hit a dunker to center to usher in Alvarez. Bleday was thrown out trying to succeed in second base while Schuemann went to 3rd base.

After seven years and 800 minor league games, Alvarez finished 3-for-4 together with his first hit and RBI.

“It was amazing,” Alvarez said. “I was on cloud nine. I was floating on clouds as I walked the bases.”

Alvarez said he gave the ball to his father, who was present, from his first hit.

Anderson then walked Miguel Andujar and Rooker to load the bases and hit Nevin to force in a run. Hopes for a greater inning ended when Langeliers hit a grounder to shortstop on the primary pitch for the third out.

At the tip of the inning, Anderson had thrown 69 pitches with 4 walks and one hit batter and was lucky to have allowed only two runs.

Spence, however, needed only 35 pitches with no walks and two strikeouts, while keeping the Angels to zero in the identical period.

NOTEWORTHY

— The A's missed a likelihood to attain one other run within the fourth inning when Cameron's hit to right center was ruled a success into the web and a ground rule double. Alvarez, who had hit a single with one out, easily scored on that play and was sent back to 3rd base. Anderson then caught Bleday on a fly to right.