Lake Washington High School

What is a Concussion?

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works. Concussions can also occur from a fall or a blow to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.

 

Not all concussion injuries may not need to be seen by a physician. (We at Lake Washington High School will never discourage one to see a physician, but just expressing many concussions and their management can be taken care of in-house - which saves you time and money). We will provide the parents/guardians with concussion management information if their student-athlete does indeed sustain a concussion.

 

If at any time, a Student-Athlete sees a Physician for their concussion diagnosis or care, they must have a clearance note from them before the can be cleared back to the school, which in turn to the Athletic Trainer to be cleared to return to play. This is a WIAA rule.
Please see our Policies and Procedures for more in-depth information on this.

 

After a Student-Athlete has been evaluated by the LWHS Athletic Trainer, and they have been suspected to have occurred a concussion, a letter or phone call will be sent to the parents/guardians of that Student-Athlete. If there is a concern on the behalf of the athlete trainer, they may at that time request for the injured student-athlete to be seen by a physician. 

 

Once the Student-Athlete has been told they have a concussion, they will be removed from all physical activity (including P.E classes). The parents of the student-athlete will be notified by a phone call and/or a packet of information sent home with the student-athlete regarding information about their concussion and management options. They will be evaluated by the Athletic Trainer every day (during the school week) until their symptoms have disappeared. During this time, the Athletic Trainer will spend time talking with them, getting a feel how "they" are doing. If symptoms tend to worsen, they will be asked to seek additional care by a physician or follow-up care if already seen by a physician. If symptoms do not get worse, but better, the athlete will continue to see the Athletic Trainer daily. After 24 hours of symptom-free issues, the return to play protocol will be enacted. The return to play protocol is a 5 step process and will not or cannot be altered in reducing the days.

 

(Return to Play Protocol: Click Here for Document) .

(Day by Day stages of RTP).

 

 

At any time if a parent/guardian has ANY questions about the status or general inquiries about the concussion protocol, the current status of their student-athletes and their progression, please call or email me anytime. We want you to feel comfortable that they are being taken care. In the end, we want to return all student-athletes back to their event safely.

 

Please visit the Documents Page for all of our documents on concussions. We also have plenty of concussion information and videos in our News & Article, Video pages.