Our sports concussion clinic at Memorial Hospital is southern Colorado's only credentialed ImPACT team. This team consists of several disciplines including neuropsychology, but also others when needed to include physical and occupational therapy, speech language pathology, biofeedback and acupuncture therapy. Referrals to other disciplines make this a true clinic.

Typically, neuropsychology will interview a student/athlete and use ImPACT to recommend academic and life-style needs. ImPACT's critical information is also used to make recommendations to athletes and parents, coaches, athletic trainers and physicians on return-to-play decisions.

What Is a Concussion?

A concussion is an injury to the brain, usually caused by a blow to the head. Most of the time, it doesn’t involve a loss of consciousness. Signs of a concussion can include headache, dizziness, confusion, vision disturbance, loss of balance, nausea, ringing ears, memory loss and difficulty concentrating.

Athletes in contact sports have a 10 to 20 percent chance of suffering from a concussion each season. In high school football alone, players suffer as many as 250,000 concussions each year. Sports with high risk for concussion include football, hockey, rugby, soccer, lacrosse, basketball, baseball and softball. In reality, the risk of concussion exists in almost any sport.

Returning to play before the brain has healed from a concussion may result in:

• more frequent and recurring concussions leading to more lost playing time
• a more serious condition known as second impact syndrome—a potentially fatal acute swelling of the brain

What You Should Know About Concussions

ImPACT Evaluates the Brain for Return-to-Play Decisions

Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) is a 20-minute computerized test used to evaluate athletes 11 years old and older. It measures attention, brain processing speed, memory and visual-motor skills. Results of a baseline ImPACT can be compared to follow-up scores if an athlete suffers, or is suspected of suffering, from a concussion.

Used by many high school and university athletic programs and several professional teams in the National Football League, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, ImPACT testing can be crucial to ensuring players' health and safety.