It will be the most important team huddle yet…as far as the science of concussion goes. On October 15, 2015, nearly 30 concussion clinicians and researchers from around the U.S. will attend a two-day meeting at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) with a goal of creating standard guidelines on the best practices, protocols and active therapies for treating concussions. The resulting white paper will be published in a medical journal and shared nationwide. Attendees will be discussing Targeted Evaluation and Active Management (TEAM) Approaches to Treating Concussion.
“There’s a gaping need for a consistency of care for concussions across the country, if not the world. To try to fill that void, we’re thrilled to host a meeting of some of the greatest minds in concussion science and clinical care, ” said Micky Collins, Ph.D., executive and clinical director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, in the August 18, 2015 news release. Dr. Collins, the chairman of the conference to be held at the U.S. Steel Tower in Pittsburgh (UPMC headquarters), added, “It is a privilege to bring together such a group, discuss the issues truly facing concussion health care today, and attempt to share with caregivers everywhere what we find to be the best evidence, science and practices in getting people better.”
“Never before has evidence-based science and clinical experience been brought to bear in advancing concussion treatment like we’re attempting here, ” said Anthony Kontos, Ph.D., research director for the UPMC Concussion Program, associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and co-director of the meeting. “We believe that this meeting will bring together cutting-edge research knowledge and clinical approaches to this injury that will blaze a trail for concussion treatment moving forward.”
Added conference co-director David Okonkwo, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurological surgery and clinical director of the Brain Trauma Research Center at the Pitt School of Medicine: “It is high time to assemble neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuropsychologists, emergency medicine physicians, physiatrists, athletic trainers, physical therapists and all the multidisciplinary health care professionals who are the primary caregivers to people, and not just athletes, troubled by concussions. Let’s effect change and improve outcomes now and for the future.”
Dr. Kontos told OTW, “The primary focus of the meeting is on advancing current approaches to ‘treatment’ and there will be many important topics including the role of prescribed rest and exertion, use of targeted approaches to treatment based on clinical pathways, and conceptualizing the injury as a heterogeneous disorder rather than a one-size-fits-all injury. Overall, we hope to advance the discussion and clinical approach to treating concussion across disciplines. With regard to evaluation, although a comprehensive approach—including a thorough clinical exam and assessments of balance, cognitive, vestibular and oculomotor dysfunction—is a critical component to inform subsequent treatment strategies, we will be focusing primarily on active treatment approaches during the meeting.”
“Just getting this group of experts together in the same room to candidly discuss active approaches to treating concussion is an accomplishment in and of itself. I think the meeting will be successful if we can come to agreement on some basic tenets related to treating this injury that go beyond prescribed rest. I also think that the meeting will be successful if it helps to inform health-care professionals across the country and across disciplines about best therapy practices, and it serves as catalyst to promote additional funding and research on how best to treat concussion.”
“Because of the vital nature of the concussion conversation, it’s critical to support leading institutions in the country, like UPMC, that are promoting science in an effort to advance treatment, evidence and clinical experience, ” said Charlotte Jones Anderson, chair of the NFL Foundation and executive vice president of the Dallas Cowboys, in the news release.
The two-day meeting is fully funded by a grant from the NFL Foundation.
