About 200 Central Valley health care professionals and educators are gathering for the first Central Valley Concussion Symposium. Organizers hope to improve brain injury education and awareness, with an emphasis on youth sports and when it’s safe for children to return to play after injury.

The symposium is 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 14 at the UCSF Fresno Center for Medical Education and Research, 155 N. Fresno St. on the Community Regional Medical Center campus in downtown Fresno. The event is designed for educating physicians, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists and other health professionals.

This event comes just two weeks after it was reported the NFL reached a tentative $765 million settlement over concussion-related brain injuries, agreeing to compensate former players and their families, pay for medical exams and underwrite research.

In April, a multi-disciplinary team of Central Valley practitioners from various hospitals and organizations formed the Central Valley Concussion Consortium to work toward establishing a unified way for Valley health providers to care for young athletes. Fresno State faculty members Scott Sailor, chair of the Department of Kinesiology, and speech-language pathology professor Dr. Frances Pomaville were involved in planning the event.

Dr. Peggy Trueblood

Dr. Peggy Trueblood, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy at Fresno State, will speak at the symposium on medical management of post-concussion syndrome.

“The Central Valley has needed this type of momentum for years and education is a good starting point,” Trueblood said. “The number of students who go on to become professional athletes is so few that decisions on return to play must follow acceptable standards to protect our children from suffering residual injuries that can impact future lifestyle and career choices.”

Trueblood said the current emphasis on when it’s safe for children to return to play after a brain injury is based on cognitive functioning. But research now suggests standardized measures of a person’s balance and ability to focus on objects while moving may enhance clinical evaluations.

“I hope to demonstrate the importance of testing the vestibular system in athletes suffering a concussion,” Trueblood said. “These tests will guide our management and will better determine return to play decisions.”

The Department of Physical Therapy at Fresno State has specialized in balance and vestibular impairments since the 1990s, Trueblood said.

“We have the types of standardized tests that would provide important information for return to play decisions and managing athletes in the recovery phase. Any athlete with residual symptoms falls under post-concussion syndrome and needs a specialized treatment approach.”

The event will also include presentations from Dr. Tanya Warwick, medical director of the stroke center at Community Regional; Dr. Paul Lebby, medical rehabilitation and neuropsychology services at Children’s Hospital Central California; and speech pathologist Dr. Mark Ashley, president and CEO of Centre for Neuro Skills in Bakersfield.

For more information, contact Trueblood at peggyt@csufresno.edu or Eddie Hughes, writer/public affairs specialist, at 559.278.4378 or eddieh@csufresno.edu.

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