The providers at Pediatric Associates of Austin recommend specialized baseline testing prior to contact sports participation for children and young athletes in the Austin, TX area. In the event of an injury, call our office for an appointment. We’ll help determine if emergency care is needed, when to schedule a visit, and how to care for your child in the meantime.
What Parents say:
“It was our first visit as new patient and our doctor listened to every detail I mentioned about my child. She also addressed to my concerns with care and patience.”
– Daniel A.
Other Symptoms & Conditions We Treat
Concussion evaluations may begin at Pediatric Associates of Austin or directly at our SportsSafe Concussion Clinic. When you call, we’ll guide you to the most appropriate location and next steps.
To schedule, call SportsSafe at (512) 814-1616 and leave a voicemail. We’ll return your call to arrange your appointment. To learn more while you wait, visit the SportsSafe Website.
A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or body that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull injuring the cells of the brain, called neurons. Any injury to the brain should be taken very seriously, even if the injury doesn’t result in loss of consciousness.
If your child/teen sustains a hard hit to the head (or to the body which causes the head to move back and forth suddenly) and experiences ANY symptoms in addition to soreness at the site of the hit (even minor and short lived symptoms), this could be a concussion. Most children or teens with mild traumatic brain injuries (concussion) do not have loss of consciousness. If your child has any symptoms after a hard hit, stop activity and have them evaluated—even a “ding” or “bell ringer” can be a concussion.
Symptoms can be physical, cognitive, emotional, affect sleep, or all of the above. The most commonly reported symptoms after a hard hit are feeling monetarily “dazed or stunned,” having a brief vision change such as “seeing spots” or “vision getting blurry,” feeling off balance or dizzy, and/or having a headache (in addition to head being sore at the site). Additionally, lots of other symptoms are possible
The providers at SportsSafe gather a detailed medical history including several symptom checklists, perform complete neurological exams, and perform appropriate assessment tests. These tests assess the many areas a concussion can impact, such as cognition, balance, coordination, visual changes and more. The initial assessment appointment usually lasts for 45 minutes and results in a customized treatment plan to help the patient recover fully from the injury complete with information and instructions for symptom management. Patients are provided with letters for coaches and teachers to detail any academic or athletic accommodations as well as promote the importance of rest for optimal recovery.
Following an initial evaluation and diagnosis, we will guide you as to the next steps for clearance. To be cleared for full return to play, we will assure that neurologic exam is normal, cognitive and balance testing are within expected ranges, symptoms are gone with school and non-contact exercise, and a return to play exercise progression has been completed. In Texas, all athletes diagnosed with a concussion need be cleared by a medical provider to return to contact sports.
Each patient’s recovery is unique to his or her particular situation, mechanism of injury and past medical history. On average concussion recovery takes 3-4 weeks. Various factors may lengthen recovery including younger age, previous concussions, and underlying neurologic conditions. An athlete needs to be fully recovered before returning to any contact sport. At your appointment your provider will explain in great detail the recovery process and when your athlete is cleared to return to sports.
