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Lackawanna Trail begins ImPACT testing

Mauri Rapp Abington Journal Correspondent

Lackawanna Trail Jr. - Sr. High School’s athletic program has implemented a test to offer student athletes protection while providing their parents with some comfort that their child’s safety is in good hands. Since the beginning of the fall sports season, Trail has been using the ImPACT test, an online, computer based testing program which measures an athlete’s cognitive abilities to help trainers with concussion management.

Vanessa Rusin, Lackawanna Trail’s athletic trainer, helped get the program started at the school. “One of the first things I asked was ‘Do you do ImPACT testing?’” said Rusin. “They told me that one of the parents had been asking about it for a while.” Soon, Rusin was put in touch with Dr. Brenda Goodrich, a family physician whose twin sons, Matthew and Zachary, are currently freshman at Lackawanna Trail. Goodrich said she became especially interested in the test after Matthew sustained a concussion. “Without a baseline test, it can be frightening because you can’t be sure when it is safe for them to return to playing sports,” said Goodrich. Rusin then began working with Dr. Michael Raymond, clinical director of the brain injury program at the John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in Wilkes-Barre, which administers the ImPACT testing service to Lackawanna Trail at no cost to the district. “He’s been amazing,” Rusin said. “He’s used to working with patients with severe brain injuries, so he is very skilled at what he is doing.”

The ImPACT test uses a series of neurocognitive exercises to determine an athlete’s baseline, or pre-concussion, levels. Then, if an athlete sustains a head injury, his or her skills can be retested to compare pre-concussive and post-concussive performances. The test works by recording a series of healthy history questions and, in the case of athletes who have sustained concussive injuries, the test also records current symptoms and medications. Then, the athlete is asked a series of neuropsychological questions to evaluate attentional processes, short and long term memory, visual processing speed and other factors which will determine the athlete’s pre-concussion baseline. For example, one particular module of the test flashes 12 target words in succession on the screen over a period of 750 milliseconds. Those words are then presented again in the same order. The test then asks the athlete to recall which words from a list of 24 were in that target list. “It’s not a difficult test, but it gives us a good idea of their cognitive skills,” Rusin said. “They are really just tested on natural abilities.”

According to the ImPACT web site, the incidence of sports related concussive injuries in the United States alone is estimated at approximately 300,000 per year, and an athlete is 19 percent likely to sustain a concussion during a contact sport. Although most athletes who sustain a concussion recover, many still remain vulnerable to post-concussion symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and irritability. Furthermore, those in recovery are also at risk of Second Impact Syndrome, which can occur if an athlete suffers a second blow to the head while not fully recovered from his or her concussion. Rusin said this is a key reason why ImPACT testing is so important. “If they get that second blow, they could die or at the very least become disabled,” she explained. “So it’s important that we know if the athlete is completely recovered.”

Trail is in good company; the ImPACT test is used throughout the sports world, including 18 National Football League teams, Formula One racing, the United States Soccer Federation and more than 250 universities. More than 650 high schools around the country are also using the test. Goodrich said that another advantage to the test is that the athletic department can get a better idea if an athlete has not recovered from a head injury, and that way can ensure that the athlete takes the necessary steps toward recovery, which may include concussion rehabilitation. “As a family physician, I’m not able to clear an athlete to return to sports,” she explained. “ImPACT testing lets us know if they need to seek help from a specialist.” Goodrich added that the best advantage to the test, however, is that reassurance of safety that it provides for student athletes and their parents. “It gives the kids time to get in with a specialist and recover properly so that they can return to playing sports,” she said. “And it gives us peace of mind.”