AS Monaco commits to the fight against concussions
Through the involvement of its Medical Director and under the impetus of the Performance department, AS Monaco is participating, with the Princess Grace Hospital Center, in a pilot study whose goal is to better understand and treat concussions and create a specialized care network accessible to as many people as possible.
A few days ago, Sylvain Blanchard took part in a conference within of the Princess Grace Hospital Center in order to discuss the topic of head trauma with specialists from the medical establishment and in the presence of a distinguished guest, Professor Pierre Frémont, internationally renowned specialist in the issue of concussions in a sporting context, Professor at the from the University of Laval (Quebec).
In the company of Yann-Erick Claessens, Professor and Head of the Emergency Department of the CHPG, Sylvain Blanchard was able to present the protocol that he has in particular put in place within the Academy and the aim of which is to better detect, apprehend and treat cerebral agitation.
All players benefit from a complete assessment at the start, middle and end of the season in order to determine, outside the context of trauma, their individual aptitudes in terms of visual capacities, balance and cognition (information processing, memory , decision making…). Throughout the season, players are monitored daily with an assessment of their feelings before and after training, in parallel with the possible occurrence of a head injury in matches or in training, in particular during the game of head.
A transversal project between AS Monaco and its territory
As soon as a suspicious action is identified or the player’s feelings deteriorate, a complete evaluation protocol is initiated: victim of cerebral agitation. If necessary, a multidisciplinary collaboration allows the medical actors to take over but the sports educators and the teachers an adapted support and a progressive and safe of the sports and school activity.
” By discussing with Professor Claessens, we realized that there were great similarities in the issues related to the management of head trauma in professional footballers and in sports and non-sports patients admitted to the emergency department., explains Sylvain Blanchard. This is how the idea was born of building a collaboration and a support system beneficial both for our players and for the citizens of the Principality. It is a transversal project between AS Monaco and its territory. “
“Concussion management is very important in professional sport, but also in amateur sport, recreation and everyday life. If the consequences of a concussion can alter the performance of an athlete and increase his risk of injury, they can just as much reduce the skills of a bus driver, a carpenter … or even alter the academic performance of students. . The vast majority of concussions can be learned very well with simple knowledge and actions. It is therefore necessary to take into account the actors, whether they are coaches, educators, or players to properly manage this type of situation which has a decisive impact on the health of patients. », Adds Pierre Frémont.
“The vast majority of head injuries that we see in the emergency room are mild and spontaneously develop favorably. However, in some patients, physical, neurosensory and psychoaffective symptoms will persist which will have a negative impact on daily life. The variety of these signs will sometimes require multidisciplinary expertise in order to provide the patient with medical skills and adequate exploration methods. The reflection with Dr Blanchard made it possible to bring together a team of hospital players from a wide variety of disciplines and fields. Our objective is to build, around the very controlled model of the care of top-level athletes, a project that benefits all patients. », Concludes Yann-Erick Claessens.