Resources
Many health and medical problems face today's athlete. Below are a list of resources you or your organization may be able to use to better understand the condition and manage\prevent the condition from occuring. Always remember that the best resource is your local medical professional (physician, athletic trainer, etc.)
Concussions
Concussions
- The most commonly used test to assess concussion severity is known as ImPACT. Originally developed at the University of Pittsburg Medical Center, the ImPACT group now provides much information regarding preventing, assessing, and treating concussions.
- There are several providers throughout Tennessee who are qualified to conduct the ImPACT test. You can access the latest list of providers on the ImPACT website.
- The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has compiled a great packet of information on the topic of concussions and brain injury. They have also prepared the following fact sheets:
- The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has provided an overview of heat illness, signs, symptoms, and emergency care.
- The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) provides a review of various heat illnesses and provides general guidelines and recommendations.
- Many organizations have endorsed the use of a colored coded chart heat index chart that represents temperature + humidity. The chart can be used to determine the acceptable level of practice. The linked version is the chart used by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
- The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)has produced a document overviewing the prevention of heat illness.
- The National Athletic Trainers' Association has released a position statement on heat illness, and is often considered one of the best scholarly references on the topic.
- The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has compiled a very detailed set of information geared toward public awareness and prevention of MRSA.
- The National Athletic Trainers' Association has released a position statement on Community Acquired MRSA and it's role in athletics.
- One of the best places to find information on MRSA and other infectious diseases is from the manufacturers of products that prevent or treat those diseases. Two excellent such manufacturers are StaphASeptic and Hibiclens
- The National Athletic Trainers Association has many additional positions statements that directly relate to medicine in athletics. These resources are considered amongst medical professionals as valid and up to date. These position statements are often used by the TnSMAC when researching or reviewing requests.
- For advice regarding medical conditions, the Five Minute Clinical Consult is a subscription based service that provides both physician level detailed overviews of conditions and provides consumer-ready statements. While a fee is required to access this service, it has a weath of information.
- Google Scholar is an excellent resource for researching topics in medical or sports journals. Abstracts of the articles are always available, and links to the full text article is often available as well.
