By Kyle Auger
Sports Editor

“I’ve had times where I walked up to the line, where I know the play, but don’t know what to do,” said Oakland Raiders tight end Tony Stewart, who was a repeated concussion victim.

Although brain injuries are a prominent issue in the NFL, the problem has also become apparent in high schools and colleges. Just at WA alone, there have been 12-15 concussion cases in this school year. Luckily, WA is on the forefront of the technology of diagnosing, treating, and recovering from concussions.

“We use what’s called the impact program…it’s a tool we have to use to monitor your recovery when you do have a concussion,” said trainer Bill Bombaci.

After using this program, victims then go through a 2-3 week process that includes visiting a doctor, retaking the test, and doing various light workouts. Having personally gone through the recovery process, I feel safe about the way concussions are found, treated, and tracked through recovery. My case was lengthy, and Bombaci was willing to do whatever was necessary to bring me back to health. I believe knowledge about the seriousness of concussions is relatively unknown, and I think that the campaigns by colleges, high schools, and the NFL are helpful in the diagnosis and recovery of concussions.

Even though there are studies and research being done to find a way to treat concussions, these injuries are still giving sufferers long-lasting symptoms, including headaches, sensitivity to light, sound, and fatigue. The even more long terms effects are obvious in the NFL where there have been various brain damage-related deaths.

These deaths have been a leading cause for high-cost research that has been highlighted by a study at Virginia Tech where they rated the effectiveness of helmets. They concluded the Riddell Revolution Speed was the safest, given a five star ranking. This conclusion is another good sign for Westford Academy as the football teams are equipped with Riddell helmets.

Also, the increase in national knowledge in brain injuries in sports has brought along an increase in concern from athletes’ parents.

“There’s certainly more awareness to it, here at Westford Academy… We are very proactive about concussions, we would sit kids out… and Billy [Bombaci] has been doing it here for a long time, the baseline test,” said Athletic Director Dan Twomey.

Concussions are not preventable. However, they may be completely discovered and treated using technology, and with leaders like Twomey and Bombaci forging the way, great things seem to be on the horizon for concussion research and treatment.

Hopefully with more people like them, concussions will be a minor injury problem that can be treated more easily and effectively.