The Center for Disease Control Concussion Tool Kit defines a concussion as “a type of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that can change the way your brain normally works”. The concussion signs and symptoms may be categorized into one of the following areas:

•Cognitive functioning (thinking) may include difficulty thinking, remembering, and feeling slowed down or mentally fatigued.

•Emotional responses may be alter and may be present with the individual be irritable, saddened or by showing increased anxiety or nervousness.

•Physical disturbances present as a disruption of balance, sensitivity to light, nausea/vomiting, headaches and blurred vision.

•Sleep disturbances may range from excessive tiredness to insomnia.  Often individuals with a concussion express being overly tired but unable to restfully sleep.

Signs and symptoms of a concussion may not be initially present and often increase in severity if the individual is participating in physical activity.  Often the symptoms may only be present to the individuals that are close to the patient.  Signs and symptoms may take from days to months to resolve.   It is essential that anyone experiencing a possible concussion be evaluated by a licensed healthcare provider that is specifically trained in the evaluation and management of concussions.

On July 1, 2011, South Dakota’s concussion law was enacted.  This law was introduced to address the growing concerns over the prevalence of concussion in sports and principally in youth sports.  South Dakota’s law is specific to those student-athletes who compete in activities sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA).

The three primary components of the law are:

1. Education of the nature and risk of concussion must be provided annually to coaches, athletes

    and parents. A concussion information sheet shall be signed and returned by any athlete who

    seeks to compete in activities sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association

    and the athlete’s parent or guardian prior to the athlete’s participation in any youth athletic

    activities sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association.

1. • Development of a training program to be completed annually by each coach participating in athletic activities sanctioned by the SDSHAA.
   

2. 2.A student-athlete suspected of having sustained a concussion during a sports activity must immediately be removed from play.
   

3. 3.An athlete who has been removed from participation in an athletic activity sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association may return to athletic activities only when the athlete:
   

4. • No longer exhibits signs, symptoms, or behavior consistent with a concussion; and
   

5. • Receives an evaluation by a licensed health care provider trained in the evaluation and
   

6. management of concussions and receives written clearance to return to play from such
   

7. health care provider.
   

8. Under South Dakota’s law, a licensed health care provider is a person who is:
   

9. • Registered, certified, licensed, or otherwise recognized in law by the State of South
   

10. Dakota to provide medical treatment; and
    

11. • Trained and experienced in the evaluation, management, and care of concussions.
    

Many other states have passed concussion legislation. The three commonalities among all of the statutes enacted to date are that 1) student-athletes suspected of having sustained a concussion during a sports contest must immediately be removed from play; 2) they cannot be returned to action that same day; and 3) they can be returned to action only after being cleared by a licensed medical professional. Most of the statutes also mandate the implementation of concussion education programs for coaches, student-athletes and parents. The significance of the enactment of so many state concussion laws containing similar requirements is that, when examined together, they reflect the establishment of a new nationwide legal standard for reasonable care in the treatment of sports concussions. (High School Today, NFHS, Jan. 2012)