Speaking session at SJSH focusing on concussions

Concussions are the focus of a presentation for students, teachers, parents and others coming up in about a week in North Bay.

Several groups, including the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit and Connecting Community Partners in Injury Prevention are hosting leading concussion expert Dr. Charles Tator at St Joseph-Scollard Hall on October 28th.

He will also be meeting with local health professionals before the speaking session.

“I’ll be going to see some of the doctors that are doing sports medicine and emergency medicine, some of the nurses, trying to make everybody aware of the important changes that have happened in the concussion field,” he says.

Dr. Tator says concussion awareness is really growing, thanks in large part to Rowan’s Law in Ontario.

“The awareness level among parents, players and teachers is enormous now in comparison to five and ten years ago,” he says.

Rowan’s Law was created after the 2013 death of 17-year-old Rowan Stringer, a high school rugby player.

It’s believed she experienced three concussions over six days while playing rugby.

Dr. Tator says with the new regulations it’s important for everyone to take steps to become knowledgeable about concussions.

Codes of conduct are also being created for virtually every sport too.

He says incidents vary from sport to sport, along with the steps to returning to play, but the symptoms of concussion are very similar.

The “Let’s Talk About Concussions” presentation next Monday, October 28th (6:30 to 8:30 pm) is free.

Dr. Charles Tator is a Canadian physician, professor, renowned neurosurgeon, and a leading concussion expert.

He is the Director of the Canadian Concussion Centre at Toronto Western Hospital and a Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto.

For details on Rowans Law CLICK HERE.

(Photo courtesy the Let’s Talk About Concussions event page on Facebook)