NATA's Updated Concussion Guidelines Could Allow Student-Athletes Faster Return to Activity

New concussion guidelines from the Journal of Athletic Training could allow student-athletes to return to the field and classroom faster. 

According to WCAX, the new guidelines give schools and athletic trainers more leeway in how concussions are treated, allowing student-athletes to get back to exercise and school faster — assuming symptoms remain stable and are not made worse. 

The new guidelines still require that athletes hit certain recovery milestones to fully return to their team and classes, but they wouldn't necessarily be entirely cut off from their teammates and daily activities. 

State sport leaders say it’s a slam dunk for athletes and the trainers guiding their recovery.

“I think the language related to the unchallengeable authority of athletic trainers to make these decisions is a really big step in the right direction,” Mt. Abraham Union High School athletic director Devin Wendel told WCAX. 

The new guidelines are an update on a statement from NATA published back in 2014. The guidance synthesizes literature and studies from the previous decade and offers "important updates [on] the education of patients about driving, use of vision or vestibulo-ocular assessments, assessment timing and domains, considerations in evaluating and addressing mental health concerns, management of return to academics, identification of prognostic factors for prolonged recovery, and active treatment and rehabilitation strategies for those with acute concussions and those with persistent symptoms."

Finn McCarney, a high school student at South Burlington (Vt.) High School who spent a lot of time stuck in a dark room after a concussion, says he’s relieved that another concussion wouldn’t be a one-way ticket to isolation.

“It would allow me to return to school and lacrosse faster and that’s the goal, to just be able to slowly get back into it,” McCarney said. “That’s the best way to do it, I think.”