In 2010, Dr. Lager of Gotham City Orthopedics founded Cleared to Play.Org, Inc., a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization whose purpose is to raise awareness of concussion prevention and treatment.
Cleared to Play.Org is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit organization whose purpose is to raise awareness of concussion prevention and treatment, to perform free pre-season baseline testing, and to provide comprehensive post-concussion management for local high school and college athletes.
The greatest concerns regarding young concussed athletes are making sure they receive timely diagnosis and preventing a premature return to play. Players can die from second impact syndrome if they return to sports before they have fully recovered from a concussion. Cleared To Play.Org and Gotham City Orthopedics work together with ImPACT™ and TRAZER HRA™ to perform pre-season baseline testing and post-concussion testing and rehabilitation.
Using ImPACT™ and TRAZER HRA™ before the season begins establishes each player’s baseline brain and motor function. After a concussion has been diagnosed, the player re-takes both tests to determine how his/her brain function may have been affected. Along with a physician examination, this test is used as part of the criteria for assessing when the player has returned to pre-injury status and can return to play.
All Gotham City physicians are ImPACT™ certified and can provide baseline testing and post-concussion ImPACT™ and TRAZER HRA™ testing, evaluation, and treatment.
What is ImPACT™?
ImPACT™ (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is the first, most-widely used, and most scientifically validated computerized concussion evaluation system.
ImPACT™ is implemented effectively across high school, collegiate, and professional levels of sports participation. ImPACT™ was developed to provide useful information to assist qualified practitioners in making sound return to play decisions following concussions.
The test measures multiple aspects of cognitive function in athletes, including player symptoms, verbal and visual memory, sustained and selective attention time, response, variability, non-verbal problem solving, processing speed, and reaction time to 1/100th of a second. ImPACT™ takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It is available as an online examination.
What is TRAZER HRA™?
Current post-concussion rehabilitation protocols follow the 2012 Zurich guidelines in which the athlete progresses from light aerobic activity, like the stationary bike, to full contact practice. These static exercises do not adequately prepare some post-concussed athletes for the rigorous game environments which require quick responses from several neuromotor pathways.
TRAZER HRA™ immerses the athlete in game-like situations that replicate the rapidly changing nature of actual competition. TRAZER™ challenges the athlete’s vestibular-ocular, cognitive, neuromuscular, and metabolic systems by eliciting sport-specific movement responses that elevate the athlete’s heart rate. TRAZER™ can simulate game environments without exposing the athletes to the risks of premature physical contact.
TRAZER™ provides a 7-phase, post-concussion rehabilitation program. Once rehab is completed, the athletes retake the TRAZER™ fitness test, which is then compared to their baseline test scores. TRAZER™ provides the physician with essential information regarding an athlete’s ability to safely return to play.
Concussions are now widely prevalent throughout team sports, and are not isolated to football—hockey, lacrosse, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, and cheerleading have seen rapid increases in concussion diagnosis. It is critical that young athletes who are suspected of having sustained concussions are treated only by sports medicine physicians who are certified in concussion management and understand the return to play guidelines and protocols, such as the doctors at Gotham City Orthopedics in NYC.