"Brains" Talking About Brains: Concussion Conference Promises Results

Leading authorities on brain trauma recently took an unusual step in discussing improvements in the treatment of concussion, one of the most common sports injuries in both amateur and professional athletes: They invited the public to take part in the national discussion.

The recent "Concussion: A National Challenge" conference included members of the public such as entrepreneurs of concussion-related medical technology, medical students, researchers, athletic trainers and anyone with an interest in concussion (the conference was also publicly available via webstream).

The broad scope of the conference also set it apart, focusing on everything from concussion's microscopic effects on the brain to experts on real-life collisions that can lead to head injuries. 

As a result, it's hoped that conferences like these will result in better questions being asked and further collaboration among interested parties, including making an impact nationally with groups such as the NFL and NCAA.

A webstream is available, too, for those who want to watch on the Internet. 

Organizers said having an audience forced the MDs and PhDs to speak like lay people, but honestly, sections of the presentations still could be pretty dense. But there were reasons to trust that some good will come out of Cleveland from these two days of talks.

This article excerpt, by Doug Lesmerises, originally appeared here: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2015/06/cleveland_concussion_symposium.html.