It’s not only the NFL that is paying more attention to the severity of collisions and concussions sustained by athletes. A new Center for Sports Medicine, a collaborative venture between Hasbro Children’s Hospital, University Orthopedics and University Emergency Medicine Foundation, recently opened its doors at 900 Warren Ave., in East Providence. The clinic focuses on treatment of pediatric and adult patients who sustain acute and overuse sports injuries, concussions and fractures.
Neha Raukar, director of the new Center for Sports Medicine, played basketball in high school and college and swam competitively. The center, which has been open for about seven weeks, has reached out to high school football coaches and school nurses to raise awareness around issues regarding recognition and treatment of concussions. Its staff includes the only fellowship-trained pediatric sports medicine physician in Rhode Island as well as the only female sports medicine physician.
PBN: What do you think has driven the increase in concussions in sports-related incidents? The number of concussions has more than doubled in the last five years, especially between the ages of 8 and 18. And, that in 2009, 592 children were treated at Hasbro Children’s Hospital for concussion.
RAUKAR: There are a couple of factors. One is that we’re recognizing concussions better than we used to do. People are no longer saying, “You just banged your head. Go back in there and play.” Also, more children are participating in sports at a younger age, and the frequency of concussions is on the rise. In the older population – in college and in the NFL – the athletes are much stronger and faster than they used to be 20 years ago.
PBN: In your new Center for Sports Medicine, what kind of specific services will be you offering that set your clinic apart from other practices in Rhode Island?
RAUKAR: In our area now, most orthopedic practices are tied to surgeons. What we have is a non-operative clinic. About 90-to-95 percent of all sports injuries are non-operative, they do not require surgery. We see patients with mononucleosis, we see sickle cell patients. We are medical doctors, and not just surgeons. Our facility in East Providence provides easy access to athletes and their families in Barrington, Bristol, Warren and southern Rhode Island, where before there was really nothing out there to serve all these athletes.
PBN: What are the ways your clinic will treat an athlete with a concussion?
RAUKAR: A lot of the treatment is rest, depending on what the patient’s symptoms are. There are different levels of rest. One is simply don’t play, and don’t exert yourself. Another [for much more serious concussions] is a dark cocoon, with no stimulation for days. With really complicated cases, we can add medications. It is also involves determining when an athlete can return to play, and how to go back to playing with contact.
PBN: What are the dangers of “overuse” injuries in young athletes?
RAUKAR: We have seen an increase in injuries from overuse – both in young men and young women. A lot of young women, for instance, who have been rowing crew year round, suffer overuse injuries. People who are not cross training are more susceptible to overuse injuries, using the same muscles over and over again. There are definitely ways to prevent that, to limit overuse injuries, by taking a season off, or by cross training.
PBN: How important is the role that parents play in helping to prevent children’s athletic injuries?
RAUKAR: It’s very important. The parents are with the kids all the time. They know what the kids are like at baseline. Kids are more likely to try and mask their symptoms. Often, there is a lot of peer pressure to come back to play. A lot of parents understand this better now. With all the airtime that concussions have gotten in the NFL, moms and dads understand the situation better.
The Center for Sports Medicine, 900 Warren Ave., Suite 201, in East Providence, is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays. For information, please visit www.thecenterforsportsmed.org or call (401) 519-1608.
