Concussion research and awareness will be the focus at the 7th annual See The Line event coming to Western University in mid-August.
See the Line was launched in 2013 and is is a collaborative initiative that seeks to educate athletes, coaches, parents and the broader community about the serious impact of concussions.
Former NHL player Eric Lindros is the honorary chair of the event.
Director of Sport Medicine at the Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, Dr. Lisa Fischer says the aim is to shift the culture around concussion in sport, reduce the incidence of concussion and improve care through research.
“We are really trying to focus on education and what’s happening in the world of concussion. What do we know about it? What’s different about the female brain? What are we looking at from the equipment perspective? What’s the media’s take on concussion and how can they help?”
Fischer says this year’s event will feature experts who are taking action and working toward policy implementation on the provincial and national level including changes in how some sports are played.
“We don’t want to scare kids away from sport or contact sport so 70-80 per cent do improve spontaneously but 20 per cent or so can go on to have persistent symptoms so the important message is to understand when you have a concussion - recognize it - don’t go back to play and make sure you treat it properly to decrease the chance that it will go on to become a persistent issue.”
The event takes place on Thursday, August 15th at the Arthur & Sonia Labatt Health Sciences Building.
Registration information can be found here.
