New Concussion Policy for NFL
The National Football League is implementing new guidelines for when players can return to the field after suffering a concussion. The updated policy expands the list of symptoms that would prevent returning to play the same day as sustaining the injury.
The symptoms include being unable to remember assignments or plays, gaps in memory, loss of consciousness, a persistent headache or an abnormal neurological examination. An independent neurological consultant must approve a player for returning to the game. The NFL’s medical committee on concussions, team doctors and outside medical experts collaborated on forming the new rules.
In 2007, the NFL prevented players from returning to a game or practice if they lost consciousness following a concussion. A survey conducted by the Associated Press last month found that 30 of 160 NFL players had hidden or downplayed the effects of a concussion at some point during their careers.