The comprehensive program includes three components: 1) a prospective, blinded research program, 2) a comprehensive clinical managment protocol, and 3) an educational component.

Using the baseline-testing-post-injury neurospsycholgical (NP) measurement paradigm, the program has assessed more than 1500 athletes at baseline, with serial post-injury testing of more than 100 athletes who have suffered concussions. Our program is dynamic and has evolved to a state of the art clinical management program informed by research.

There are three primary research goals:
1. To identify and quantify neurocognitive and emotional effects and recovery following concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).
2. To determine an evidence-based return-to-play (RTP) guideline protocol that is useful and practical for physicians, and
3. To implement a sensitive and specific, valid and reliable brief neuropsychological (NP) battery as a ‘gold standard’ for assessing the neurocognitive and emotional effects of mTBI.

There are three primary clinical management goals:
1. To develop and implement a practical, evidence-based model for the prudent clinical management of concussions.
2. To monitor neuropsychological (NP) and emotional/psychological changes associated with concussion in varsity sports at the University of Toronto, and 3) to inform evidence-based return to play decisions.

Our educational goals include the following:
1. To disseminate knowledge to athletes, student body and university community
2. To disseminate our findings to the scientific community
3. To disseminate information about evidence-based best practice to the medical community,
4. To provide the latest information on sport concussion to the public,
5 .To provide educational opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students, and
6. To inform policy at the University of Toronto and other Canadian Interuniversity Sport Institutions.

“There will always be another game, but you only have one brain. When in doubt, stay out!”

The University of Toronto/Toronto Rehab Varsity Athlete Concussion Program

Baycrest-Berkeley presents The 20th Annual Rotman Conference – The Frontal Lobes
March 22-26, 2010 – Toronto, Canada
Organized by Donald T. Stuss, PhD and Robert T. Knight, MD
SPACE IS LIMITED, SO REGISTER EARLY!

Conference details and Registration

UPDATE: April 19, 2010 – THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS HAS NOW ENDED.
__________________________
Are You Having Trouble Getting or Keeping Your Life in Order?

If so, you may be eligible to receive real-world strategy training. This training is designed to help individuals learn strategies to accomplish things in their life they may be having trouble doing.

Participation involves completing some cognitive and real-world tests of function both before and after the training. The training is twice per week (1 hour each time) for 10 weeks and happens over the internet in your own home.

Eligible persons:
· Have had a traumatic brain injury at least 1 year ago
· Are able to identify some things you want to / need to do in your daily life but are having trouble with
· Are 18 years of age or older
· Have a computer and high speed internet access

Participation is CONFIDENTIAL.
Interested? Please contact
Edith Ng, Registered Occupational Therapist,
Graduate Student at University of Toronto
at 416-785-2500 ext. 3497
or at eng@klaru-baycrest.on.ca
Research is funded by the Ontario Rehabilitation Research Advisory Network, and the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, and approved by the Baycrest and University of Toronto Research Ethics Boards

Read the brochure (pdf)

By Matthew Pearson, The Ottawa CitizenFebruary 5, 2010
Broken noses, snapped teeth and concussions could be prevented if more children wore helmets while skiing, skating or sledding, a Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario doctor says.

The message comes as Winterlude starts today and thousands more people prepare to lace up their skates on the Rideau Canal Skateway over the next few weeks.

Dr. Michael Vassilyadi, a pediatric neurosurgeon, said Thursday it’s important to strap helmets on children and added facial masks are a good idea for new skaters or anyone under 10.

Parents should ensure helmets fit well and are strapped on correctly until the end of the activity, the doctor said.
Read the rest of this entry »

Comox Valley EchoDecember 8, 2009

The Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) is strongly encouraging Canadians of all ages to wear helmets when downhill skiing or snowboarding.

The death of actress Natasha Richardson who fell while skiing at Mont Tremblant last spring has focused public and media attention on the issue of helmet safety. CPA joins a growing chorus of organizations who strongly recommend the use of helmets on ski hills. Those organizations include Intrawest, owner of Mont Tremblant, other major ski resorts and the Canadian Standards Association. Intrawest is making it mandatory for all young skiers and snowboarders involved in ski and snowboard programs to wear helmets on its slopes. The Canadian Standards Association has said wearing helmets on the ski hill can reduce the risk of head injury by 60 per cent. It has developed a safety standard for helmets intended to help reduce head injuries for recreational alpine skiers and snowboarders, and is waiting for final approval from Health Canada.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

By Robert Remington, Calgary HeraldFebruary 8, 2010

Richard Kinar, board member of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, with snowboard/ ski helmets at The Boardroom in Vancouver, BC Monday, April 13, 2009.
Photograph by: Jason Payne, The Province

A year ago this weekend, I woke up in a pool of blood at Mount Norquay with a ski patroller at my side asking if I knew what day it was. A few weeks later, actress Natasha Richardson died after taking a fall on a bunny hill in Quebec.

I was wearing a helmet, she was not.
Read the rest of this entry »

By Meghan Hurley, The Ottawa CitizenFebruary 9, 2010 6:33 AM

OTTAWA — The death of an 11-year-old girl killed in a skiing accident highlights the need for Canada-wide standards for all sports helmets, an expert in the field says.

Nicole Wren, who attended The Stewart School in Perth, was killed at the Calabogie Peaks Resort last Thursday after crashing into a tree during her school’s annual ski trip.

Richard Kinar, a helmet expert, said hockey helmets have to meet criteria set by the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to be sold in the country. No other type of helmet has to meet the standards, which means unsafe gear could be sold in Canadian stores.
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Richard Kinar, chair of the Helmet Safety Committe, Brain Injury Association of Canada and this years Pashby Award winner for work on helping to prevent head injury in sport talks to kids about wearing helmets when skating on Ottawa’s Dow Lake. Video

The never ending incidents of on ice-thuggery, including hits to the head, a recent one involving QMJHL star Patrice Cormier, along with other factors including body checking in minor hockey, has turned hockey into our most dangerous game. These horrible incidents smack of everything that is wrong with hockey in our country: poor leadership; elitist and exclusionary, lofty and unrealistic expectations; overzealous coaches and parents and no fun and recreational benefits for the players.

The long-term brain damage suffered by Reggie Fleming during his professional playing career, as revealed by researchers at Boston University, should serve as a wake-up call for those Canadians concerned with the health and safety of all players, especially minor leaguers, and the future of the game as we know it. The release of these findings coincided with statements made by Toronto neurosurgeon Charles Tator at the recent Hockey Canada sponsored concussion seminar who said there has been too much emphasis on “sock’em, kill’em type of hockey” in minor hockey. Dr. Tator has been a long-time advocate of findings better ways to make hockey a safer game.
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From: Emile Therien – To: editorial@reddeeradvocate.com
Dear Editor,
With much interest, I read this article: Meeting injuries head-on.

The never ending incidents of on ice-thuggery, including hits to the head, a recent one involving QMJHL star Patrice Cormier, along with other factors including body checking in minor hockey, has turned hockey into our most dangerous game. These horrible incidents smack of everything that is wrong with hockey in our country: poor leadership; elitist and exclusionary, lofty and unrealistic expectations; overzealous coaches and parents and no fun and recreational benefits for the players.
Read the rest of this entry »