Several changes to the NFL concussion safety protocol, including an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant at the league command center for all games, were on Sunday revealed by league officials.
The adjustments, backed by the NFL and its players union, were agreed on Dec. 11 by the NFL head, neck and spine committee, and implemented last weekend.
“We are constantly looking at the protocol and how it’s applied, and trying to get better,” NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills said.
The consultant at the command center is to monitor games by broadcast coverage and assist in implementing protocol, including contacting team medical staff on the sidelines to ensure they are aware of situations as they develop.
Another neurotrauma consultant will be at all NFL playoff games and February’s Super Bowl in Minnesota so that one will be available even if another is occupied with a previously injured player.
Among other changes, an impact seizure is to be treated as a loss of consciousness and force removal of a player from a game.
A player who stumbles or falls to the ground trying to stand, unrelated to an orthopedic injury, is to be sent directly to the locker room for examination. If a player passes the exam, he could be allowed to return to the game.
Injured players are to be taken directly to a medical team member for a concussion assessment.
All players who undergo any concussion evaluation in games will have a follow-up evaluation conducted the next day by a member of the medical staff.
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