The North American Soccer League (NASL) today announced the implementation of a league-wide policy to deal with possible concussions sustained by its players during training and match play.  The policy will go into effect immediately, and includes a number of components from general education on the issue to neurocognitive testing.  The NASL has also instituted procedures regarding mandatory evaluation of concussion symptoms and substitution of concussed players.  Prior to the implementation of this league-wide policy, the medical staffs of each team within the NASL set their own guidelines for dealing with concussions suffered by a team’s players.

The new NASL Concussion Policy was modeled on the current protocol in place in Major League Soccer (MLS) and created with the cooperation and assistance of MLS.

“The danger of concussions in sport and their potential long-term impact to the health of athletes is an issue of real concern to our league,” stated NASL Commissioner David Downs, “and we felt it absolutely mandatory to ensure that we took a proactive stance in this area.”  “We are also grateful to MLS for the work that they had done in creating a first-class policy and for sharing their standards with us,” Downs added.   

The league will use ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) software to establish baseline scores for each active player and to monitor the appropriate return to action for players having been diagnosed with concussions.  ImPACT, the first computerized evaluation system developed for managing athletic concussions, is widely used by professional teams and leagues as a diagnostic tool for physicians and trainers.

Under the new guidelines, all players in NASL will undergo baseline neuropsychological testing.  Players suspected of sustaining a concussion will be removed from play immediately and evaluated by team medical staff.  If after initial evaluation the player is diagnosed with a concussion he will not return to play on the same day.  Any player diagnosed with a concussion shall be required to undergo post-concussion ImPACT testing once they are symptom free, and must score at or above the normal range for their baseline test, before being cleared by his team’s physician to return to play.

The NASL season continues Wednesday night with the Carolina RailHawks hosting the NSC Minnesota Stars at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary, NC.  Every NASL match during the 2011 season can be viewed live on the web, at NASL.com.