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Friday, October 25, 2013
(WDNG) - The sanctioning body for the most popular form of motorsports in the country announced on Thursday that they will begin mandatory pre-season neurocognitive baseline testing for all national series drivers. The tests will be conducted prior to the start of next season to give doctors a snapshot of an athlete’s brain function while it is in a healthy state.
NASCAR officials say that doctors will be able to use that baseline to compare with post-concussion tests to assist them in evaluating the effects of an injury and help them decide if and when a driver can return to competition.
NASCAR vice president of racing operations Steve O’Donnell said a top neurosurgeon was provided for drivers to ask questions before the new rule was ever announced. He said in Thursday’s release “NASCAR made this decision because we think it’s important to drivers’ health for doctors to have the best information and tools available in evaluating injuries.”
NASCAR only recommended baseline testing of drivers before the start of this season and invited drivers to two concussion education sessions with a member of NASCAR’s Medical Advisory Group of Consulting Physicians. Baseline testing will be performed the the use of an ImPACT test.
ImPACT stands for Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing and is used by more than 7,400 high schools, 1,000 colleges and many teams in Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, National Football League and WWE wrestling.
According to their website, the ImPACT system was developed in response to requests for neurocognitive testing from the NFL to help determine when a player could safely return to the field and was first put to use in 1997.
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Keywords: NASCAR,ImPACT,concussion,Steve O'Donnell,NFL,MLB,NHL,WWE
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