Our league is considering implementing the King-Devick test to better assess for concussions during practices and games.
Have any leagues used the King-Devick test to monitor and assess for concussions? If so, what are your experiences and would you recommend the investment?
Do any leagues have experience with concussion testing from the league interfering with someone’s private insurance coverage? We have league members concerned that implementing and using the King-Devick test will nullify their coverage for other types of concussion treatment.
Would using the King-Devick program, or other concussion testing measures, open our league to liability, should there be a false negative?
What are examples of concussion protocols that leagues have found effective for advancing the safety of their members?
Any and all insights would be appreciated!
I’m prefacing this with I’m not a medical doctor, this is just my personal experience and what I was told by a concussion specialist.
I got a very bad concussion slipping on ice this winter and when I went to the concussion doc I told them I had baselines done at practice. He told me almost no doctor in America will even look at a baseline that is not done by a medical professional. They all have specialized tests now within their own medical systems that make the ones we do trackside pretty obsolete. The trackside and season baselines are more a tool to determine if someone needs to go seek medical attention immediately, if it can wait until the next day, or if they can self monitor. The volunteers that are trained in your league should be able to quickly identify symptoms and what symptoms warrant what actions, not diagnose medically. We make all our safety members take an online concussion class and have paper baseline tests on site for when someone hits their head. We do an abbreviated SCAT-5 for our testing.
The important factor is taking time to assess where the person is at currently on the track, not necessarily what exact tool is used. There should be no interference or concerns from insurance because docs will do their own testing anyways. My baseline that was done in the clinic was specific to my symptoms and the type of concussion I had.
Hope that helps!
Hello,
We use a contracted SCAT 5 as well as an observed test of physical balance and vertigo (because skaters sometimes lie about whether they are experiencing symptoms… I know, shocking!). Even though several of us are first aid certified, none of us are considered qualified medical professionals. According to Belgian law we only have the right to provide our observations and the results of the test to indicate a suspected Concussion, but it is not considered a Concussion or head trauma until a medical professional diagnoses them. The emergency medics don’t even take down our information. Although the king-devick is a good test, I believe it is used in sports to confirm recovery from head trauma more than it is used for actually identifying a suspected Concussion. Hope this helps as well.
Thank you so much for your input!