SportGait, an app that aids in the identification and evaluation of concussions, has partnered with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital and the William S. Hart Union High School District to enhance the safety of high school athletes.
This collaboration, which has been in the works for six months, aims to provide a comprehensive solution for recognizing head injuries and determining when it is safe for athletes to return to play.
On Tuesday morning, two Hart High School athletes were invited to participate in a demonstration of the app and its functions.
SportGait offers a battery of assessments designed to identify neurocognitive and neurobehavioral deficits commonly associated with concussions. By utilizing this non-invasive assessment, medical professionals can effectively evaluate potential head injuries and establish a safe return-to-play protocol for athletes.
The assessment process takes only 10-15 minutes and can be completed entirely from a personal smartphone device, making it accessible and convenient for athletes.
“The beauty of this, too, is we can have the athlete do it on their cell phone,” said Jake Berkowitz, lead athletic trainer at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. “Most athletes have a cell phone, you know, so it’s not like we’re having to hunt down for computers and mouses to try and set that up and find facilities for that.”
However, when athletes are on the field athletic trainers are also able to access players’ SportGait profiles on their smartphone devices as well for quick evaluations. The Hart district has equipped them with hot spots to ensure that wherever they go, they are able to access the SportGait app.
One of the primary advantages of SportGait is its ability to establish a baseline for an athlete’s brain function during the preseason.
The app tracks vital information such as working memory, reaction time, concentration, as well as gait motor data including power, stride, balance and symmetry.
In the event of a head injury, the athlete undergoes a post-injury assessment and the data from both assessments is used to evaluate the severity of the injury. This data-driven approach empowers health care professionals to make informed decisions regarding an athlete’s safe return to the field.
“It doesn’t diagnose the concussions, but it helps us and just our return-to-play protocols for that,” said Berkowitz.
The app will compare the baseline data to that of post-injury. In every evaluated category, the results will read “no indication” or “possible indication.”
SportGait does utilize a lot of average data for comparison, but each baseline test is specific to the user. Meaning, if someone tests below the average in their baseline test, their post-injury test will be compared to their baseline and not the average.
This ensures each user’s SportGait is specifically designed to evaluate their own personal indications of injury.
Although SportGait does not provide a formal diagnosis of concussions, it significantly enhances the return-to-play protocols implemented by medical professionals.
By establishing a baseline that reflects an athlete’s normal cognitive and neurobehavioral functioning, the app enables health care professionals to monitor their progress during the rehabilitation process.
Berkowitz said that the minimum recovery time from a first concussion in a calendar year is seven days. Some steps of the recovery process include biking, jogging and one contact practice.
“As they’re rehabbing, you can issue post-tests periodically to gauge the rate of improvement and so you know your rehab trajectories are proven to be beneficial, and when they level back off to baseline, it’s a good indicator of their functioning at a normal level again,” said Joel Meyer, director of sales for SportGait.
The results are clear with the color indicators of red for bad, yellow for OK and green for good.
Many in attendance discussed that by having these results as clear as day, this leaves no room for parental arguments and dishonesty from athletes if an athlete can participate or not.
SportGait also helps with return-to-learn protocols where injured athletes need assistance in their education in the case of a serious injury.
The accessibility of the app has allowed for a wider range of sports to be involved in the program.
“We used to only focus on high impact,” said John Adam, director of rehab services at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
Ultimately the app provides valuable insights that contribute to the overall well-being and safety of athletes, hospital and school officials said.
