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Discussing concussions with Andy Hrodey
As senior forward Blake Geoffrion laid on the ice, Wisconsin held a slim 2-1 lead over St. Cloud State in the second period of their Feb. 20 matchup at the Kohl Center.
Seconds earlier, Geoffrion had suffered a vicious blow to the head delivered by Huskies center Aaron Marvin.
One of three captains for the UW men’s hockey team, Geoffrion was helped off the ice and to the locker room following the hit and would not return. It was later determined the Brentwood, Tenn., native had sustained a concussion as a result of the hit.
In the week following his concussion, Geoffrion did not practice. He also stayed on campus while the rest of the team traveled to Houghton, Mich., for the Michigan Tech series.
In light of Geoffrion’s concussion, I talked with assistant athletic trainer Andy Hrodey to discuss the concussion policies within the UW Athletic Department.
Jordan Schelling: What kind of procedures does the UW men’s hockey team follow in terms of concussion prevention and treatment?
Andy Hrodey: There’s a computer program called ImPACT that we use to test brain function. It’s a variety of things from reaction time to memory to recognition of different words and symbols and stuff. It basically just gets a baseline of what their brain functions like; so, if they ever do have a concussion, we’re able to use that as another way to tell where they’re at in that recovery process after a concussion occurs.
JS: Can using such a program do anything to help prevent another concussion from occurring in the near future after a player sustains a concussion?
AH: It’s not really about preventing. It’s really just another tool we have to measure whether or not somebody’s recovered from a concussion or not. … It just really helps us tell when they’re getting back to normal so we can let them get back to exercise and activity.
JS: So what it could do then it to keep them from going back too soon?
AH: Exactly. It’s not the only thing we do — we also use what their symptoms are like, what their history is and just what they’re feeling. But [the ImPACT test] is something we can use to say, ‘Look, your brain is here, we can let you go do some things;’ or if they don’t score as well, it’s something that allows us to say, ‘Look, you’re not quite back to normal yet.’
JS: How long has the Athletic Department been using the ImPACT baseline testing system?
AH: It’s been probably nine or 10 years now. It’s evolved a little bit, but it’s been quite a few years now.
JS: Before this system, what did you do for treating and diagnosing concussions?
AH: We’ve always worked closely with our physicians from just kind of a symptom standpoint of what the athlete’s feeling. We also use pen and paper tests… just basic little things that would test your brain. … But this computer system is nice because we get a baseline right when they come in (as freshmen), and it’s easy to administer. We could even do it on the road because it’s on the Internet.
JS: Before using the computerized test, did you ever do anything before the season began?
AH: No, no not really, no. Other than taking their history and stuff, really, no. It wasn’t like a baseline and then having this retest thing prior to the computer. That’s new with that.
JS: Does every player take the baseline test prior to every season?
AH: No, no, just as a freshman they take that.
JS: And that one test is adequate for the entire four or five year careers of the players?
AH: Yeah, it’s such a basic thing that we don’t feel like there’s any way that they change over the years. For some reason if we thought they did or we thought something was wrong with that first one, then we could have them redo it when they’re feeling normal basically. But really, we feel like that one time as a freshman as they’re coming in is a pretty good idea of what their normal is, which is different for everybody.
JS: So, without seeing the actual test, could you describe the difference between a normal test and someone who just suffered a concussion?
AH: What it is, it’s a series of tests involving words and numbers that focus on memory and reaction time… After a concussion, your brain doesn’t work as well sometimes — it’s slowed down, so to speak — so in the first one, you may have trouble remembering those words. In the second one, your reaction time may be slowed down.
JS: So the tests are fairly similar to what you did in the past, but now it’s all computerized?
AH: Yeah, exactly. The biggest difference is that we have that baseline. So, we know what their kind of “normal” is on a random day when they’re feeling fine as opposed to after a concussion when they’re a little slowed down.
JS: After a possible concussion, what is that procedure like?
AH: After something that happens either in a game or practice, I evaluate and then our team physician evaluates them, especially if it’s something they had to come out of practice or the game for. … Then we monitor them closely, and in a rare instance, they go to get more tests at a hospital.
But usually we just monitor their symptoms and as long as they keep getting better — the headache, the dizziness, all that stuff starts to go away rather than get worse — it’s just kind of a daily checkup to see where they’re at symptom-wise.
As those decrease, we’re able to let them do a little bit more. Basically, once they have no symptoms, then we can let them exercise a little bit, whether it’s a bike or a workout or something like that. Then when that is OK, we’re able to let them get back to a non-contact situation on the ice before going back to a full practice.
JS: Have you considered anything additional in terms of concussion prevention, such as specialized mouth guards that are said to prevent concussions?
AH: All the guys are fitted for mouth guards, but it’s kind of their decision if they wear them. It’s still kind of controversial whether those prevent an actual concussion from happening. There’s different tests that say they do and there are others that claim to have proven that they do not. Personally, I advocate them because it protects their teeth.
JS: When it comes down to it, is there really anything aside from simply avoiding contact that can truly prevent a concussion?
AH: Yeah, really that’s about it. They’re making newer helmets, I know. We don’t have any of them at this point, they’re still kind of in testing and things like that. So, that helps — having any kind of helmet is going to help a little bit — but in this kind of atmosphere it’s a situational thing.
If there’s contact and there’s that quick deceleration where the brain sloshes around, there’s really no way to prevent it.
Maragos Q&A 2/24
Leuer’s return to court underwhelming
When junior forward Jon Leuer emerged from the locker room in uniform Thursday for the first time in 40 days, the question was when, not if, he would see his first action since Jan. 9.
There he sat, for the first 2:22 of the contest, watching his teammates from the bench, a familiar spot for Leuer, who had missed the team’s last nine games. What happened next was something relatively new for the native of Orono, Minn.
With 17:38 remaining in the first half of the contest between Wisconsin and Minnesota, Leuer entered the lineup in place of guard Tim Jarmusz, seeing his first action in nearly six weeks. According to Leuer, though, nothing had really changed in his time off.
“When you’re out there, you’ve got to be ready to go,” he said. “The game doesn’t change at all, you just have to really start picking up on things when you get back in there.”
Leuer played 26 minutes in his return, which was down only 1.2 minutes from what the 6-foot-10 forward had averaged before his Jan. 9 injury. In those 26 minutes, though, Leuer was decidedly less effective than usual.
Several of Leuer’s 12 shot attempts in the game were well off the mark, while a few of them were questionable to begin with in terms of shot selection.
Out of 12 shot attempts, Leuer converted on only two for four points, far less than the 15.4 points he had averaged before his injury. He also grabbed one defensive rebound and added one block, both of which were down — albeit only slightly for his number of blocks — from his averages of 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
After saying he felt “game ready” earlier in the week, Leuer was less than satisfied with his performance.
“It’s not what I expected,” he said. “I would have liked to have played better and helped the team more, obviously. But you know, that’s just what it is. I’ve just got to learn from that and hopefully get better.”
On the defensive end, Leuer did not do much to slow down the Gophers’ pair of 6-foot-11 forwards. Both Damian Johnson and Ralph Sampson III reached double digits in scoring, contributing 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Johnson and Sampson also combined for 12 rebounds in the game.
Minnesota’s strong inside presence, combined with the lack of one for Wisconsin against the Gophers’ 2-3 zone despite Leuer’s return was one of the deciding factors in the Badgers’ 68-52 loss Thursday.
In his postgame press conference, head coach Bo Ryan thought Leuer’s performance was about what could have been expected for his first game back. Ryan was not worried about Leuer’s inaccuracy during his return from injury.
He also noted lineup changes due to foul trouble for starting forward Keaton Nankivil resulted in a change from the original game plan regarding Leuer’s return.
“I thought 20 to 25 minutes max was what he could get,” Ryan said. “He’ll find his mark. That wasn’t Jon’s fault or anything. … He’s still a good player; he still means a lot to us.”
According to assistant head coach Greg Gard, Leuer’s 2-for-12 performance may have had more to do with shot selection than an inability to make open shots.
That, Gard said, is something Leuer has to readjust to after an extended time off.
“I think maybe some of the shots Jon would like to have back, or maybe take a different shot at different times,” Gard said. “It’s going to take him a little while. Everybody’s expecting him to start where he left off — you step away from something for five to six weeks, it’s not going to be back.
“It’s like not golfing for five to six weeks,” Gard continued. “You’re not going to hit it down the middle — maybe Andy (North) can, but the rest of us can’t.”
Leuer echoed his coach’s comments, adding that he thought he had gotten tentative at times and perhaps his timing was off after so much time away from the game.
On a more positive note, Leuer’s left wrist — the one in which he fractured a bone in the Badgers’ Jan. 9 win over Purdue — felt no adverse effects during Thursday’s game.
“It felt pretty good,” Leuer said of his wrist. “Obviously, I’m not used to playing with something on it, so that’s kind of been an adjustment. But for the most part, it felt pretty good. It was pretty much pain free.”
A day later, Leuer said it felt no differently than it had on the days leading up to Wisconsin’s game against Minnesota at Williams Arena.
Ryan, Leuer and Gard all remained optimistic that the junior forward would continue to improve on a game-by-game basis.
According to Ryan, it’s just a matter of getting the chemistry and timing back between Leuer and his teammates; and that’s something that he said can only come with time.
“Our players need to have Jon in practice more,” Ryan said. “And Jon needs to get more reps in practice.”
MBB grades 2/23
MBB recap 2/22
UW survives scare, downs Northwestern
By Jordan Schelling
The Badger Herald
Wisconsin-St. Cloud live blog
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Last night’s game between Wisconsin and St. Cloud State got ugly near the end of the second period, so tonight’s series finale is all the more important for UW. A big mistake by goaltender Scott Gudmandson — who said afterward he would not do anything differently — led to the Huskies second goal.
That goal, one of the easiest you’ll see, seemed to completely turn the momentum of the game in favor of SCSU.
Sports Editors Jordan Schelling and Max Henson will provide play-by-play and color commentary of all of tonight’s action as the No. 3 Badgers host the No. 4 Huskies at the Kohl Center.
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A Schelling For Your Thoughts 
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