Hockey player Ryan Washuck, 16, understands the importance of sometimes sitting it out.
He said he's not the only one on his team who's had a concussion.
“You get hit all the time in hockey, so I kind of shook it off but then headaches came so I eventually sat out the rest of the game and a few more,” said Waschuk.
But that doesn't always happen, Now, new concussion clinic aims to help kids recognize symptoms and properly recover.
The Pan Am Clinic Concussion Program officially opened Oct. 14 in Winnipeg.
“Children often don't have the vocabulary or aren't able to articulate what symptoms, so they may say, ‘Well, I don't have any symptoms at all,’” said Medical Director Dr. Michael Ellis.
Experts can perform tests to reveal symptoms and, for the first time in Canada, many of these youth concussion specialists have gathered under one roof.
In the Pan Am Clinic's Concussion Program, doctors will work with families to develop a care plan and determine when each child can safely return to school or sports.
Winnipeg Blue Bomber Ryan Lucas said it's a big step forward from how concussions used to be treated.
“What's your name? What's the date? OK, get back out there type thing. There's always been a line of whether you're hurt or injured and I think concussion has always been something where you're hurt instead of injured,” said Lucas.
He's recently seen awareness grow in the CFL and other sports.
Ryan Waschuk agrees.
“Coaches always say if there's something wrong with you, you should definitely tell us, there's no reason to play concussed and it could hurt our futures,” he said.
The Pan Am Concussion Program partnered with Winnipeg Minor Hockey to develop city-wide concussion protocol and will be working with Sport Manitoba to do the same for other sports.
Doctors with the Pan Am Concussion Program expect to see up to 30 new patients each week.
