MINUTES
OF THE
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION
COMMITTEE ON COMPETITIVE
SAFEGUARDS AND MEDICAL ASPECTS OF SPORTS
SPORTS SCIENCES SAFETY
SUBCOMMITTEE
NCAA December 15, 2002
Indianapolis, Indiana
Participants:
Amy Barr, Eastern Illinois University
Letha Y. Griffin, Georgia State University
Melinda L. Millard-Stafford, Georgia Institute of
Technology
Erika Proko, Washington & Lee University
Margot Putukian, Pennsylvania State University
Brian J. Sharkey, University of Montana, chair
Jerry Weber, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Connee Zotos, Drew University
Randall W. Dick, NCAA
Jerry L. Diehl, National Federation of State High
School Associations, was not able to attend the meeting.
Lauren
Costello, Princeton University; Robin Meiggs, Humboldt State University; Matt
Mitten, Marquette University; Rochel Rittgers, Augustana College (Illinois);
Elsa Cole, NCAA; and Andrayana Getchell, NCAA, were in attendance for portions
of the meeting.
[Note:
These minutes contain only actions taken (formal votes or stated “sense
of the meeting”) in accordance with NCAA policy regarding minutes of all
Association entities. While
certain items on the committee’s agenda were acted on at various times
throughout the meeting, all final actions within a given topic are combined in
these minutes for convenience of reference.]
The
meeting was called to order at 9:05 a.m. by the chair, Dr. Sharkey. All members were present as noted
above.
1. Previous Minutes.
It was VOTED
"That
the minutes from the subcommittee's June 21-22, 2002, meeting be approved as
distributed."
2.
Strategic Plan. The subcommittee
reviewed priority issues for next year as established in the June 2002 meeting
and agreed to update the strategic plan at its summer meeting. The group also recommended
considering strength and conditioning coaches in any future initiatives
regarding professional development of coaches.
3.
NCAA Injury Surveillance System (ISS).
a.
ISS Data. The subcommittee
reviewed fall 2002 (football, field hockey, men’s soccer, women’s soccer and
women’s volleyball) ISS data and identified the following highlights:
(1) Football
– a continued increase in concussions that may be partially but not totally
explained as heightened awareness and new classification systems.
(2) Field
hockey – recommended asking the NCAA Field Hockey Committee to clarify its
stance on the wearing of protective eyewear and to add language noting the
permissibility of protective eyewear.
(3) Men’s
and women’s soccer – expressed continued interest in concussions and anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL) injury trends over time and requested staff to add
these categories to future ISS sport summary reports.
(4) Officials
– recommended that a future edition of the NCAA Health and Safety Newsletter
include an article on the importance of official’s role in injury
prevention. Ms. Barr, Ms. Proko
and Ms. Zotos agreed to assist with this effort.
b.
ISS Enhancements.
(1) Phase
I Web-based Pilot. The
subcommittee discussed the Phase I Web-based pilot conducted on field hockey,
men’s soccer and women’s soccer this fall and reviewed survey results from the
82 participants that noted generally positive response to the system.
(2) Future
Web-based enhancements. Mr. Dick
reviewed the progress on the next phase of ISS enhancement and noted that the
goal is to have the next phase available for use next fall. The subcommittee supported the progress
and encouraged educating athletic trainers, administrators and other medical
personnel about the system development.
(3) Institutional
Review Board (IRB) approval. The
subcommittee discussed the need for an IRB review of the enhanced system to
provide assurance to participating schools that the ISS has scientific merit
and provides confidentiality for participants. It also noted such a review
would be essential to publish findings from the system. The subcommittee recommended pursuing
an IRB approval for the enhanced system.
c.
Access to data. The subcommittee agreed that the general aggregate data
currently being distributed in paper form is appropriate to put on the NCAA ISS
Web site. A research proposal
request form should be developed and completed for more detailed injury data
queries. The form would be
reviewed by NCAA staff and if appropriate, the committee.
d.
HIPAA Authorization/Buckley Amendment Consent
form. The subcommittee reviewed,
revised and approved a HIPAA Authorization/Buckley Amendment consent form that
had been drafted by NCAA general counsel.
It recommended that this form, in its final version, be required to be
annually distributed to each student-athlete, along with the NCAA compliance
forms and directed NCAA staff to begin the process of governance approval. It also recommended a review by the
national Student-Athlete Advisory Committees at their January 2003 meetings.
The form, which is optional for student-athletes to complete, ensures NCAA
compliance with federal regulations and allows member institutions to continue
to participate in the ISS.
Requiring the form to be distributed with the compliance forms allows
institutions to identify specific non-participants prior to the start of any
intercollegiate activity.
2.
Sport Specific Issues. The
subcommittee reviewed sport specific safety issues in the following sports:
a. Wrestling.
(1) The
subcommittee reviewed an accepted manuscript to a peer-reviewed sports medicine
journal regarding air displacement plethysmography using BOD POD technology for
assessing body composition of male collegiate wrestlers, as well as follow-up
responses to committee questions.
The group agreed that the technique had met the committee’s established
criteria for an acceptable body composition measurement for the NCAA Wrestling
Weight Certification Program and recommended the addition of this technology as
an option for male wrestlers starting in the 2003-04 fiscal year. The group noted that the Brozek
equation for body density was the only formula used in the NCAA program and
this formula must be used exclusively when calculating body density using the
air displacement plethysmography technique with the BOD POD. The subcommittee also encouraged
continued research with this technique in wrestlers to substantiate these
findings. Subsequent to the meeting,
it also was noted that this technology would need to be validated for an
athletic collegiate female population with a gender-appropriate body density
formula before being used as a part of the certification program for female
wrestlers. The subcommittee
suggested sharing this recommendation with the NCAA Wrestling Committee for
consideration prior to any official announcement.
(2) The
subcommittee reviewed a recent memorandum from the NCAA Wrestling Rules
Committee requiring same gender evaluation of wrestlers during skin
checks. The subcommittee saw no
valid health and safety reason for the gender specificity language of the
current rule (Rule 3-9 Medical Examinations) since medical professionals are
trained to attend all patients.
While the limited exception noted in the memorandum partially addressed
this concern, the subcommittee believed that for many programs, this limited
exception would be the rule. The
subcommittee recommended the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee review and modify
this rule. The NCAA General Counsel supported the committee’s concerns.
b.
Pole Vault. The subcommittee reviewed recent
correspondence from The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
related to development of a standard for a pole vault helmet and recommending
options (e.g. a men’s lacrosse helmet without the face mask) until such time a
standard is developed. The
subcommittee expressed concern about using a product such as a lacrosse helmet
that had not met testing criteria for the pole vault event. Hyperflexion neck injuries caused by
landing on the neck or the drag of the helmet on the landing mat were specific
concerns. The subcommittee
repeated its support for the recent pole vault rules changes developed by the
NCAA Track and Field Committee.
The committee agreed currently not to support the use of a helmet in the
sport. especially since a viable
standard has yet to be developed.
The subcommittee identified Dr. Putukian as a liaison with the NCAA
Track and Field Committee for future discussion of this issue.
c. Women’s
Lacrosse.
(1) The
subcommittee reviewed its position statement on eyewear in women’s lacrosse and
recommended adding relevant 2001-02 injury data to the document.
(2) The
subcommittee reviewed a draft position statement on head, face and eye injuries
from the U.S. Lacrosse Sports Science Safety Committee (LSSSC) that outlined the
committee’s efforts of data collection, subsequent positions developed from the
data analysis, general injury prevention strategies, and a strong
recommendation to combine education and near future adoption of protective
eyewear. The subcommittee supported the U.S. Lacrosse statement, understanding
that the lacrosse community will be assessing the recommendation over the next
six months. The subcommittee
anticipated that a final position stand and formal action plan should be coming
from this U.S. Lacrosse committee following its next meeting in May. The subcommittee also encouraged strong
educational efforts based on items in the position section of the statement
that will educate student-athletes, coaches and officials on the risk of head,
face and eye injuries.
(3) The
subcommittee noted U.S. Lacrosse’s desire to retain Mr. Dick and Bryan Smith on
its committee. The choice of Dr.
Costello or Dr. Putukian was recommended in the event that U.S Lacrosse wanted
to add a position for a current committee member on the LSSSC.
d.
Basketball. The subcommittee reviewed follow-up
correspondence between Dr. Smith and a backboard laminate company regarding the
committee’s June 2002 position on mandatory lamination treatment of basketball
backboards. The group still concurred
with its previous position that laminated backboards may be a good idea but
injury evidence did not justify mandating their use.
3.
Research Issues.
a.
Current research. The subcommittee reviewed
current research projects including sickle cell trait in student-athletes, ACL
injury prevention and catastrophic injury data collection.
b.
Future research. The subcommittee
identified projects for funding this fiscal year. They included:
(1) ISS
enhancement.
(2) Redo
1998 emergency care and coverage survey in association with the NCAA research
staff. Mr. Weber agreed to assist.
(3) Annual
National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research data collection.
(4) Wrestling
body composition studies at the 2002-03 Division I NCAA wrestling
championships.
(5) Football
recovery study monitoring hydration (urine specific gravity), fatigue/immune
system (salivary Immunoglobulin A) and core temperature (ingested telemetry
unit) during fall double sessions.
It was recommended that these methodologies be piloted during the 2003
spring football season in preparation for the actual project next fall. Ms. Millard-Stafford agreed to draft a
protocol
and budget. The subcommittee
identified the following individuals to possibly coordinate data collection at
their respective institutions: Larry Armstrong, University of Connecticut; Dr.
Putukian; Joy Reighn, Rowan University; Dr. Smith, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Mr. Weber.
(6) A
survey (possibly Web-based) for membership feedback on the Sports Medicine
Handbook to be conducted in conjunction with next fall’s mailing of the
document.
4.
Educational Issues.
a.
NCAA Sports Medicine Handbook. The
subcommittee took the following actions regarding the handbook:
(1) Assigned Guideline 2n to Dr. Griffin for review
and revision at the next meeting.
(2) Modified the wording in section one on page 13
of the 2002-03 Guideline 1d to read, "…that by the time the monitor
obtains a flash-to-bang count of 30 seconds (equivalent to six miles),
all individuals…"
(3) Directed staff to find an individual willing to
draft a guideline on asthma and exercise to be reviewed at the June 2003
meeting. Subsequent to the
meeting, Dr. Smith agreed to develop a draft guideline.
(4) Recommended
having Guideline 2b reviewed by David Vasilly, with a specific request to
update references regarding oral drug treatment and management of herpes and
other skin infections in wrestling.
(5) Considered developing a guideline on diabetes
in exercise, but recommended no further additions to the handbook until the
results of a user survey are completed.
b. ISS Web Site. Mr. Dick reviewed the enhanced ISS Web
site with the subcommittee. The
group strongly endorsed the new look and accessibility to information.
7. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
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