Hundreds of thousands of children are taken to hospitals each year for concussions and head injuries.
Sports leagues have been trying to raise more awareness, because if left untreated, concussions can cause serious brain damage.
A new system in Tampa Bay is effectively treating athletes with concussions.
It’s called the Dynavision D2.
Athletes enjoy it because it looks like a game, but it actually can help a brain rebuild what a concussion destroys.
The system certainly doesn’t look like a medical tool.
IMG Academy mental conditioning coach David Da Silva explained, “I like to refer to it as ‘Whack a mole.”
The machine is a large board with 64 lights arranged in a circle.
The participant has to hit lights that are quickly flashing at random.
All the while, you have to follow prompts on a video screen.
And while you struggle to hit them in time, you also have to follow prompts on a video screen- sometimes its reciting words, other times it’s solving math problems.
It’s actually fun, but it can also serve a greater goal of helping athletes suffering from concussions.
Da Silva said, “It overwhelms the brain in a really good way and gives you that good training effect.”
When athletes have a head injury, some of their mental faculties are injured or have slowed.
So the Dynavision D2 retrains the train. Studies show through weekly sessions, athletes can rebuilt their visual, motor, and cognitive reaction skills.
Da Silva said, “The brain is always growing, especially at a young age and so you want to make sure that their decisions are efficient.”
Carlos Hurtado has seen the benefits of this system first hand.
“It takes a lot of focus,” said Hurtado.
After training on the Dynavision, he’s able to better concentrate on the soccer field.
Hurtado explained, “It helped me to see faster the options I might have in the field and to think ahead.”
Experts emphasize that this is just one treatment program out of many to help those with concussions, and it doesn’t hurt to make it enjoyable, too.
But athletes aren’t the only ones who benefit from this system.
Hospitals all over America are already using this system to help treat stroke patients, or service members who suffer from traumatic brain injury.
Copyright WFLA 2015. All rights reserved.
