Sunday, January 8, 2012

NFL to use video monitors to treat injuries

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2011, file photo, Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy is checked out by the trainers as he gets ready to go back into the game after taking a hit from Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. McCoy's season appears over, finished by the infamous hit from Harrison three weeks ago. McCoy still has not been cleared by team doctors to practice after sustaining a concussion on Dec. 8, and will likely miss the season finale Sunday against Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2011, file photo, Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy is checked out by the trainers as he gets ready to go back into the game after taking a hit from Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. McCoy's season appears over, finished by the infamous hit from Harrison three weeks ago. McCoy still has not been cleared by team doctors to practice after sustaining a concussion on Dec. 8, and will likely miss the season finale Sunday against Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

FILE - This Dec. 8, 2011 file photo shows trainers tending to Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy after he was hit by Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison in the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. In a series of interviews with The Associated Press, 23 of 44 NFL players said they would try to hide a brain injury rather than leave a game. In addition, more than two-thirds of the group AP talked to wants independent neurologists on sidelines during games. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

(AP) ? The NFL will begin using video monitors on each team's sideline this weekend to help treat injuries.

In a memo sent to the 32 teams and obtained by The Associated Press, the league said the monitors would be used to "allow the medical staff to review the network video of any play during which a player was injured."

Only video of a play during which a player was injured or appears to be hurt can be viewed. A league official must be notified when the monitor is used.

To ensure the equipment is used for checking video of injuries and not for competitive reasons, only a team physician or head athletic trainer can view it. Under no circumstances will coaches, players or anyone else from the teams have access to the equipment.

"It's another in an ongoing series of steps to enhance player safety," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Friday.

Soon after Browns quarterback Colt McCoy was not examined for a concussion following a helmet-to-helmet hit in a game against Pittsburgh on Dec. 8, the league added independent trainers to monitor injuries from the press box. McCoy was allowed to return to the game, and displayed concussionlike symptoms afterward. He did not play again this season.

The Browns said McCoy wasn't showing symptoms of a concussion during the game, so they didn't test him. Team doctors were treating other players and didn't see the impact from James Harrison's hit.

The NFL hopes the monitors on the sideline can help in such scenarios.

Harrison was suspended one game for being a repeat offender of flagrant hits.

The NFL has been addressing procedures for diagnosing and treating concussions for several years. Two weeks after the McCoy hit, the league added the certified athletic trainer, paid by the NFL, to provide medical staffs with "any relevant information that may assist them in determining the most appropriate evaluation and treatment." The trainers don't diagnose or prescribe treatment and can't order players from games.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-06-FBN-NFL-Injuries-Video/id-3d26b6431b7147d084d2bcc6b056ec61

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