Battling concussions: Where's the trainer?

To protect the heads of football players, it might be advisable to have them occasionally practice without head protection, according to a counterintuitive new study of a successful Division I football program.

Research has shown the importance of infant-primary caregiver attachment for the future of the child's cognitive ability, emotional health, and parent relationship. Infant Mental Health Specialists and other practitioners have emphasized programs and techniques to improve this relationship, for example infant massage classes, and specifically tailored interventions.

Research has found that physical movement, such as dance, can be an affective treatment and rehabilitation for people with Parkinson’s Disease. The Dance Well Initiative brings people with Parkinson’s, as well as community members, together to stage dance performances in gallery spaces as treatment and a creative response to the surrounding art.

A collaboration between a Parkinson’s disease support group and a New York City dance company created a program of movement for people managing the disease. Besides an improvement in physical mobility, participation also gave people an increase in self-esteem and cognitive function.

People with severe spinal injuries have gained some movement after having a small device implanted that sends signals to muscles that mimic communication from the brain. While further research is needed, improved capacity and nerve regeneration in subjects argues that this is an effective path to treating spinal injuries.

In San Diego, Little Angels Service Dogs are being trained to not just assist people but also recognize symptoms leading up to seizures. This practice allows people to proactively handle their seizures before they happen.

Grassroots organization can generate change in carbon emissions practices at the community level. In Phoenix, the Chispa nonprofit organization that promotes environmental and social justice, is working to get schools to apply to Arizona’s Lower-Emissions Bus program, funded by money paid to the state in the aftermath of Volkswagen’s emissions scandal. By mobilizing volunteers to canvass neighborhoods and attend school board meetings, the group has succeeded in getting at least one school district to purchase an electric bus and implement a pilot program.

Student athletes, especially at the high school level, can be susceptible to suffering head injuries which become exasperated when schools don't have protocol in place for how to best manage these individuals' return to the court or field. To help combat this, a psychologist in Colorado, created two free explanatory protocol booklets in order to better educate school officials about best practices.

Kick-off soccer academy provides young people with mentorship, education, and talent development. It was created by a group of young friends during the COVID-19 pandemic after they noticed many young people getting into drugs and alcohol while out of school during pandemic-related shutdowns. The team, who mobilizes parents and caretakers so that they buy into the program’s benefits, serves almost 100 young people. The program develops the athletic skills of the young people but also increases their self-esteem and responsibility.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is being used to treat people with treatment-resistant depression. The noninvasive procedure uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerves in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. So far 19 people have undergone the program at Brattleboro Retreat — many of which have seen improvements in their symptoms — and more than 300 treatments have been completed to date.