SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS Team Physician Consensus Statement Concussion (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury) and the Team Physician: A Consensus Statement* DEFINITION

Concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is a pathophysiological process affecting the brain induced by direct or indirect biomechanical forces. Common features include: • Rapid onset of usually short-lived neurological impairment, which typically resolves spontaneously. • Acute clinical symptoms that usually reflect a functional disturbance rather than structural injury. • A range of clinical symptoms that may or may not involve loss of consciousness (LOC). • Neuroimaging studies that are typically normal. GOAL The goal is to assist the team physician in providing optimal medical care for the athlete with concussion. To accomplish this goal, the team physician should have knowledge of and be involved with: • Epidemiology • Pathophysiology • Game-day evaluation and treatment • Post–game-day evaluation and treatment • Diagnostic imaging • Management principles • Return-to-pla