Concordia uses new app to track concussion safety among student-athletes – InForum

MOORHEAD — If you can’t get enough of football, new technology is helping to keep players safe.

At Concordia, athletic trainers use an app that allows them to track concussion symptoms.

The Sway Medical app uses a series of tests, all on a mobile phone, to test balance, reaction time, memory and more. This is Concordia’s second year using Sway.

“We’ve found that electronically we’re better at getting people to be honest about where they are with their concussions,” said Don Bruenjes, head athletic trainer at Concordia College.

New student-athletes, both freshmen and those transferring from other colleges, complete a special test through the app to establish a starting point.

This data is one of several tools to help diagnose concussion when symptoms appear and track progress in recovery.

“I actually used it on the sideline when someone said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, Don’; well, we can do a quick test to assess where they are at that time,” Bruenjes said.

This makes the whole process more efficient, as all testing can now be done on mobile phones, and multiple players can participate in testing simultaneously, in groups.

The old balance test was performed one at a time and the results were recorded on paper by an observing staff member.

“When we do pre-season testing with the football team, we have about 138 players, we can test them in a much shorter time,” Bruenjes said.

Sway’s website says more than 3,600 organizations use the app, including the University of Alabama, Southern Methodist University and the University of Arkansas.

For Concordia, the app has a broader reach than just the playing field. It’s used by all athletes on campus, regardless of sport.

“We’ve had concussions in every sport, including golf, which is hard to believe, sometimes it’s outside of their sport. But it’s important that we keep track of that,” Brunejes said.

The Concordia football season opener will be Saturday, September 7 at 1:00 p.m. at home against Wisconsin-Eau Claire.