Gobert to speak on concussions at brain injury conference

By Chelsea Stockton
University News Service
August 7, 2009

Denise Gobert, professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Texas State University-San Marcos, will be a guest speaker at the 2009 International Conference on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Vancouver, Aug. 12-15.

The purpose of this year’s MTBI conference will be to present leading edge information on all aspects of brain injury including epidemiology, neuroscience models, neuropsychiatric issues, legal issues, rehabilitation and neuropsychology.

Gobert’s presentation will focus on characterizing and comparing standing balance techniques in persons with mild head injuries using ankle strategies.

“I’m adding the ankle strategies to tease out whether a person is ready or not to go back to play, or to the classroom,” Gobert said. “We want our students to return to the game safely. Returning to the game is important. Bu as an academic institution, we also want them to return to the classroom. They’re a student first.”

According to Gobert, balance discrepancies are common in persons after a concussion. However, standard clinical tests are not always sensitive enough to assess changes in balance skills. This limitation is particularly evident when testing young adults, such as highly trained athletes.

Gobert’s presentation discusses the addition of ankle strategies to clinical tests in order to help provide a better representation of balance skills in people who perform higher level activities.