Tua Tagovailoa's injury reignites concussion conversations for Wisconsin youth sports

WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Improving education and culture around head injuries and adhering to protocols in place are critical to keeping student athletes safe, experts say, following a high-profile concussion during an NFL game.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered a concussion and had to be transported to a hospital after being tackled during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was questioned after the game over the concussion protocols involving Tagovailoa after experiencing a head injury days prior in a game against the Buffalo Bills.

The incident brings back into focus the discussion around handling concussions for sports, including at the youth level.

"The difficult part is that it is something that is self-reported, so we have to rely on the athletes to tell us how they're feeling," Dr. Kevin Walter, the medical director for sports medicine at Children's Wisconsin, told CBS 58 in an interview.

Walter said it is important to improve the culture around concussion injuries so athletes do not feel pressured to continue playing when they may be potentially suffering from a head injury. Improving that culture also includes educating parents and coaches on what to keep an eye out for after a collision.

"Any kind of impact that changes how you feel, headache, nausea, dizziness, fogginess, there is risk that that is concussion, and come off right away and it's the same thing afterwards," Walter said. "If they're acting differently or reaching for the Tylenol or answering more slowly or more fatigued, those are signs where you start talking to them and digging in a little bit deeper."

The Tagovailoa injury served as a reminder for some high school officials of the importance of adhering to the process in place to assess head injuries.

"It is concerning but it allows us to refocus and say, 'let's make sure that on our end, that we're not skipping over any steps of the protocol,'" Catholic Memorial High School athletics director Matt Bergan said.

Bergan said his school's staff puts student athlete safety as their top priority and that includes following the WIAA concussion protocols in place. It also includes reducing risk outside of competitive games.

"Making sure that you're avoiding big collisions in practice," Bergan explained. "In a football practice, using shields rather than tackling, in practice not taking guys to the ground, teams are using the guardian caps to prevent it and so those are all things that I think are critical for all athletic departments to keep in mind."

The WIAA's concussion protocols can be found here.

An extended interview on concussions with Dr. Kevin Walter of Children's Wisconsin can be seen here: