Effective immediately, Canada's top athletes will be treated with new medical guidelines aimed at reducing the impact of concussion-related brain injuries. They will be immediately employed as athletes train for the Pan American Games this summer in Lima, Peru, and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The same approach will be used for Paralympic athletes, said Dr. Andy Marshall, chief medical officer with the Canadian Paralympic Committee. "If a concussion is suspected, the athlete must be removed from training or competition and evaluated immediately," the guidelines state. Danielle Lappage, who competed in wrestling at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, said having a baseline was helpful when she "clunked heads pretty hard" with an opponent during training.

Source: CBC News March 18, 2019 16:01 UTC