Trek-Segafredo announced Monday that they have partnered with HeadCheck Health, Inc, to launch a new team concussion protocol. The company's concussion assessment tool, HeadCheck, will enable the team's medical staff to assess concussions and track recovery of injured athletes.
"This is a very powerful tool," Trek-Segafredo head doctor Nino Daniele said in a team press release. "Now we can easily and accurately measure when it is safe for an athlete to continue riding after a concussion."
Trek-Segafredo held a training camp at Trek's global offices in Waterloo, Wisconsin, last month where four of the team's medical staff used HeadCheck to assess all of the riders on the men's WorldTour and women's WorldTeam. The initial assessment will provide baseline data for comparison against post-injury assessments.
The information from the initial assessment will help the team's medical staff respond to head injuries sustained during a race or in training by accessing HeadCheck on their phones. Medical staff will be able to assess a rider's response levels and compare results with baseline data.
Trek-Segafredo pointed to a 2018 study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness that showed that more than one in five cyclists experience a sports-related concussion.
"Trek-Segafredo believes athletes deserve top-level protection for their health, which is why they are now using HeadCheck for their men's and women's teams," the press release stated.
The HeadCheck assessment tool isn't only used by medical staff. The tool can help assist riders in safe recovery following an injury by tracking and self-reporting symptoms from their own mobile devices.
Trek also sponsors teams in off-road disciplines: downhill, cross-country and enduro, that are also using HeadCheck's smartphone technology.
"Trek continues to demonstrate great leadership in the cycling community by taking a proactive approach to the health and wellness of their riders," said HeadCheck Health CEO Harrison Brown. "The addition of the Trek-Segafredo road cycling team to HeadCheck is an important step in working together to advance concussion management practices in the sport."
