Victor Oladipo exhibiting patience in return from concussion

Victor Oladipo returned to the Amway Center on Monday as he continues to work through the concussion protocols, exhibiting patience with his recovery.

Victor Oladipo’s season changed in an instant. As he tried to pick up a loose ball, he collided with Dewayne Dedmon‘s shoulder and was knocked to the ground.

Oladipo said the impact sounded like a bell had rung, and that is no cute euphemism for the serious injury that occurred. Oladipo was clearly a little disoriented as he tried to get himself back in the play, and the Magic removed him from the game at the following timeout.

Oladipo has been out ever since, only rejoining his teammates for the first time at Monday’s practice. The timetable for his return remains uncertain. John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com reports Oladipo rode the stationary bike during Monday’s practice, the first step in the concussion protocol for a return to the court.

It is unclear at this point whether Oladipo has been cleared and moved on to the next physical activity on his way to a full return to the court. At this point, pinpointing or speculating on when Oladipo could return to the court is merely that — speculation.

There is no straight road to a recovery from a concussion as Nikola Vucevic learned when he missed three weeks of the season in 2013.

“I think the first thing is you have to let them know is that, while it’s not a life-threatening injury, it can be a serious one,” said Dr. Erin Manning, a neurologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery. “It’s not something that should be ignored. These symptoms should not be ignored because of possible long-term effects from it. It’s more telling people that it is very variable. Letting them know that it is normal that if you aren’t better in a few days, that’s OK. That’s considered completely normal. Everyone’s brain has a different way of recovering from this.”

There are certain risk factors that are specific to each individual that could slow down the recovery process, Dr. Manning said. Symptoms like a history of migraines or previous concussions could certainly affect how any person recovers from a heady injury.

The struggle when managing the symptoms with this kind of an injury, Dr. Manning said, is informing the patient there is no straight line in recovering from a concussion. Like with any physical injury, some days will be better and some days could see the patient suffer a setback.

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The NBA’s concussion protocols were put in place to be certain players were fully prepared to return to the court. It includes baseline testing before the beginning of the season for a comparison when a suspected head injury occurs.

After a player has been diagnosed with a concussion or concussion symptoms, he has to visit a doctor (Oladipo visited a doctor Thursday) and then go through a series of physical tests of increasing difficulty (stationary bike, jogging, agility tests and non-contact basketball drills) and match his baseline test after each stage before returning fully to the court.

The team doctor along with the NBA’s appointed doctor who specializes in head injuries and concussions give a final evaluation before clearing the player to return.

It seems like an arduous path back, but it is necessary for the player’s long-term health. A player may want to get back as quickly as possible, but it is the league and the trainer’s responsibility at this point to make sure the player takes their time and only comes back when they have recovered completely.

“That’s a big reason for using the baseline testing so that you can compare the testing to where they were before the season was even started,” Dr. Manning said. “That’s a good way to prevent people who are trying to underplay their symptoms, which definitely does happen. You look for things on their examination — do they have problems with their eye movement or balance. There are certain things you can’t kind of fake or pretend it’s OK. Those are the things that you look for, even if they are very subtle changes. You have to take them seriously if you find anything.”

And when it comes to important things like balance or the ability to process stimuli on a basketball court, it is important to make sure it is back up to that baseline level.

Many sports now have a similar protocol before clearing players as concussion awareness and understanding has grown in the last few years.

Oladipo told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel he was thankful the NBA has put this in place.

There is likely still a little ways to go ahead for Oladipo. His return to the team facility is a small step forward and toward his return. But he, like anyone who suffers such a serious injury, has to take things slow.

The fact there is growing awareness both from the league and from players is a good sign for all.

“I think there has been an incredible increase in the amount of awareness which the sports leagues are responding to and making policies,” Dr. Manning said. “Whereas five years ago there wasn’t any policy or any kind of protocol that you had to follow in the case of these happening. It definitely is an awareness on the part of athletes. I think you are getting a lot less of athletes downplaying their symptoms or saying it’s not so bad because they understand the seriousness of this in the long term and they need to let there to be time for their brains to heal.”