Neurologist brings added might to IndyCar medical team
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe world of sports is taking head injuries more seriously than ever, and it’s no different for motorsports. For the first time ever, IndyCar now has a neurologist on its medical team.
The month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is actually the longest that Dr. Bert Vargas will stay in one place because he travels with the IndyCar teams with a special focus on head injuries.
A violent crash last summer for IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud caused a concussion that’s kept him out of the race car. Nearly a year later, he’s still not cleared to drive. It speaks to the critical need for drivers to be in the hands of an expert and for the first time ever, now they are.
Vargas, a sports neurologist joined the IndyCar medical team just weeks ago. Money raised by the annual fundraising event Rev is paying for his position, adding might to a team already hailed as the best in the world.
“A neurologist does raise the bar, and I think we should raise the bar,” Vargas said. “I think that there been plenty of other sports organizations that have seen some true value in having a neurologist–not just a neurologist but a neurologist with an expertise in sports.”
Vargas is on the NFL’s Head Neck and Spine Committee and led NASCAR’s AMR neuro trauma team for seven years before switching gears to IndyCar. On race day for the Indianapolis 500, Vargas will be at the infield care center watching every turn ready to spot a concussion just minutes after a crash.
“It’s the people who walk in feeling normal, looking normal that you evaluate, and when you really dig in deep into the exam, you see that they’re not normal,” he said. “Those are the ones that I think are more important to catch.”
Aside from diagnosing the immediate injury, rehab is equally important and now guided by Vargas. Using high-tech goggles to measure eye and vestibular function, which relates to motion and a person’s balance, Vargas can determine how well a driver is recovering from a concussion.
“More than any other sport, the risk of driving with a concussion is essentially the same as driving impaired,” he said. “You’re risking the other drivers that are on the same track with that individual. So it impacts not just not just that individual driver, but the entire field if you put someone in the car, and they’re not able to race at their best.”
Vargas said through his many years in motorsports, he has seen a shift among drivers, who previously wouldn’t want to see or speak with a neurologist.
“I think now, especially since they realize that this could impact their ability to race for many, many years, that they’re more inclined now to open up to talk about signs and symptoms of concussion and then to actually follow the guidance of the care team when we recommend eventual return to sport rehabilitation program.”
Earlier in his career, Vargas worked with pilots in the United States Air Force and says he is seeing fascinating parallels between pilots and racecar drivers.