is a board certified, fellowship trained Sports Neurologist who is specialized in the treatment of concussion, post-concussion syndrome, and neurological disorders in athletes.
About Dr. Corti
Dr. Sandro Corti is a board certified, fellowship trained Sports Neurologist who is specialized in the treatment of concussion, post-concussion syndrome, and neurological disorders in athletes.
He is a graduate of The College of New Jersey and attended medical school at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, New Jersey. His neurology residency was at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. He then went on to complete a fellowship in Sports Neurology at The Sports Neurology Clinic in Brighton, Michigan with the NBA Concussion Director and Neurologist for the U.S. Olympic team, Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher.
Dr. Corti is board certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and is a member of the American Academy of Neurology. He has research interests in the diagnosis and management of sports-related concussion, as well as the long-term consequences of concussion and repetitive sub-concussive hits in athletes. He has presented concussion research at national medical conferences, including the AAN Sports Concussion Conference and Big Sky Athletic Training Sports Medicine Conference.
Dr. Corti has performed sideline coverage for the evaluation of acute concussions for the Western Michigan University football team, as well as several high school football and hockey teams in New Jersey and Michigan. He has experience as a sports neurologist managing brain injury in athletes at all levels of competition, including current and retired NFL, NHL and NBA athletes.
Services
Expedited Acute Concussion evaluation: Once a concussion has occurred, the symptoms can begin to emerge anywhere from the first few seconds to several hours after the injury. The peak of the symptoms and examination findings will be evident within the first 24-48 hours. This window of time allows us to have the best information to diagnose and manage your injury. We will do our best to have your appointment scheduled within 2 days, please call as soon as possible after the injury. If there is any concern for more severe injury or red flags (prolonged loss of consciousness, slurred speech, weakness, numbness, seizure), please proceed immediately to the nearest emergency room or call 911.
Follow-up Acute Concussion visits with physician monitored Return to Play protocol workout: One of the unique features of seeing a sports neurologist is the ability to have a workout that is assessed directly by the physician with a heart rate monitor and a neurologic examination before and after the workout. This allows us to more accurately determine the progress of your recovery and customize your return to play program in a way that best suits your needs while still adhering to the Berlin concussion consensus and NJSIAA guidelines on return to play protocols.
Post-Concussion Syndrome evaluation: Most concussions recover within 7-14 days if allowed to heal properly after the injury is discovered. But in some cases, the symptoms that began after the concussion can linger for several weeks to months. This can occur for many reasons and a sports neurologist can separate the symptoms of concussion from neurologic symptoms that may be attributable to other factors, which may require different treatment.
CTE focused evaluation: Due to increased media attention, many current and former athletes are concerned about the risks of getting CTE. We take a detailed concussion/head impact burden history and neurologic examination, provide the most up to date understanding of CTE research, discuss the risks and benefits of playing for each individual athlete, and treat any neurologic symptoms that are present or conditions that are diagnosed to the best of our ability.
Pre-season Concussion Baseline Examination: Any athlete concerned about concussions should schedule an appointment to have their baseline neurologic examination recorded for future reference. This allows for optimal concussion diagnosis as it provides the physician the ability to see what potentially subtle exam findings may be new and attributable to a concussion when examined in the future after a suspected injury. These visits are also useful as a way to track overall brain health between seasons, and screen for other neurologic conditions such as migraines, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and more.
Sideline Coverage: The purpose of this coverage is for athletic trainers to have immediate access to an independent concussion evaluation for a player if the athletic trainer deems it necessary. It also functions as a learning opportunity between medical professionals. If your institution is interested in having Dr. Corti provide sideline coverage for one or more of your sporting events, please email drsandrocorti@gmail.com and use the subject “Sideline Coverage”.
General Neurology: As a board certified neurologist, Dr. Corti is qualified to evaluate and treat adult patients for all neurologic conditions including but not limited to: headache/migraine, stroke, epilepsy, dementia, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders, sleep disorders, movement disorders, peripheral nerve injury
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a concussion?A traumatic injury to the brain caused by a force transmitted by direct impact or whiplash, which causes a disturbance in normal brain function on a structural level typically too small to detect on standard brain imaging tests.1
What are the red flags?If you experience any of the following after a head impact, call 911 or proceed to the emergency room for further evaluation: prolonged loss of consciousness, slurred speech, repeated vomiting, vision loss, weakness, numbness, seizure.
What are the signs?The most common symptoms include headache, blurry vision, dizziness, imbalance, sensitivity to light or sound, nausea, disorientation, amnesia, confusion, inattention, irritability, and sleep changes. While loss of consciousness was considered a requirement for concussion for many years, it is now recognized that loss of consciousness only occurs in less than 10% of concussions.2
Who gets concussions?Any activity that involves potentially hitting your head or having rapid changes in head movement can be a risk for concussion. While football, hockey, boxing and MMA are known for having the highest rates of concussion, it is also common for them to occur during basketball, soccer, cheerleading, volleyball, lacrosse, wrestling, gymnastics, rugby and other physical activities. They are also very common with motor vehicle accidents and simple slips or falls.
How is concussion diagnosed?At this time, there is still no imaging or blood test that can reliably diagnose a concussion.3 Thus, the gold standard is diagnosis by a specialist. Most concussions can be properly diagnosed by a primary care or emergency room doctor; but for the most accurate diagnosis and especially in borderline or unclear cases, the best course of action is to see a concussion specialist such as a sports neurologist. Computer-based tests can assist in determining the likelihood of concussion, but they are one tool in part of a larger examination and not intended for use as a definitive diagnostic test.3
How is a sports neurologist different than my regular doctor?A sports neurologist is a typically a physician who is board-certified in neurology and has additional fellowship training in sports neurology which specializes in neurological injuries in athletes, most notably concussions. A sports neurologist is trained to manage the most difficult concussion cases, as well as help prevent or improve post-concussion syndrome symptoms. They are also some of the most up to date sources of information regarding the current understanding of CTE.
How is concussion treated?The best way to treat concussions is to first recognize when there is a possibility you or someone else is concussed, remove yourself or that player from play, be assessed by a specialist who can recommend appropriate management strategies, and then allow time for the injury to heal.
What are the risks?Most concussions will improve in 7-14 days if allowed to heal properly.4 When the brain is injured, taking another concussive hit to the brain can cause increased damage that will make the symptoms take several weeks or months to go away5, and in rare cases lead to a dangerous condition known as Second Impact Syndrome.
What is post-concussion syndrome?A combination of several symptoms that can begin at various points after a concussion and persist for months to years after the injury.6 The symptoms may or may not be directly related to brain injury after months have passed, and a sports neurologist can help determine this difference and suggest appropriate treatment. Proper concussion management in the first several days after a concussion can also go a long way in preventing this condition.
What is CTE?Chronic traumatic encephalopathy refers to an accumulation of a protein (called Tau) in specific regions of the brain that has been reported in many cases of retired athletes and military personnel. A percentage of these individuals also have cognitive and behavioral impairments during their life.1
What should I do next?If you or someone you know may have a concussion and do not have any “red flags” (see above), please call the office of Neurology Specialists of Monmouth County at 732-935-1850 between 8am-6pm Monday through Thursday or 8am-12pm on Friday. We will do our best to have your appointment scheduled within 2 days, please call as soon as possible after the injury.
References:
1. Giza CC, Kutcher JS. An Introduction to Sports Concussions. Continuum. 2014;20(6):1545–1551.
2. Harmon KG, Drezner JA, Gammons M, et al. American Medical Society for Sports Medicine position statement: concussion in sport. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(1):15-26.
3. McCrory P, Meeuwisse W, Dvorak J, Aubry M, Bailes J, Broglio S et al. Consensus statement on concussion in sport—the 5th international conference on concussion in sport held in Berlin, October 2016. Br J Sports Med. 2017 Jun;51(11):838-847
4. Giza CC, Hovda DA. The new neurometabolic cascade of concussion. Neurosurgery. 2014;75(suppl4):S24-33.
5. Prins ML, Alexander D, Giza CC, Hovda DA. Repeated mild traumatic brain injury: mechanisms of cerebral vulnerability. J Neurotrauma. 2013;30(1):30-38.
6. Jordan BD. The clinical spectrum of sport-related traumatic brain injury. Nat Rev Neurol. 2013;9(4):222-230.
