Counting Concussions

The Question:

Which high school sports result in the highest rate of concussions?

The Study:

Researchers at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH, evaluated the records of 1,936 high schoolers treated for a concussion from during the 2008-2010 academic years. In particular, they looked at the sport and gender of the adolescents evaluated for a concussion.

The Results:

Not surprisingly, participants in contact sports were nearly six times more likely to have a concussion than participants in non-contact sports. Football was first with 47 percent of all the concussions, followed by girls’ soccer (8 percent), boys’ wrestling (6 percent), and girls’ basketball (6 percent). Highest of all sports, 22 percent of all ice hockey injuries were concussions. Concussions were nearly six times more likely to occur during a game than during a practice session. In gender-comparable sports, the incidence of concussions was 1.7 times higher for girls than boys.

Comment:

Concussions are a potentially very serious injury that may have lifelong consequences. Often it is hard to make the diagnosis and convince the student athlete, parents, and coach that the student shouldn’t return to play until fully recovered and cleared by a physician.

Read More:

The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 04/12

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