Health & Safety

A study of elite athletes playing contact sports suggests that the symptoms of depression some experience after a concussion may result from physical changes in their brains caused by the concussions themselves.

Regardless of which return to play guidelines a child's school or sports program follows for concussions, they are just guidelines, not ironclad rules, with a child's return to play determined on case-by-case basis.

Until 2004, the three most commonly used concussion grading systems were the Cantu, Colorado Medical Society (CMS), and American Academy of Neurology (AAN) guidelines. They have since been abandoned in favor of a symptom-based approach to individually guide management and return to play decisions.

The "simple" versus "complex" concussion classification was abandoned under the 3rd international consensus statement on concussion in sport, replaced by list of "modifying" factors, which have carried through to the 4th consensus statement issued in March 2013.

Deteriorating mental status after head trauma may indicate a more serious, potentially life-threatening brain injury requiring immediate hospitalization.

The AT is an invaluable member of the sports medicine team, particularly when an athlete suffers a concussion, because they have specialized training, and see athletes on a daily basis.  Because they are trusted by athletes, they can encourage the honest self-reporting that is key to avoiding delayed recovery or catastrophic injury.

Girls have higher concussion rates in sports like soccer and basketball than boys, but whether they experience greater levels of acute, postconcussive neurocognitive impairment remains unclear, even after extensive research.

In 1992, the American College of Sports Medicine first recognized that girls and women in sports were particularly susceptible to three interrelated conditions – disordered eating, menstrual irregularity, and osteoporosis – that have come to be known as the "female athlete triad."

There are ten things parents should look for in evaluating the safety of their child's high school athletic program, according to the National Association of Athletic Trainers.