Sports-Related Concussions & Subconcussive Injuries

Men who played high school football in Minnesota in the decade after World War II are not increased risk of later developing dementia, Parkinson's or ALS compared with non-football playing high school males, according to a study by researchers at the Mayo Clinic. 

The prevailing media narrative is that concussions or repetitive subconcussive blows "cause" chronic traumatic encephalopthy (CTE) and that there is a proven link between the two. It thus may come as a surprise that, despite widespread media coverage and speculation regarding the late-life or post-retirement risks of cognitive impairment in athletes who engaged in sports involving repetitive trauma, there has been very little in the way of peer-reviewed  literature to support that conclusion, leading many respected concussion researchers to view it as "scientifically premature."

Safebrain is a sensor that athletes wear on their helmets to help determine if they may have been hit hard enough to have a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Our product is essentially a ‘Black Box' for the brain.

In her long road to recovery from post-concussion syndrome, two-time Olympic hockey star Caitlin Cahow had the best help a daughter could ask for, a mom who was there for her, no questions asked.  Caitlin's mom, a physician herself, shares with MomsTEAM's Brooke de Lench her perspective on new treatment therapies.

To minimize the risk of delayed recovery from concussion, long-term injury, or, in rare instances, catastrophic injury or death, it is critical that athletes suspected of having sustained a concussion are removed from play as early as possible.  the chances that a concussion will be identified early on the sports sideline can be maximized by following a multi-pronged approach utilizing the "Five E's." 

The number of emergency department (ED) visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) has risen over the past ten years, but the percentage of admissions has remained unchanged at about 10%, reports a new study. The study also reported a welcome trend towards admitting children with less severe TBI, which experts say may reflect a more cautious approach to management of brain injuries involving greater emphasis on in-patient observation to watch for signs of a serious brain injury, less routine use of CT and MRI scans, and less reliance on parents to observe their children for such signs at home in borderline cases.  

The Brooke de Lench documentary, "The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer," will be broadcast on PBS affiliate stations across the country beginning September 17, 2013.

Nearly a third of patients at two leading sports concussion clinics reported having previously suffered a concussion which went undiagnosed, says a new study, putting them at increased risk of longer recovery from concussion, the cumulative effects of concussive injury, and of second impact syndrome.