Sports-Related Concussions & Subconcussive Injuries

College-age athletes who had previously suffered a concussion performed more poorly on tests for verbal memory than those who had not, according to a new study presented at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine and 2nd World Congress on Exercise is Medicine® in June 2011.

Along with studies reporting high concussion rates, increased concussion awareness among athletes, parents, coaches and health care providers, and new state concussion safety laws has come rapid growth in the use of computerized neuropsychological testing in evaluating and managing sports concussions, particularly at the college and high school levels. The problem, says sports concussion neuropsychologist, Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, Ph. D, is that obtaining a valid baseline test result can be a challenge, especially for youth athletes.

Because summer sports are less likely to be staffed by an athletic trainer or other health care professional with specialized expertise in recognizing and treating concussion, parents need to be especially vigilant to the signs and symptoms of concussion.

On May 10, 2011, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels signed a strong youth sports concussion safety act (Senate Enrolled Act 93) into law, becoming the sixteenth state since May 2009 to enact such a law.

An overwhelming majority of both athletes returning to the classroom after a concussion and their parents are "very concerned" that academic performance will be negatively affected, finds a new survey.  Majorities of both athletes and parents surveyed called for schools to do more to support the recovery of students from concussions through academic accommodations, such as extra time to complete tasks, reduced homework, and rest breaks. 

On April 21,2011, Arizona enacted became the fifteenth state in the nation to enact a comprehensive youth sports concussion safety law since May 2009.

On April 21, 2011, North Dakota governor Jack Dalrymple signed Senate Bill 2281 into law requiring that all schools in the state that sponsor or sanction athletic activities adopt a concussion management program and outlining the specific requirements that must be included in the program.  North Dakota became the fourteenth state to enact a strong youth sports concussion safety law since May 2009.

On April 7, 2011, Iowa governor Terry Brandstat signed the state's youth sports concussion safety law into law.  It will take effect July 1, 2011.

Pencil and paper neuropsychological tests have proven useful for identifying cognitive deficits resulting from concussions, and have been available to sports medicine clinicians for years but have a number of limitations.

Computerized neuropsycognitive testing for concussions has become increasingly popular in recent years and have been shown to have value in making the all-important return to play decision.