Health & Safety

The most recent international consensus statement on sport-related concussions identifies several important differences in the way concussions are diagnosed and treated in children and adolescents, including the need for age-appropriate symptom checklists, additional cognitive rest and a longer recovery period before return to sports.

According to the most recent international consensus of concussion experts, concussion signs (those noticed by coaches, parents and teammates) and symptoms (feelings or problems experienced by the athlete) fall into five "clusters."

Keeping children's brains and bodies safe during sports is a top priority, which is why close attention is paid to helmets and pads. But what about children's mouths? April is National Facial Protection Month, which makes it an excellent time to take steps to protect your kid's mouth from unnecessary injury with an affordable but often overlooked device: the mouth guard.

Over-hydration can be as dangerous to your health as dehydration. So what does a sweaty athlete need to know about staying adequately hydrated without stomach sloshing? A controversial book suggests, for starters, ignoring the hype of the sports drink industry in selling what amounts to salted sugar water.

A former school psychologist explains the kinds of services parents should reasonably expect from their child's public school in the event they suffer a concussion, including whether their children are entitled to academic accommodations, such as an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or so-called 504 Plan.

The National Athletic Trainers' Association has launched the first-ever Safe Sports School award program to recognize secondary schools around the country that provide safe environments for student athletes and reinforce the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention and treatment.

Concussion experts agree that the taking of a detailed concussion history as part of a student-athlete's preparticipation physical evaluation is valuable because it can identify athletes at high risk of further injury, provides an opportunity for concussion education, and modifying playing style to reduce risk.

Head injuries in football, as in other contact and collision sports, cannot be completely eliminated, but there ARE steps that can be taken to minimize risk. MomsTEAM's high school football concussion documentary, "The Smartest Team," focuses on "The Six Pillars" of concussion risk management: education, protection, identification, treatment, return to play and retirement.