Concussions by the Numbers

It is important for parents and athletes to be on the same page as the coaches and medical staff on the subject of concussions in sports. The best way is for the coach to hold a concussion education and safety meeting for parents and athletes before every season.

The SCAT3 is a standardized method of evaluating injured athletes for concussion ages 13 years and older. Although designed for use by medical and health professionals, it includes advice for athletes and parents about signs to watch for in the first 24 to 48 hours after suspected concussion and a list of other important points, including the need for rest and avoiding strenuous activity, and not training or playing sport until medically cleared.

Football is still responsible for the majority of concussions at the
high school level and the highest concussion rate.

In recent years, new scientific research and clinical-based literature have given the athletic training and medical professions a wealth of updated information on the treatment of sport-related concussion. To provide athletic trainers, physicians, other medical professionals, parents and coaches with recommendations based on these latest studies, the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has developed a set of guidelines to prevent and manage sport-related concussion and improve decisions about whether an athlete should or should not return to play after experiencing head trauma.

One of the signs of concussion is poor balance. An athlete's balance and equilibrium can be tested through use of the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS).

Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) occurs when an athlete who sustains a head injury - often a concussion or worse injury, such as a cerebral contusion (bruised brain) - sustains a second head injury before symptoms associated with the first have cleared. Typically, the athlete suffers post-concussion signs and symptoms after the first head injury, such as headache, visual, motor or sensory changes or mental difficulty, especially with the thought and memory process. Before these symptoms have cleared, which may take minutes, hours, days or weeks, the athlete returns to competition and receives a second blow to the head.

While there are many coaches who take concussions very seriously, there are still far too many in this country who berate and ostracize players complaining of concussion symptoms.  Coaches can be part of the concussion solution by encouraging reporting of symptoms by athletes and their teammates, and making failure to do so a violation of team rules.

Because one of the keys to keeping athletes safe when it comes to concussion is education, a concussion education and safety meeting should be held for parents and athletes should be held before every season. Ideally, the meeting should include presentations by medical doctors, former athletes, and parents of concussed current or former athletes.

A multiple concussion history, especially where concussions occur with progressively less impact force, are considered modifying factors in the investigation and management of concussion under the current international consensus statement on concussions.