Sports Concussion Safety

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia have passed strong youth sports concussion safety laws since May 2009.  Of the remaining nineteen states, three have passed weak concussion safety laws, ten are considering laws, and six have no concussion bills pending.  

The most recent international consensus of concussion experts is that a young athlete with diagnosed concussion should not be allowed to return to play on the day of injury, regardless of the medical resources available and regardless of the level of athletic performance (in other words, even for an "elite" athlete).

Preventing serious injury (concussion, traumatic brain injury, spinal paralysis) or death in high school and Pop Warner football; advice from the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Researc on football safety

Each year, almost 87,000 hockey-related injuries to youths under age 15 are treated in hospitals, doctors' offices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and hospital emergency rooms. The total cost of these hockey-related injuries was more than $978 million in 2006. This amount includes medical, legal and liability, work loss, and pain and suffering costs.

MomsTeam Founder and long-time concussion safety advocate, Brooke de Lench, lists twelve-ways for parents to know their child's sports program is taking concussions seriously.

Concussion signs (observable by others) and symptoms (experienced by the athlete) fall into four categories: physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related.

Parents are critical participants in the recognition and treatment of, and recovery from, a concussion, not only in the first 24 to 48 hours but during every step in the process towards an eventual return to the play.

Sports concussion myths are still common, despite increased media focus and education in recent years.