All Articles by Lindsay Barton

In an effort to promote safer play and minimize the risk of head, neck and spine injuries, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has clarified the rules on checking from behind in high school hockey.  The changes seek to stem the rising tide of violence in high school hockey, and come in the wake of several highly publicized catastrophic injuries to players after illegal checks from behind, but is better enforcement the simpler, and better, answer?

An alarming number of sports concussion go undetected, say experts, either because athletes fail to self-report concussion symptoms, or because sideline personnel lack the necessary training and experience to identify concussed athletes.  The best way to address the problem of under-reporting may be not to rely on the athletes themselves, game officials, or even sideline observers to call for a concussion assessment, but to use sophisticated helmet sensors to measure impacts to get around the problem altogether.

Two football helmets earned five stars in the 2012 Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings,^TM bringing to three the number of helmets laboratory testing suggest provide the best available protection against concussions,, but the results should be viewed with caution, experts say.

The number of children diagnosed with concussion at hospital emergency rooms has more than doubled over the last decade while the number of admissions after ER treatment declined, says the preliminary results of a 2012 study. The data suggest efforts to increase awareness of the dangers of traumatic brain injury are working.

Brain trauma to youth and high school players in contact and collision sports can occur not just from violent helmet-on-helmet collisions but from repetitive sub-concussive blows.  There are five major ways to reduce exposure to such hits, experts say.

Youth football players get hit on the helmet almost as hard as older players but not nearly as often, says a surprising new study from Virginia Tech.

A 2012 study finds that the reduced flow of blood to the brain of concussed adolescent athletes sometimes persists longer than 30 days, and adds to the growing body of evidence that the brains of children and teens are more vulnerable to concussion, supports need for cognitive rest after concussion, and substantiates the need for more conservative management of concussions in young athletes.

The latest expert advice on ways to minimize the risk that your young pitcher will suffer an injury to their elbow or shoulder.

Georgia has become the fifth state to adopt heat-acclimatization guidelines to reduce the risk of exertional heat stroke among high school athletes.  In adopting  key recommendations from a 2009 statement from the National Athletic Trainers Association, the Georgia High School Association joins Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas and North Carolina.  Ten other state high school associations are actively considering adoption.