Health & Safety

To minimize the risk of delayed recovery from concussion, long-term injury, or, in rare instances, catastrophic injury or death, it is critical that athletes suspected of having sustained a concussion are removed from play as early as possible.  the chances that a concussion will be identified early on the sports sideline can be maximized by following a multi-pronged approach utilizing the "Five E's." 

In recent years, platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) injections have been used to treat a variety of sports injuries, ranging from severe tendonitis to muscle tears, but there is an ongoing debate among sports medicine doctors as to its effectiveness, especially given its cost. We explore both sides of the controversy.

The number of emergency department (ED) visits for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) has risen over the past ten years, but the percentage of admissions has remained unchanged at about 10%, reports a new study. The study also reported a welcome trend towards admitting children with less severe TBI, which experts say may reflect a more cautious approach to management of brain injuries involving greater emphasis on in-patient observation to watch for signs of a serious brain injury, less routine use of CT and MRI scans, and less reliance on parents to observe their children for such signs at home in borderline cases.  

If you are parenting a female athlete, you may have a tough time convincing her to take your advice, even if you enjoyed a successful sports career yourself. Perhaps she will listen to an orthopedic surgeon for a major league baseball team who, before she became a doctor, was a triple jump champion and record-holder in high school track in Iowa.

The Brooke de Lench documentary, "The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer," will be broadcast on PBS affiliate stations across the country beginning September 17, 2013.

The National Athletic Trainers' Association has re-released an official statement regarding the calling of crown of the helmet violations in an effort to ensure sports safety at every level of football participation. Re-issuance of the statement by the NATA comes in the wake of at least two deaths of high school football players from catastrophic cervical spine injuries in 2013.

Nearly a third of patients at two leading sports concussion clinics reported having previously suffered a concussion which went undiagnosed, says a new study, putting them at increased risk of longer recovery from concussion, the cumulative effects of concussive injury, and of second impact syndrome.

Cheerleading:carries the highest rate of catastrophic injury in sports, accounts for fully two-thirds (66%) of all catastrophic injuries in female athletes has experienced a sharp rise in the number of emergency room visits since 1980, with cheerleaders ten times more likely to sustain concussions in practice than in competition