Health & Safety

What factors predict which athletes recover quickly from concussion and which will take longer has proved to be a vexing question. A new study suggests an elegantly simple and intuitive answer: the athletes who take longer to recover report the most severe symptoms right after injury; the more severe the initial symptoms, the more likely a longer recovery.

Dental and orofacial injuries are common in sport, but most are preventable with proper equipment, reports a 2013 study.

Active Schools Acceleration Project (ASAP), an initiative of ChildObesity180, has developed a creative grant opportunity to get kids moving in America's schools. ASAP Acceleration Grants totaling $1,000,000 will be awarded to 1,000 schools to award-winning and innovative physical activity programs. First Lady Michelle Obama is encouraging schools to apply for a grant through her "Let's Move! Active Schools" campaign.

Athletes with sickle cell trait (SCT) are at increased risk of life-threatening heat stroke from a condition called exertional sickling, with heat, dehydration, asthma, high-intensity exercise and high altitude known risk factors. But why do some SCT athletes never suffer from exertional sickling or heat illness while others do (with some cases resulting in death)? A new study hopes to answer that question.

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? Here are some tips.

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.