Sports-Related Concussions & Subconcussive Injuries

A concussion often affects a student-athlete's thinking, ability to remember (especially new information), and organization, so that academic accommodations may be needed. Here are some post-concussion strategies for the classroom to help maximize the ability to focus, stay organized, and remember important information during the recovery process.

Student athletes with a multiple concussion history are significantly more likely to experience continuing concussion-related symptoms such as headache, balance problems, dizziness than their peers with a history of one or no concussions, finds a new study to be published in the journal Neurosurgery.

While concussion symptoms usually clear within a week to ten days, in some cases, an athlete's physical, cognitive, emotional, and/or behavioral symptoms persist, a condition known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS). 

A test for disturbed eye movements has the potential to provide rapid and accurate sideline screening for concussion on the sports sideline, says a new study in the journal Neurology. The King-Devick (K-D) test measuring the speed of rapid number naming is an accurate and reliable method for identifying athletes who should be removed from a game or practice for further evaluation, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found.

The conclusion that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is caused by concussions and repetitive subconcussive brain trauma is scientifically premature, say an increasing number of researchers.

Concussion in high school sports are increasing at a 15% annual rate, finds a new study. Consistent with previous studies, football accounted for more than half of all concussions and a concussion rate nearly double the rate for girls' soccer, the sport with the next highest rate. Concussion rates increased across all 12 sports studied.  Although the degree of change varied, ranging from an average annual increase of 8% for football to 27% for wrestling, Girls had a higher rate of concussion that that of boys in those sports (soccer, basketball, baseball/softball) where the boys' and girls' games are essentially the same.

High school girls who suffer concussions in sports do not report a greater number of symptoms, take longer for their symptoms to clear, or return to play later than males, says a surprising new study.  But while the severity and outcome of concussions, as measured in the time symptoms take to clear and for athletes to return to play, do not vary by gender, the type of symptoms reported by girls are more subtle and easily missed than those boys report, say the new authors of the study published in the Journal of Athletic Training.

A new study of concussions suffered by high school athletes shows that loss of consciousness is uncommon, suggesting a greater understanding in the athletic community that loss of consciousness is not required for a concussion diagnosis.

A 2011 study confirms that football is still responsible for the majority of concussions at the high school level and that the symptoms of concussion clear in most cases within one week, but also shows for the first time the important role computerized neuropsychological testing is playing in concussion assessment and return to play decisions.