All Articles by Lindsey Barton Straus, JD

Banning Soccer Heading In Youth Soccer: Will It Make The Sport Safer?

The November 2015 announcement by a group of US youth soccer groups of a recommendation that players age 11 and younger be barred from heading the ball and that headers be limited in practice for those from age 12 and 13, has generated controversy, with experts lining up on both sides of the debate.

Pediatrics Group Declines To Endorse Outright Ban On Tackle Football

The American Academy of Pediatrics today endorsed efforts to limit contact practices in youth football, but declined to make a clear recommendation in favor of delaying the age at which tackling is introduced, and likewise refused to support those calling for an outright ban on tackling in football for athletes below age 18,

Is Flag Football A Safer Alternative To Tackle? Too Soon To Tell, Says Study

Flag football has often been suggested as a safer alternative to tackle football, but is it safer? Too soon to tell, say researchers from the University of Iowa.

Study Shows Rule Limiting Tackling During High School Football Practices Significantly Reduces Concussion Rates

Limiting the amount of full-contact tackling during high school football practices can have a big impact on reducing the number of concussions among players, new research finds.

ACL Injuries Increase Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents

New research confirms what doctors working with young athletes already suspected: the number of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears among youths, particularly high school students, has risen during the past 20 years.

ACL Injury Rate Significantly Higher For Female High School Athletes

A new research paper finds the overall rate of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries among high school athletes is significantly higher among females, who are especially likely to experience ACL tears while playing basketball, soccer and lacrosse.

Coaches and Parents: If Concussion Suspected, What To Do Next Is Simple

If a parent, coach, or game official suspects that a player has suffered a concussion playing sports, the player should be removed immediately from play, banned from returning that day, and be sent to be checked out right away by a medical professional. No sideline test, smartphone app or screening tool can help decide whether to allow the athlete to continue playing.

Drinking On A Schedule Not The Same As Encouraging Young Athletes To Over-Drink, Experts Say

A recent article in the New York Times expresses one expert's concern that coaches and parents who press young athletes to drink fluids before, during, and after a practice, whether the athletes feel thirsty or not, may be putting young athletes at risk of drinking too much water, which can result in a dangerous, life-threatening condition called hyponatremia. We wondered what other experts felt about the article's advice, so we asked three of our go-to hydration experts for their thoughts.

Repetitive Head Impacts Damage The Brain: A 'No Brainer,' Purdue Researchers Find

Research by scientists at Purdue goes a long way to eliminating any remaining doubt that repetitive head impacts, such as sustained by players in American football, result in brain abnormalities and impaired neurocognitive functioning during a football season, and that those effects persist long after the season.

Purdue Study First To Find Subtle Cognitive Deficits In High School Football Players From Repetitive Head Impacts

A 2010 study by researchers at Purdue University was the first to report that football players who displayed no clinically-observable signs of concussion, nevertheless showed measurable impairment of neurocognitive function (primarily visual working memory) on neurocognitive tests, as well as altered activation in neurophysiologic function on sophisticated brain imaging tests (fMRI).