The word concussion is debated nearly as much as global warming. Study after study seems to show a connection between concussions and problems that could occur later in life. Memory loss, cognitive issues, physical and even emotional distress. That’s enough to make any parent question their decision to place a child in youth athletics.
According to the Research Institute at National Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, of 7,780,064 athlete-exposures (AEs) suffered a concussion rate of 2.5% per 10,000 AEs. Of ages 15-24 (high school and college) football had the highest rate at 47.1% or 912 concussion of the 1,936 reported. Girl’s soccer was second with 159 reported concussion or 8.2% followed by wrestling with 5.8%. Girl’s basketball, ice hockey and boy’s lacrosse all came in just under 5.5%. Girl’s had a higher rate per athlete at 1.7% to the boy’s 1.0%.
70.3% of concussions reported were player-to-player contact. That doesn’t always mean helmet-to-helmet. In every sport with contact, players collide. Only 17.2% was due to player-to-surface contact.
Gymnastics has seen a sharp rise in concussion numbers, while swimming has the lowest rate of concussions according to a study done by the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2012.
But lets get back to the youth sports questions. Should I or shouldn’t I allow my child to participate?
Like their older brothers, youth organizations are doing a lot to educate their coaches to the symptoms of concussion and the proper protocol and treatment. The Indian Nations Football Conference has been a leader in this area requiring their coaches to know the symptoms and to not allow the return of an athlete without a doctor’s clearance. The INFC also educates the coaches on other issues such as heat and hydration concerns. These steps are taken to insure the athletes participating in the sport are looked after and treated immediately in case of injury.
HealthResearchFunding.org reports a 9.5% drop in participation for the countries largest youth football organization, Pop Warner. But other experts point to other sports like lacrosse, rugby and hockey with numbers on the rise.
Is there a risk? Of course their is. I got my first concussion on my bicycle. So should we stop ridding bikes? I also coached 13 years of youth football and in that time I had one player suffer a concussion that was diagnosed. The fear to protect our kids from injury is warranted, but do we sacrifice the joy and lessons learned by playing with teammates, having a coach and learning what it means to win and lose?
Technology, diagnoses, treatment and awareness will help coaches and parents recognize symptoms and take appropriate steps to hold that player out until they are medically cleared to play. This goes for girl’s soccer, lacrosse, hockey, baseball, wrestling, basketball and yes football.
Three million kids participate in youth sports and a small percentage ever experience true concussion related symptoms. Lets be smart here and lets not shut down youth sports because of fear and uncertainty. To learn more on concussion symptoms please visit http://ajs.sagepub.com
