Health & Safety

Concussed adolescents have difficulty recovering the ability for high level thinking after injury and may require extended recuperation before full recovery of so-called 'executive function' is achieved, a new study finds, which adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that teenage athletes are particularly vulnerable to the lingering effects of concussion.

An important, and well-established, part of an assessment for concussion on the sports sideline under the most recent concussion guidelines is to test an athlete's orientation to time and place by asking the so-called "Maddocks questions."  Because they can be asked by anyone, they are valuable on sports sidelines where no health care professional trained in performing a full sideline screening for concussion is present.

A history of pre-existing migraine headaches may be a risk factor for a concussion and may be associated with a prolonged recovery.

Management of sport-related concussion involves a step-by-step process beginning before a sports season even starts, say the three newest concussion guidelines, and continuing through on-the-field evaluation, sideline assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and return to play.

Ankle sprains are the most common single injury in high school sports, accounting for one in six of all high school sports-related injuries, finds a new study.

When people think of back pain in athletes, they mosty think of pain in the neck or lower back. As a result, the middle part of the spine, called the thoracic spine, is commonly overlooked. But just as other regions of the back, the mid-spine can negatively impact a young athlete's performance and risk of injury.

The winter sports season is in full swing, and spring sports are a ways off, but safety comes first, no matter what the sport or the season. Here's a sixteen-point safety checklist to keep athletes in the game.

In a move that could help revolutionize football player safety, the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), and Riddell have announced plans for a joint research study designed to advance athlete concussion detection and treatment, guide development of new football headgear and further refine updates to player monitoring technology.