News & Studies

That a sports concussions have an adverse short-term effect on cognitive functioning has long been known.  But two recent studies add to a growing body of evidence that the effects of concussions may last for many months and in some cases years.

Female soccer players and soccer players who have had a previous concussion recuperate differently from males or players without a history of concussion, recent research shows, but later studies show no difference, leading the most recent international consensus statement on concussion in sport to conclude that a consensus on gender as a modifying factor in concussion management is not currently possible.

An April 2007 Canadian study found that children receiving emergency room treatment for a head injury (HI) are nearly twice as likely to experience another HI requiring medical attention in the next six months compared to children who initially visited the ER for a non-head related injury. The Canadian study is consistent with earlier study finding that once an athlete suffers a concussion, the risk of suffering a second concussion is three to four times greater.

Teenage soccer players who wear protective headgear suffer nearly half as many concussions as those who play without soccer headgear, according to a 2008 study conducted by Canadian researchers.

The current international consensus of concussion experts recognizes that they lack the ability to predict injury severity or
outcomes at the time of concussion injury, calls for consideration of range of "modifying factors."

A study of elite athletes playing contact sports suggests that the symptoms of depression some experience after a concussion may result from physical changes in their brains caused by the concussions themselves.

Girls have higher concussion rates in sports like soccer and basketball than boys, but whether they experience greater levels of acute, postconcussive neurocognitive impairment remains unclear, even after extensive research.