Sports-Related Concussions & Subconcussive Injuries

Traumatic brain injury takes such a toll on individuals and society that federal legislation to protect youth athletes from the devastating impact of sports-related concussion is needed, experts from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Football League (NFL) said at a Congressional briefing.

Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on the evaluation and treatment of sport-related concussions in children and adolescents based on the latest consensus of experts.

The National Federation of State High School Associations' (NFHS) free online concussion safety course  "Concussion in Sports - What You Need to Know" has been taken by over 1 million people since it was introduced in 2010.

The number of sport-related concussions is highest in high-school aged athletes, but the number among younger athletes is significant and on the rise, according to a first-of-its-kind study reported in the journal Pediatrics.  The number of concussions among athletes ages 7 to 13 in the top five team sports (football, basketball, baseball, soccer and ice hockey) doubled over a four year period, and the concussion rates among those playing ice hockey and football are eight- to ten-times higher than the overall  rate.

In May 2009, Washington State enacted the Zackery Lystedt Law, becoming the first state in the nation to enact a comprehensive youth sports concussion safety law. Forty-two states have since followed Washington's lead in passing strong concussion safety laws.

The concussion identification, management and return-to-play policy statement of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is among the strictest in the country, requiring a 12-day minimum return-to-play waiting period for any athlete suspected of having suffered a concussion.

A panel of renowned medical experts in the field of sports related concussion both praised and criticized the recent concussion policy introduced by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) at a sports concussion summit.

In addition to the twenty-five states that have passed youth sports concussion safety laws, new concussion safety rules have been enacted both by the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS) and by individual state high school athletic associations in a number of states, including California, Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee.

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) is implementing a new concussion rule for the 2010-11 academic year which not only requires immediate removal of any athlete suspected of having suffered a concussion but bans his return until cleared to play by an appropriate health-care professional. This rule also covers youth leagues that play under high school rules or modified high school rules, but does not apply in those states where even stricter concussion laws have been recently passed.