Concussion

Posted on | October 17, 2007 | Comments Off on Concussion

A serious, and sometimes ignored, risk for young athletes

Fall is here and with fall in the United States young people all across the country are playing football. It’s a rough game, which brings cuts and bruises at the very least. But a more serious injury – concussion – lurks just below the surface of most football games, and studies now show that we have underestimated just how often this injury occurs. In one study of 1,500 varsity football players in Wisconsin, nearly half of those who had experienced concussions never revealed them to coaches or parents. That’s alarming when you consider that the injury can be very dangerous and should not be taken lightly. But it appears that we are doing just that – even with an estimated 12 million American teenagers currently suited up to play football. To learn more about the dangers of concussion, watch this week’s video (embedded with this blog post) or read the full transcript of this week’s program. As always, please let us know how you feel about this issue. Are we doing enough to protect our kids from sports-related concussions?

Mike Magee