Scores on a test commonly used to assess concussions on the sport sideline vary by an athlete's gender and concussion history, reports a new study1 presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) 2011 Annual Meeting in San Diego. The report emphasizes the importance of establishing an individual baseline for each youth athlete in contact and collision sports as criti...

Physical activity has been associated with widespread anatomical and functional brain changes that occur following acute exercise or, in the case of athletes, throughout life. High levels of physical activity through the practice of sports also lead to better general health and increased cognitive function. Athletes are at risk, however, of suffering a concussion, the effects of which have been...

Although the immediate neurocognitive effects of sports-related concussion are well known, less is known about the intermediate or long-term effects of sports-related concussions. A sample of selected studies of high-school and collegiate athletes is reviewed and the intermediate effects of concussive injuries are discussed, because no long-term empiric data are available with these populations...

After Zackery Lystedt’s brain injury, “he couldn’t speak for nine months,” his father said. Thirteen months later, “he could move his left arm a little; it took two years to get rid of the feeding tube and four years before he could move his right leg purposefully.” Zackery had suffered a concussion during a high school football game in 2006, but “was twice returned to play and collapsed 60 sec...

Methods: Over an 11-year span from January 2002 to December 2012, the authors reviewed the concussions sustained by athletes aged 4 to 13 years while playing basketball, baseball, football, gymnastics, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and wrestling, as evaluated in emergency departments (EDs) in the United States and captured by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) data...

BACKGROUND In the United States alone, millions of athletes participate in sports with potential for head injury each year. Although poorly understood, possible long-term neurological consequences of repetitive sports-related concussions have received increased recognition and attention in recent years. A better understanding of the risk factors for concussion remains a public health priority. ...

BACKGROUND Sports medicine clinicians and the general public are interested in the possible cumulative effects of concussion. OBJECTIVE To examine whether athletes with a history of one or two previous concussions differed in their preseason neuropsychological test performances or symptom reporting. METHOD Participants were 867 male high school and university amateur athletes who completed ...

Concussions had long been considered an injury of little to no consequence. However, the forced retirement of several high profile athletes due to the impact of having suffered multiple concussions has pushed the issue to the forefront of scientific and sports culture alike. Despite the growing public awareness and the ever-expanding scientific understanding of concussions there is still much t...

F physicians, particularly those who work in emergency rooms or act as physicians for sports teams, are often confronted with concussion. Although concussion can result from a variety of everyday activities, this article will focus on sports-related concussion. When the injury happens, physicians must consider whether a player can resume play. If a player cannot resume play immediately, the iss...