BACKGROUND Concussive events frequently occur in high impact sports such as North American football. The long term effects of concussive events on physical and psychological wellbeing are the focus of ongoing research. The purpose of this study was to determine if concussive events increase the incidence of depression in active semi-professional and professional North American football players....

OBJECTIVE To determine what proportion of patients experience an exacerbation of their symptoms as a result of premature return to play (RTP) and return to learn (RTL) following sport-related concussions. DESIGN Retrospective study of electronic medical records from the office-based practice of one family and sport medicine physician who had systematically provided recommendations for cogniti...

CONTEXT Whereas the majority of sports concussions are isolated self-limited events, some patients have more complicated presentations and management needs. This review presents a framework for the management of these complicated concussion patients. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A MEDLINE search for the years 1990 to 2009 was performed using the search terms concussion and athletic injuries. Secondar...

BACKGROUND There is limited information on the relationship between football helmet fit and concussion severity. HYPOTHESIS Poor helmet fit may predispose football players to a more severe concussion. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive epidemiology study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level 3. METHODS Data from concussion injury reports were obtained from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Survei...

PURPOSE Water polo is a sport with a high degree of physicality and aggressive play. Unlike most contact sports, epidemiological data on the incidence or prevalence of head trauma in water polo have not been gathered, reported, or made publicly available. The purpose of this study was to begin a systematic characterization of the risks of head impact and concussion in men and women who play wat...

BACKGROUND Boys' lacrosse has one of the highest rates of concussion among boys' high school sports. A thorough understanding of injury mechanisms and game situations associated with concussions in boys' high school lacrosse is necessary to target injury prevention efforts. PURPOSE To characterize common game-play scenarios and mechanisms of injury associated with concussions in boys' high sc...

We assessed 10 youth football players (13.4 + 0.7 y) immediately before and after their season to explore the effects of football participation on selected clinical measures of neurologic function. Postseason postural stability in a closed-eye condition was improved compared to preseason (P 1⁄4 .017). Neurocognitive testing with the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (Im...

Contact-sports can elicit concussions, which impacts autonomic function, as well repetitive head trauma, where function has not yet been assessed. Purpose To determine if differences in exist among three groups (CTRL: healthy non-contact-sport participant; RHT: trauma contact-sport CONC: previous concussion). Methods Forty men (16) and women (24), aged 18-37 (22±3), participated. Participants w...

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can have long term effects on mental and physical health, and can disrupt vocational, educational, and social functioning. TBIs can range from mild to severe and their effects can last many years after the initial injury. CDC seeks to reduce the burden of TBI from unintentional injuries through a focus on primary prevention, improved recognition and management, and ...