Concussions are a serious problem in the young athlete and a recent study showed that most parents support school policies that would help to ensure this. The movement to educate coaches and trainers to recognize and deal appropriately with concussion has also been endorsed by the NFL chief, Roger Goodell.

Commissioner Goodell signed a letter urging the governors of 44 states to pass a law similar to the one passed in Washington state that doesn’t allow young athletes who have suffered a concussion from returning to play too soon.

Washington state passed Lystedt’s law, named after the young athlete, Zachery Lystedt, who suffered a severe brain injury in 2006 after returning to play in the second half of middle school football game. Called the “shake-it-off-law” referring to how many youngsters try to shrug off the injury, five states have passed similar laws to Washington: Oregon, Connecticut, Virginia, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

According to the CDC, there are about 3.8 million sports and recreation related concussions each year.

Recent research found that young athletes are more likely to sustain concussion and to recover from them than adults. The research out of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, surveyed parents of children between the ages of 12 and 17 who play school sports and found that nearly 2/3 of parents didn’t know if their child’s school had a concussion policy. More concerning, 1/3 of parents did not know the signs of concussion (headache, dizziness, confusion, memory loss, balance problems, nausea, vomiting or vertigo).

Most parents wanted to see strong school support for concussion policies that include:

• evaluation and clearance by a doctor before returning to sports (84%)
• a mandatory period of no sports participation after a concussion (71%)
• educating coaches about the risks of concussions (81%)
• certified trainers onsite for practices and games (67%)

Repeat concussions can cause severe damage that may not be evident immediately. One helpful tool to evaluate concussion is the ImPact test (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) which has become the standard tool for many coaches, trainers and medical professionals.

Find out if your child’s school has a concussion policy and become familiar with the signs and symptoms of concussion.

More information about diagnosing concussion by measuring reaction time and a short video about why concussion matters are available on this site.

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