Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
New Guidelines on Child Athletes' Concussions
New guidelines released by an international panel of neurologists say that young athletes who may have a concussion should not return to a game, the New York Times reports. The guidelines were published in the British Journal Journal of Sports Medicine and don’t affect rules in the U.S. which are made by state and local governments.
Previous guidelines said that athletes could return to the playing field if cleared by a doctor. Neurologists now believe that it is too difficult to determine if it is safe.
Concussions Statistics
According to the New York Times, high school athletes in the U.S. suffered from 137,000 concussions in the 2007-8 school year. Of these, football had the most concussions with 70,000.
Concussions and Sports
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes a concussion as a brain injury caused by a blow to the head that affects the way the brain works.
They CDC has developed an initiative to educate coaches and parents about what to look for when young athletes are playing in sports.
The CDC says concussions happen when young athletes are playing a sport and come into contact with either an opponent, a team mate, the ground, or piece of equipment.
Symptoms of Concussions
Some of the most common symptoms for concussions include:
- headache
- nausea
- fatigue
- confusion
- memory problems
- sleep problems
- mood changes
- nausea or vomiting
- double or blurry vision
- sensitivity to light or noise
- feeling groggy
The symptoms may occur either right after the injury or days or weeks later.
Sports-Related Concussions
Concussions for young males most often occur in football, while concussions in young females occur during soccer.
For children aged 5-18, the five leading sports or activities which account for concussions include:
- bicycling
- football
- basketball
- playground activities
- soccer
Preventing Concussions
What can parents do to prevent their child from getting a concussion? They should make sure their child:
- follows the coach’s rules for safety
- practice good sportsmanship
- wears the right protective equipment and it fits properly
- learn the signs and symptoms of a concussion
If a parent thinks their child has a concussion, they should get immediate medical attention, keep the child out of play until a physician says it’s safe, and let the coach know about any concussion. Tell the child it is better to miss one game than the whole season.
According to the CDC, it takes high school athletes longer to recover from concussions than it does college athletes. It takes the brain a long time to recover from a concussion. If the child is not diagnosed with concussion or is sent back into play too soon, it is possible that the brain will sustain serious long-term problems, including coma or death.
What To Ask Personal Injury Attorneys?
When you are interviewing personal injury attorneys regarding your child’s brain injury case, be sure to correctly assess the lawyer’s level of expertise and knowledge by asking critical questions:
- How long have you been practicing personal injury law?
- What is the largest settlement or verdict you have won for your clients?
- Do you have experience with brain injury accidents involving children?
Kiley Group located in Boston and Andover, Massachusetts takes time when speaking with you about your case and works with you on a contingent basis so there are NO FEES unless our trained Boston child brain injury lawyers wins your case. Call now for a FREE evaluation of your case: 1-888-208-1695.
