In youth sports today, concussions are one of the most common injuries. From football to lacrosse a concussion can occur and leave a lasting impact on a child’s brain. As a parent, it is important to know the dangers of a concussion before signing up a child for sports. A concussion can have life-long lasting effects and improper treatment increase the chances significantly. However, with proper protocol and equipment youth sports can play an important role in a child’s development and have been known to mold children into the adults they later become. Some safety equipment can negatively affect an athlete’s performance, however any regulations or equipment that can prevent concussions in youth sports should be made because of the negative effects of a concussion.

First off it is important to know what a concussion is. A concussion is a complex brain injury induced by a blow to the head that has short lived impairment of the neurological functions and has normal concussion symptoms (Mukand and Serra). As a parent, it can be useful to know common symptoms and be able to pick up on them if a child exhibits any. The most common symptoms include headaches, feeling dazed, impaired balance, visual problems, sensitivity to light, dizziness and fatigue (Mukand and Serra). When a child has any concussion symptoms it is imperative to have them stop their physical activity, to avoid having another concussion that could leave a more permanent impact on the child, and have them visit a doctor (Groce). A doctor will then be able to run tests such as the ImPACT test and determine if a concussion has occurred. If one has occurred they will typically suggest rest and will need to see the patient again before they will be cleared to play. Playing before being cleared is very dangerous as another concussion could cause second concussion syndrome which could result in permanent damage to the brain and eventually death. It is crucial for the child’s future health that they do not play before they are completely healed.

In recent years, the process of diagnosing a concussion has improved significantly. There are now baseline tests that many high school doctors use to compare to after a blow to the head has occurred. The most common form is the ImPACT test, “an on-line user-friendly computer-based program specifically designed for the management of sport-related concussions,” (NSCN). The test evaluates several aspects of neurocognitive functions that include memory, attention, reaction time and post-concussion symptoms. In addition to many high schools that use ImPACT testing the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB all use this concussion testing system. In Nebraska alone over 75% of high school use the ImPact testing, in fact since 2006 the ImPACT test has been administered over 12 million times (ImPACT). The system uses a baseline test taken under normal conditions usually preformed in the preseason. The baseline shows how one’s brain preforms in normal day to day circumstances. With that knowledge, it is easier to assess if a concussion has occurred. The athlete will be tested posted injury and the composite scores will be compared to those of the baseline tests. Another test post injury test will be taken once the athlete is symptom free to be cleared for play once more (NSCN).

In addition to the ImPACT testing, the protocol for evaluating a concussion has also improved in recent years. Almost all youth football coaches are required to participate in a Heads-Up training that trains coaches on how to properly teach the kids how to tackle properly. The method taught in the course enforces the children to keep their head up and lead with the shoulder as opposed to the head down where a tackle can get dangerous. In addition to a concussion an improper tackle could result in a neck or spine injury. For example, Eric LeGrand a former defensive tackle at Rutgers University was paralyzed while making a tackle in a game during the 2010 season. Since then he has slowly regained movement in his shoulders and slight sensation throughout his whole body. Similarly, to Eric in the TV show Friday Night Lights Jason Street, who was a promising Texas high school quarterback, becomes paralyzed after throwing an interception in an attempt to stop the player from scoring a touchdown. Since he was a quarterback he had never learned how to tackle properly and left his head down while tackling the player. Even though the situation on the TV show is not real it could happen and shows just how important it is to teach kids from a young age how to properly tackle. The Heads-Up coaching clinics help encourage the proper tackling technique and could save someone’s child from becoming paralyzed.

Safety equipment, like most other equipment, has made advances in recent years as well. Helmets have become better and more protective. Some even have multiple layers that decrease the chances of a blow to the head which causes a concussion. Something as simple as adding another small gel padding layer to a helmet making the helmet to be slightly tighter can decrease the chances of a concussion significantly. For example, on my high school softball team a player was hit with a pitch in the helmet and had gotten a concussion. The next year a very similar blow to the head occurred by an even faster pitcher which resulted in no concussion. The only difference was this year all the helmets had the thin gel layer of padding. This girl didn’t get a concussion and could continue playing in the rest of the game.

A well-known Neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens emphasized the importance of doing what you can to protect the brain in her Ted Talk. Kim is a well-known Clinical Associate Professor in a graduate school at the University of Denver and manages a portfolio of TBI related research (du). The mother of one uses her eight-year-old son as an example and how she wishes she could bubble wrap him always so he couldn’t get hurt but she realizes that it’s not possible to protect him from everything. However, she would and does everything she can to protect him as much as possible. Proper equipment is a way to protect a child as much as possible while still letting them do what they want. She particularly talks about the average concussive impact on the brain. It takes only 95 g of force to cause a concussion and football hits reach that number quite easily. Wearing a safe football helmet reduces the impact of the hit by half (Gorgens). So, when a child plays around the block without any helmet the hit will be full force and the chances of a concussion occurring double. Overall the message of Kim’s Ted Talk was to spread awareness of the dangers of a concussion and to use equipment to protect the brain as much as possible.

Concussion rates have skyrocketed in the past several years. It can be thought to be because of a new sense of awareness surrounding concussions and their impact. A study found that concussions really do influence a person’s quality of life. The study looked at 104,000 Swedes young people who had experienced some type of head injury before the age of 25. The study followed the subjects for 40 years. In addition to the person who had suffered a concussion the study also followed a sibling that never was diagnosed with a concussion. Young people that had experienced a single mild traumatic brain injury were more likely to receive medical disability payments as adults and seek mental health care. They also found the concussed were less likely to graduate high school or attend college. In addition, they were twice as likely to die prematurely to that of their sibling (Reynolds). Even though concussion rates have been increasing in recent years the NFL saw a 11.3 percent decrease in concussions during the 2016 season. The 244 reported concussions during the year was down from 275 in 2015 but was still higher than the 204 and 229 reported in 2014 and 2013 respectively. It can be believed that the decrease in NFL concussions could be because of the increase in penalty for hits to the head. During the 2016 season referees took to the increased concussion rates and gave more penalties for any hit to the head. In fact, since 2013 targeting, a head to head hit, will get a player ejected from the game as well as 15-yard advancement for the other team.

Treating a concussion in a proper way is imperative to avoid long term effects. Some of the consequences of a concussion are Second Impact Syndrome, Post-Concussion Syndrome and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy to name a few. All have long lasting effects on the brain. Second Impact Syndrome is a complication of repeated concussive brain trauma. Second Concussion Syndrome also known as SIS occurs when there is “Diffused cerebral swelling with delayed catastrophic deterioration,” (McCrory). Although rare the deterioration of the brain may result in death or a permanent vegetative state. Most known cases of SIS occur in children and adolescents. Second Impact Syndrome can be defined as “occurring when ‘an athlete who has sustained an initial head injury, most often a concussion, sustains a second head injury before symptoms associated with the first have fully cleared,’” (McCrory). It is believed that the second impact starts the “rapid development of cerebral vascular congestion which causes increased pressure,” (McCrory) often resulting in death. 

Another syndrome related to concussions is Post-Concussion syndrome. Unlike SIS Post-Concussion Syndrome will not result in death, instead it occurs when concussion symptoms like headaches and dizziness last for weeks or even months after a concussion. The symptoms of PCS are not specific and causes some controversy (Leddy). Often recovery can take several months with some cases lasting a year or more. Many patients that experience Post-Concussion Syndrome become frustrated with the lack of progress they make towards recovery. 

In addition to PCS and SIS there is also Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE is a very progressive degenerate disease that can be caused by one or repetitive impacts to the head and brain. People with CTE typically have mood disorders and behavioral cognitive impairment (Omalu). The most well-known cases of CTE have occurred in football players such as Jovan Belcher and CTE is mentioned in 90 of 94 brains of former dead NFL players. The symptoms of the degenerate disease are like those of any Traumatic Brain Injury. Also, some believe they may have the disease CTE before it can be confirmed. CTE can unfortunately only be verified once dead and the brain has been examined.

Although concussions are a very dangerous injury and can have long term affects it is still important to participate in sports. There are more benefits to playing sports then the risk of having a concussion. Team sports especially teach children how to work with other, how to depend on others and how to use each other to complete a single task. The skills learned in youth sports can then be translated over to school work and eventually in the work place. Group projects are often dreaded by people who have never played sports because they do not know how to work in teams to complete one task and often would prefer to work alone. But someone who has played sports is often a master at group work. Also, in the work place it is almost always required to collaborate with at least one other person on the task at hand. 

Some people may believe that a parent shouldn’t be able to decide whether a child plays sports or not. The belief is that a parent should not have that much control over their child’s life because of the possible impact that lasts forever. These people believe that youth contact sports shouldn’t exist and sports such as football shouldonly be played by people old enough to decide for themselves if they play or not. Since the brain isn’t fully developed until the age of 25 the starting age for playing contact sports would be the same. However, this idea is not limited to football and would affect all contact sports like lacrosse, hockey, soccer, basketball, wrestling and many more. In the past, few years more information about blows to the head have developed more support for this idea has become evident. The main idea is that the only person who should have the power to make a possibly life altering decision is the person that it effects themselves (Omalu).

If children didn’t play sports such as football in an organized way like pop warner they would just play with kids from around the block. They would still be tackling each other and getting hit in the head but without any safety equipment at all. There would also be less rules and no adults there to make sure the child was okay before continuing to play. In organized sports coaches are trained to handle different situations like when a kid gets hit in the head but a regular parent may not know the signs of a concussion and send their kid back out to play. Without organized sports the kids are not going to stop playing so the rates of concussions aren’t going to decrease. In fact, they would probably increase because with the loss of organized sports regulation over blows to the head is also lost. Overall the idea of taking away organized contact youth sports because of concussion would have the opposite effect of what is intended.

Furthermore, a concussion can occur in any way. Something as simple as hitting your head the wrong way getting out of bed or as tragic as getting into a car accident. There are some situations a child gets into that as a parent cannot be controlled. One of a child’s desires in life is to play and some will want to play sports. As a parent do you want to be the one to tell them that can do the one thing that they want to do? No, as a parent you want to see your child be happy and have fun and for some that is playing sports. The child’s overall happiness is more important than the slight chance of them getting a sports related concussion when they could get a concussion doing anything at any time. 

Although some of the equipment used in today’s youth sports may slightly hinder an athlete’s performance, it is important to follow all safety precautions and use all the equipment to prevent concussions. The lasting effect of a concussion can be serious such as Post-Concussion Syndrome, Second Impact Syndrome and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Any equipment that can lower the rate of a concussion should be used. However, the fear of a concussion should not stop a child from playing sports if they desire to. There are infinite benefits to a child playing sports and being a part of a team. Attempting to stop a child from playing organized sports will not stop them from playing, it will only stop them playing with official rules, safety equipment and trained coaches.
