Sports teach kids about leadership and teamwork, and boost their self-confidence. Athletic activity also keeps them fit and is a healthy outlet for energy. While these benefits clearly outweigh any negatives, there are still some risks.
Protecting the developing brains of pre-teens and teenagers from sports-related concussions seems like a, well, no-brainer. But it goes beyond requiring them to wear helmets or having them sit out for a couple of plays after a big hit.
Following established guidelines based on scientific research can help ensure concussions are quickly recognized and that young athletes recover without any long-lasting effects. We now know that every concussion is serious, especially for children, whose brains are still developing. As with any injury, the brain needs time to recover.
Although most young athletes recover well after a concussion, every athlete responds differently. Concussions are a type of injury to the brain and need to be carefully monitored. Severe medical problems after a concussion are extremely rare but can occur. More often, concussions cause symptoms that temporarily interfere with school, relationships and participation in sports.
In recent years, The Children’s Hospital has seen a dramatic increase in youngsters from throughout the Rocky Mountain region showing up at its emergency departments, urgent care facilities and outpatient Concussion Program with sports-related concussions. Part of it has to do with more awareness by parents and coaches about the symptoms of a concussion.
The NFL and the NCAA already support strong guidelines. But while football has gotten most of the attention, concussions happen in every sport, and at any age.
Doctors at The Children’s Hospital want all youth coaches – from soccer to football to field hockey – to be aware of the risks and to exercise the best practices for keeping young athletes safe and healthy.
While proper equipment and adherence to rules may decrease the incidence or severity of concussions, nothing can prevent them entirely. Education and recognition remain the most important components of improving the care of athletes with concussions.
That’s why The Children’s Hospital actively supported a bipartisan concussion bill passed by both houses of the Colorado state legislature that is currently awaiting Gov. Hickenlooper’s signature. The bill will create a law ensuring youth coaches take part in concussion recognition education. These concussion education courses are available for free online and generally take about 30 minutes to complete.
The legislation covers middle-school aged athletes as well as high school kids, because the 11 to 18 age range is most at risk for sports-related concussions, according to both local data from The Children’s Hospital and national figures from the Centers for Disease Control.
The bill also ensures that youth athletes who have suffered a concussion be removed from play, evaluated by a health care provider, and given written clearance to compete before going back into play or practice. That’s important because problems are likely to be compounded even further when a second concussion follows the initial injury.
Since 2007, 10 states have passed similar bills, and 20 more are in the works.
The family of Jake Snakenberg is also behind the bill. Jake was a Grandview High School football player who died in 2004 after suffering a sport-related concussion.
The bill is named after him – the Jake Snakenberg Youth Concussion Act.
In helping put together the Youth Concussion Act, we kept the safety of our children top of mind. We want to keep them active and allow them to gain the myriad benefits of participating in sports, but we also want to keep them safe and healthy.
Michael Kirkwood, Ph.D., Pamela Wilson, M.D., and Aaron Provance, M.D., are the co-directors of the Concussion Program at The Children’s Hospital in Denver. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.
