Concussions
Concussions in High School Sports When stepping between the lines during a sporting event, athletes of all ages risk injury for the sake of enjoyment. Annually, 6.9 million high school athletes are at risk of serious brain damage while competing in athletics (Comstock). Even though many athletes go through high school athletics without ever suffering a concussion, the statistics are staggering. Of the 4,431 injuries reported in 2005-2006 season, 396 or 8.9% of those injuries were concussions (Comstock). To ensure the safety of the players, all high schools in the United States should be required to have an athletic trainer present at all athletic contests and require a series of concussion tests if the athlete is suspected to have sustained a concussion.
To fully ensure the safety of an athlete, proper concussion tests are vital for identifying, treating, and preventing future concussions. In the past, before athletic trainers or concussion tests, coaches would simply ask the athlete if they felt alright and if the athlete said they felt fine the coach would put him or her back into the game. When conducting a concussion test athletic trainers have three different tests they can conduct; the Standard Assessment of Concussions, The Immediate Post concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test, and the baseline concussion test.
In the past decade concussion awareness has become more prevalent due to the fact that research has shown concussions can happen in any sport from soccer, to basketball, to softball, and even cheerleading. It used to be believed that concussions only happened to males who played football, but statistics show otherwise. In the 2005-2006 school year, nationwide, 8.9% of high school athletes were diagnosed with a concussion (Comstock). Of that 8.9%, 40% of concussions occurred in the sport of football (Comstock). That means 60% of concussions that occur during high school sports will go undiagnosed if athletic trainers are only present at
To fully ensure the safety of an athlete, proper concussion tests are vital for identifying, treating, and preventing future concussions. In the past, before athletic trainers or concussion tests, coaches would simply ask the athlete if they felt alright and if the athlete said they felt fine the coach would put him or her back into the game. When conducting a concussion test athletic trainers have three different tests they can conduct; the Standard Assessment of Concussions, The Immediate Post concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test, and the baseline concussion test.
In the past decade concussion awareness has become more prevalent due to the fact that research has shown concussions can happen in any sport from soccer, to basketball, to softball, and even cheerleading. It used to be believed that concussions only happened to males who played football, but statistics show otherwise. In the 2005-2006 school year, nationwide, 8.9% of high school athletes were diagnosed with a concussion (Comstock). Of that 8.9%, 40% of concussions occurred in the sport of football (Comstock). That means 60% of concussions that occur during high school sports will go undiagnosed if athletic trainers are only present at