Girls Are Often Neglected Victims of Concussions
According to a study soon to be published in the Journal of Athletic Training, girls sustained concussions 68 percent more often than boys while playing high school soccer, and, in high school basketball, concussion rates among girls were nearly three times higher than among boys. In addition, girls also consistently recovered from symptoms more slowly and experienced delays in their return to play.
The study, conducted by researchers at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, examined data submitted by 425 certified athletic trainers across the United States during the 2005/2006 academic year. It has been reported that a million youngsters play high school basketball and 700,000 play high school soccer each year, with male participation only slightly higher than female participation. According to the study, football has the highest rate of concussions in high school sports, with 47 injuries per 100,000 player games or practices. Girls soccer was second highest with 36 per 100,000, followed by boys soccer (22 per 100,000) and girls basketball (21 per 100,000).
Outside of football, fatal brain injuries in high school sports are very rare. However, post-concussion syndrome — in which dizziness, lethargy and the inability to concentrate can cost teenagers weeks or months of school — is a growing concern, physicians said. It is just as common among girls as boys and even more misunderstood.
“Generally speaking, the medical profession does not do a very good job in recognizing that female athletes sustain concussions at an equal or even higher rate as males,” said Robert Cantu, M.D. of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, one of the nation’s leading experts in concussion management. “It’s flying under the radar. And as a result, looking for concussions in women is not pursued with the same diligence, and it’s setting girls up for a worse result.”
Physicians are also uncertain as to why documented rates of concussion among high school girls are consistently higher than among boys in the same sports. The primary theory is that girls might more readily report injuries, while an alternative theory may relate to the fact that female neck muscles are less developed than their male counterparts, thus providing less shock absorption during impact.
Please see MayoClinic.com for more information about the signs and symptoms of concussion.
If you or a family member has suffered from injuries relating to concussion or other form of head trauma, please contact us on-line at Regan Zambri & Long or call us at 202-463-3030 for a free consultation. If you would like to receive our electronic newsletter, then please click here.