Concussions in kids and teens

Melissa Landau

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As a mother of 4 atheltes( most specifiacally soccer players) I worry about headers and falls and what they can do to my child's brain.

A friend of our daughter sustained a severe concussion last fall. She was hopitalized and had issues for a while with short term memory. Fortunately this particular player was a member of an elite travle team that was participating in a study of such injuries. every player on the team had been prescreened before the season began. This particular family had the assurance of knowing when the player had reached full recovery. We're not all that fortunate, but there are things we can do to protect our children from injury and better facilitate the healing process when a traumatic brain inury occurs.

According to the International Conference on Concussion in Sports:

* A young athlete should never return to play on the same day of an injury, regardless of level of athletic performance.
* Children and adolescents may need a longer period of full rest and then gradual return to normal activities than adults.
* For children, “cognitive rest” is a key to recovery. While restrictions on physical activity restrictions are also important, cognitive rest must be carefully adhered to, including limits on cognitive stressors such as academic activities and at-home/social activities including text messaging, video games and television watching.

According to the Center for Disease control Among children ages 0 to 14 years, Traumatic brain injury in children ages 0 to 14 results in an estimated annual:

• 2,685 deaths;
• 37,000 hospitalizations; and
• 435,000 emergency department visits annually.

The CDC is providing a "Heads up: Concussion in Youth Sports tool Kit" for parents and coaches.