Concussions cause concerns for girl soccer players

CLINTON ? Girls soccer is the second leading cause of concussions among young athletes.

It doesn?t take a major blow to the head to cause a problem: Even smaller hits can result in damage.

A study published last week in the Journal of Neurosurgery Pediatrics discovered that female soccer players reported more symptoms after suffering a concussion than male players.

The study, along with another study published this year in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, found that female athletes also take longer to recover from concussions. This could be partly because girls are smaller and have weaker neck muscles than male soccer players, researchers surmised.

Girls comprise more than 48 percent of the 3 million players registered in U.S. youth soccer leagues, according to the study, and approximately 200,000 girls per year participate in high school soccer.

Dr. Adam Schwebach, a Clinton neuropsychologist and director of the Neuropsychology Center of Utah, said since the soccer season began at the end August, he has seen six female players who have suffered a concussion.

From January 2011 to August 31, 2012, McKay-Dee Hospital treated eight concussions in female soccer players.

A concussion is caused by a blow that forces the head to move violently and the brain to shake inside the skull, Schwebach said.

Symptoms can include dizziness, headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, poor school performance, changes in mood, nausea, blurry vision, poor balance and sensitivity to light. In addition, sometimes a concussion can cause a person to lose consciousness.

?Having one concussion places one at a significantly higher risk for future concussions,? he said. ?Remember, a concussion is a brain injury. Therefore, even one should never be taken lightly.?

In 2009, 6,445 Utahns were treated for concussion and released from hospital emergency rooms, according to the latest figures by the Utah Department of Health.

Of these, one-fourth resulted from sports and recreation activities. Of all the concussions seen that year, 29 percent were among teens ages 15 to 19.

Schwebach said the concussions he treated were mild to moderate, but he warned that if athletes go back to playing without fully recovering, they have the potential of suffering from more long-term cognitive impairment, which includes attention problems and memory loss, he said.

?According to the American Journal of Sports Medicine, girls soccer is the most dangerous sport,? he said. ?Heading the ball is the number one cause of a concussion in soccer and studies have found that excessive heading can lead to brain damage.?

Heading is a technique in which soccer players use their unprotected heads to stop or redirect the ball. A headed ball travels at high velocity both before and after impact.

Kris Willey-High, recreation director for Kaysville, said of the 2,300 soccer players in the city, 1,040 are female. Before the season begins, she said, all coaches are required to go through the Centers for Disease Control?s ?Heads Up Concussion in Youth Sports? training session that provides a certificate upon completion.

?Education and taking preventive measures (are) key,? Willey-High said. ?Unlimited resources are available locally and online to assist parents, players, coaches and professionals. Safety should come first.

?This may be forgotten in the heat of the moment and that?s why not only coaches need to be educated on the signs of a concussion, but parents should be involved and present so there are many checks and balances at athletic events.?

Last year, the Utah Legislature passed the Protection of Athletes with Head Injuries Act. The law requires that a child be immediately removed from participating in a sporting event if a concussion is suspected. Before the child can return to the field they must receive medical clearance.

In addition, all amateur sports organizations, including public and private schools and sports camps, must adopt a policy that ensures concussion awareness education for coaches, teachers and parents.

Schwebach said a preconcussion screening could be very helpful.

The advantage of a preconcussion screening is that doctors can compare the patient?s functioning after a suspected concussion with their baseline functioning identified through the pre-assessment, he said.

?Prompt evaluation and recognition is critical to one?s recovery from a concussion,? he said. ?Oftentimes, athletes have a concussion but it?s not properly diagnosed or evaluated, and that can leave them at a significantly higher risk for potential long-term consequences.?

Source: http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/10/07/concussions-cause-concerns-girl-soccer-players

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