Concussions aren't just an issue in the NFL. They need to be taken seriously in athletes as young as 5-years-old, according to research by the U.S. Institute of Medicine published Wednesday, CBC News reported.
A panel headed by George Washington University's Dr. Robert Graham hopes the report will change the culture of concussions in youth and high school sports -- and fill the data gap that exists for concussion rates in pre-high school athletes, CBC News reported.
"Concussion is an injury that needs to be taken seriously," said Graham, director of the Aligning Forces for Quality national program office at George Washington University. "If an athlete has a torn ACL [ligament] on the field, you don't expect him to tape it up and play."
Though most young athletes recover from a concussion within two weeks, 10 to 20 percent of cases take longer, CBC News reported. According to the panel, coaches and parents are not accounting for prolonged symptoms, which include listlessness, irritability, changes in eating or sleeping patterns, decreased interest in favorite toys, and loss of balance or uncoordinated walking. Athletes who return too soon increase their length of recovery and could potentially face serious lasting damage.
The panel suggested parents better understand the symptoms following a concussion, encourage their children to speak up if they think they may have suffered a head injury, and ensure that coaches and leagues have a concussion protocol in place to prevent players from returning too early.
Graham said children should also take initiative by choosing which sport they think is safest for them, choosing the aggressiveness with which they play the sport, understanding how to protect themselves, and looking out for teammates and opponents, according to CBC News.
Modern helmet and facemask designs are not preventing concussions more effectively than past models, according to the study, though helmets in general are enormously important. Researchers said there wasn't enough data to "evaluate how they might protect against rotational impacts that contribute to concussions," according to CBC News.
