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WASHINGTON – Despite having knowledge of the symptoms and dangers of concussions, high school athletes are largely unwilling to report symptoms and abstain from play, according to a study of Cincinnati-area high school football players.
The vast majority of the athletes (91%) who responded to one of two surveys used in the study agreed with the statement, for instance, that it is "always or sometimes okay to play in a game with a concussion," reported Dr. Brit L. Anderson, a pediatric emergency fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
"High school football players are being successfully educated about concussions, from many important sources in their lives," Dr. Anderson reported at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. "Unfortunately, student knowledge does not translate into [safe] attitudes."
Of the 120 high school football players who participated in the study, 25% said they had suffered a concussion, and 70% said they had been taught about concussions. Most could identify the common signs and symptoms: Headache was identified by 93%, dizziness by 89%, difficulty remembering and sensitivity to light and sound by 78%, and difficulty concentrating by 76%. Only 53% correctly identified "feeling in a fog" as a symptom.
Almost all the athletes agreed that loss of consciousness is not a requirement for diagnosis of concussion (93%), and that one is at risk of serious injury or death if a second concussion occurs before the first is healed (92%). Many of the students (77%) also knew that an athlete who has had one concussion is more likely to sustain another.
Despite this knowledge, only 54% said they would always or sometimes report concussion symptoms to their coach, 53% said they would continue to play with a headache sustained in play, and 22% responded that "an athlete with a concussion has a responsibility to play in an important game," Dr. Anderson reported.
Dr. Anderson and her colleagues administered one of two similar validated surveys to the athletes to measure their knowledge and their attitudes about reporting symptoms and returning to play; most of the responses were pooled. The surveys were conducted on the first day of a football camp that drew athletes – largely upper-classmen – from local competitive high school football programs.
A mean knowledge and attitude score for each survey was calculated, and athletes with scores above and below the means were compared. There was no significant association between the mean knowledge score and the mean attitude score, nor between the mean attitude score and a history of previous concussion or recent concussion education.
There was a significant association, however, between the mean knowledge score and grade level, with the 9th graders (who comprised just 9% of the survey participants) having significantly lower scores than did the 10th, 11th, and 12th-graders, Dr. Anderson noted.
Notably, in response to one of the surveys, 91% indicated they would play a game with a concussion and 75% said they would "play through any injury in order for their team to win," she said.
Students were asked in the study to list who taught them about concussions; responses were equally divided between families, teachers, coaches, high school athletic trainers, and physicians, she noted.
Dr. Anderson reported that she had no relevant disclosures.
The findings raise the question of how effectively we are educating teenagers about the dangers of concussions. It is apparent that much more research needs to be done.
As physicians we must continue to educate all children and adolescents when they come in for sports physicals and check-ups about the symptoms and dangers of concussions. We need to utilize a multimodal approach – not only talking with our patients and their parents, but also giving them written information and even watching short video clips in which teens talk about the consequences of unreported, untreated concussions. In our practice, we share with many adolescents a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–produced video called "Keeping Quiet Can Keep You Out of the Game."
It is estimated that only 40% of high schools in the United States have an athletic trainer, and in these communities, pediatricians play an especially important role. But even in areas where high school trainers are educating their student-athletes about concussions, physicians still need to play an active role in educating these teens as well as other children and teens in their practices and their communities. Young athletes and their parents must appreciate that a concussion is not just a ding to the head, or a bump, or a bruise. It is a serious injury that needs to be recognized, diagnosed, and treated properly. Too many concussions go unrecognized and untreated.
The most important element of treatment is cognitive and physical rest immediately afterward with careful monitoring when activities are resumed. In this light, the American Academy of Pediatrics will soon be releasing a "Return to Learn" paper on helping young athletes ease back into school properly after suffering concussions.
Dr. Joel Brenner chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness and is the medical director of the sports medicine program at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.
The findings raise the question of how effectively we are educating teenagers about the dangers of concussions. It is apparent that much more research needs to be done.
As physicians we must continue to educate all children and adolescents when they come in for sports physicals and check-ups about the symptoms and dangers of concussions. We need to utilize a multimodal approach – not only talking with our patients and their parents, but also giving them written information and even watching short video clips in which teens talk about the consequences of unreported, untreated concussions. In our practice, we share with many adolescents a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–produced video called "Keeping Quiet Can Keep You Out of the Game."
It is estimated that only 40% of high schools in the United States have an athletic trainer, and in these communities, pediatricians play an especially important role. But even in areas where high school trainers are educating their student-athletes about concussions, physicians still need to play an active role in educating these teens as well as other children and teens in their practices and their communities. Young athletes and their parents must appreciate that a concussion is not just a ding to the head, or a bump, or a bruise. It is a serious injury that needs to be recognized, diagnosed, and treated properly. Too many concussions go unrecognized and untreated.
The most important element of treatment is cognitive and physical rest immediately afterward with careful monitoring when activities are resumed. In this light, the American Academy of Pediatrics will soon be releasing a "Return to Learn" paper on helping young athletes ease back into school properly after suffering concussions.
Dr. Joel Brenner chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness and is the medical director of the sports medicine program at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.
The findings raise the question of how effectively we are educating teenagers about the dangers of concussions. It is apparent that much more research needs to be done.
As physicians we must continue to educate all children and adolescents when they come in for sports physicals and check-ups about the symptoms and dangers of concussions. We need to utilize a multimodal approach – not only talking with our patients and their parents, but also giving them written information and even watching short video clips in which teens talk about the consequences of unreported, untreated concussions. In our practice, we share with many adolescents a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–produced video called "Keeping Quiet Can Keep You Out of the Game."
It is estimated that only 40% of high schools in the United States have an athletic trainer, and in these communities, pediatricians play an especially important role. But even in areas where high school trainers are educating their student-athletes about concussions, physicians still need to play an active role in educating these teens as well as other children and teens in their practices and their communities. Young athletes and their parents must appreciate that a concussion is not just a ding to the head, or a bump, or a bruise. It is a serious injury that needs to be recognized, diagnosed, and treated properly. Too many concussions go unrecognized and untreated.
The most important element of treatment is cognitive and physical rest immediately afterward with careful monitoring when activities are resumed. In this light, the American Academy of Pediatrics will soon be releasing a "Return to Learn" paper on helping young athletes ease back into school properly after suffering concussions.
Dr. Joel Brenner chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness and is the medical director of the sports medicine program at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk, Va.
WASHINGTON – Despite having knowledge of the symptoms and dangers of concussions, high school athletes are largely unwilling to report symptoms and abstain from play, according to a study of Cincinnati-area high school football players.
The vast majority of the athletes (91%) who responded to one of two surveys used in the study agreed with the statement, for instance, that it is "always or sometimes okay to play in a game with a concussion," reported Dr. Brit L. Anderson, a pediatric emergency fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
"High school football players are being successfully educated about concussions, from many important sources in their lives," Dr. Anderson reported at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. "Unfortunately, student knowledge does not translate into [safe] attitudes."
Of the 120 high school football players who participated in the study, 25% said they had suffered a concussion, and 70% said they had been taught about concussions. Most could identify the common signs and symptoms: Headache was identified by 93%, dizziness by 89%, difficulty remembering and sensitivity to light and sound by 78%, and difficulty concentrating by 76%. Only 53% correctly identified "feeling in a fog" as a symptom.
Almost all the athletes agreed that loss of consciousness is not a requirement for diagnosis of concussion (93%), and that one is at risk of serious injury or death if a second concussion occurs before the first is healed (92%). Many of the students (77%) also knew that an athlete who has had one concussion is more likely to sustain another.
Despite this knowledge, only 54% said they would always or sometimes report concussion symptoms to their coach, 53% said they would continue to play with a headache sustained in play, and 22% responded that "an athlete with a concussion has a responsibility to play in an important game," Dr. Anderson reported.
Dr. Anderson and her colleagues administered one of two similar validated surveys to the athletes to measure their knowledge and their attitudes about reporting symptoms and returning to play; most of the responses were pooled. The surveys were conducted on the first day of a football camp that drew athletes – largely upper-classmen – from local competitive high school football programs.
A mean knowledge and attitude score for each survey was calculated, and athletes with scores above and below the means were compared. There was no significant association between the mean knowledge score and the mean attitude score, nor between the mean attitude score and a history of previous concussion or recent concussion education.
There was a significant association, however, between the mean knowledge score and grade level, with the 9th graders (who comprised just 9% of the survey participants) having significantly lower scores than did the 10th, 11th, and 12th-graders, Dr. Anderson noted.
Notably, in response to one of the surveys, 91% indicated they would play a game with a concussion and 75% said they would "play through any injury in order for their team to win," she said.
Students were asked in the study to list who taught them about concussions; responses were equally divided between families, teachers, coaches, high school athletic trainers, and physicians, she noted.
Dr. Anderson reported that she had no relevant disclosures.
WASHINGTON – Despite having knowledge of the symptoms and dangers of concussions, high school athletes are largely unwilling to report symptoms and abstain from play, according to a study of Cincinnati-area high school football players.
The vast majority of the athletes (91%) who responded to one of two surveys used in the study agreed with the statement, for instance, that it is "always or sometimes okay to play in a game with a concussion," reported Dr. Brit L. Anderson, a pediatric emergency fellow at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
"High school football players are being successfully educated about concussions, from many important sources in their lives," Dr. Anderson reported at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies. "Unfortunately, student knowledge does not translate into [safe] attitudes."
Of the 120 high school football players who participated in the study, 25% said they had suffered a concussion, and 70% said they had been taught about concussions. Most could identify the common signs and symptoms: Headache was identified by 93%, dizziness by 89%, difficulty remembering and sensitivity to light and sound by 78%, and difficulty concentrating by 76%. Only 53% correctly identified "feeling in a fog" as a symptom.
Almost all the athletes agreed that loss of consciousness is not a requirement for diagnosis of concussion (93%), and that one is at risk of serious injury or death if a second concussion occurs before the first is healed (92%). Many of the students (77%) also knew that an athlete who has had one concussion is more likely to sustain another.
Despite this knowledge, only 54% said they would always or sometimes report concussion symptoms to their coach, 53% said they would continue to play with a headache sustained in play, and 22% responded that "an athlete with a concussion has a responsibility to play in an important game," Dr. Anderson reported.
Dr. Anderson and her colleagues administered one of two similar validated surveys to the athletes to measure their knowledge and their attitudes about reporting symptoms and returning to play; most of the responses were pooled. The surveys were conducted on the first day of a football camp that drew athletes – largely upper-classmen – from local competitive high school football programs.
A mean knowledge and attitude score for each survey was calculated, and athletes with scores above and below the means were compared. There was no significant association between the mean knowledge score and the mean attitude score, nor between the mean attitude score and a history of previous concussion or recent concussion education.
There was a significant association, however, between the mean knowledge score and grade level, with the 9th graders (who comprised just 9% of the survey participants) having significantly lower scores than did the 10th, 11th, and 12th-graders, Dr. Anderson noted.
Notably, in response to one of the surveys, 91% indicated they would play a game with a concussion and 75% said they would "play through any injury in order for their team to win," she said.
Students were asked in the study to list who taught them about concussions; responses were equally divided between families, teachers, coaches, high school athletic trainers, and physicians, she noted.
Dr. Anderson reported that she had no relevant disclosures.
AT THE PAS ANNUAL MEETING
Major finding: Many of the 120 high school football players who participated in a survey-based study (70%) were knowledgeable about concussions, and most could identify common signs and symptoms, but only about half said that they would report symptoms to their coach, and 91% of respondents to one survey indicated they would play a game with a concussion.
Data source: Two validated surveys used to assess athletes’ knowledge and attitudes about concussion
Disclosures: Dr. Anderson reported that she had no relevant disclosures.