Head injury and concussion in youth sports

Abstract

Concussion is one of severe injuries in youth sports. Even though concussion has been considered as “mild” among sports-related head injuries and neglected the importance, recent studies clear the neurophysiological pathology. Most of the concussion improve in about 10 days, but it is reported some cases became repeated or chronic. Therefore, management of concussion requires proper evaluation and decision to graduated return to play/sports. According to epidemiological studies, sports with high incidence of concussion in adoselent are collision sports such as rugby, american football, and ice hockey. Especially in rugby, statistics show that one concussion occurred in every three games. In the soccer, the relationship between heading and concussion, and cognitive function has been suggested, but it remains unclear. In addition, it is reported that concussion is a problem with not only high incidence but also high recurrence rate and chronicity, suggesting a relationship with the long-term effects such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Regarding appropriate evaluation and management of concussion, injury assessment using Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) and compliance with return to play strategy based on Graduated Return to Play/Sports protocol (GRTP/GRTS protocol) are necessary. In the future, more studies are needed to clear the effect of the concussion among adolescent, and the mechanism of long-term effects including after retirement.