News
Youth Concussions Jump Over 500% In Just Four Years
Concussion awareness and educations across the country seem to be making headway as more youth and sports-related concussions are being diagnosed. In fact, concussion diagnoses went up 500% from just 2010 to 2014, according to data from FAIR Health, an independent, national nonprofit.
In most cases, such an increase in injuries in emergency rooms and doctors offices would be cause for alarm, but most experts believe this is actually a sign that medical professionals, athletic staff, and parents of young athletes are being more watchful for signs of concussions and taking the injuries seriously.
Notably, the data suggests that most concussions in people under the age of 22 occur in September and October, when football season is in high gear. It also shows that high schoolers are more likely to be injured than middle school or college students.
The data from FAIR Health also shows that young boys were more likely to be injured than girls, however, that changes with age. For children between the ages of 5 and 10, boys accounted for 68% of concussions while girls made up the other 32%. By the ages of 19 to 22, 56% of the injured individuals were female and 44% were male.
Find out more from FAIR Health’s infographic about their findings below:
