Traumatic Brain Injuries in High School

Contact Sports

Alyssa Ham, Julie Hayden, Abbi Hale

Introduction:
This report identifies the needs of Indiana student athletes in high school contact
sports in regards to traumatic brain injuries. The focus of this assessment is on male and
female athletes playing any contact sport in high school; including but not limited to
soccer, hockey, football and basketball. The goal of the assessment is to identify the
communitys needs and knowledge of traumatic brain injuries through data.
Problem:
Head injuries in sports have become a prevalent problem in the United States. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1.7 million people in the United
States experience traumatic brain injuries each year (Doehrman Buba Attorneys at Law,
2014). It has been recently discovered that concussions account for 13.2% of injuries in
high school sports (Straus, 2014). In Indiana, there is currently a state law, which
prohibits the return of a student athlete to a sport for 24 hours, if they were removed from
a game or practice due to a head injury (National Conference of State Legislation, 2014).
The reports of traumatic brain injuries in high school contact sports is rising all over the
nation.
Demographic:
Within high school contact sports, athletes receive injuries from inanimate objects
as well as other athletes. The second leading cause of traumatic brain injury in the United
States from 2006-2010 was caused by unintentional blunt trauma (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2014). Traumatic brain injuries can be divided between male and
females, ages 15-19. According to the CDC (2011), males participating in football,
basketball and soccer from 2001-2009 account for 20,729 TBIs out of a total of 45,140.

The CDC (2011) found that females participating in soccer, gymnastics, basketball and
softball from 2001-2009 account for 7,808 out of a total of 16,709 traumatic brain
injuries.
Risk Factors:
There are many factors that influence the target populations health. For example,
a negative influence would be the pressure of a coach, parent or teammate to return to the
sport shortly after injury occurs. Another negative influence would be a lack of
knowledge on how to properly treat symptoms. Many athletes may fear that they could
lose their position on the team if they do not return or if they report an injury. Due to
these negative influences, athletes may minimize complaints of their symptoms to others
in order to return to play quicker (The Brain Injury Guide & Resources, 2012). A
positive influence that addresses the negative influences is the CDCs Heads Up
Concussion in youth sports program, which educates coaches, athletes and parents on
how to prevent and treat concussions. There are many aspects that constitute a concussion
that need to be taken in to consideration when determining if the athlete is able to return
to play. After a concussion, an athlete is more susceptible to receiving an additional
traumatic brain injury (The Brain Injury Guide & Resources, 2012). Being a student
athlete requires time management skills in order to keep their grades up while being
involved with a team. During or after a concussion, the athlete may experience academic
difficulties (The Brain Injury Guide & Resources, 2012). Head injuries are a major issue
to our effected population, which includes individuals who participate in high school
athletics. For our priority population, there has been a lack of funding in some areas,
which leads to a lack of proper training on how to avoid head injuries during sporting

events and a lack of proper equipment to prevent those injuries as well. Social aspects
have an impact on head injuries to our population as well.
People who live in what is considered to be a lower social class area can have
more trouble getting the proper education on how to prevent head injuries, along with
what effects head injuries can have on an individual in the long run. Access is our biggest
issue concerning head injuries among high school students. If people dont have access to
the right education or funding or the access to a higher social class neighborhood, they
will likely experience more head injuries during sporting events and practices. If this
issue is not addressed, it will lead to higher numbers of head injuries among high school
athletes. It can also lead to a population with more health problems that might not have
been as prevalent without the head injuries.
Financing:
If the problem is not addressed athletes may experience long-term effects later in
life. Proper healing is required in order to avoid symptoms lasting longer than necessary.
Some permanent symptoms that result from concussions if not addressed properly, range
from paralysis, headaches, memory loss and more. The issue of traumatic brain injuries
directly affects the athlete. Also, the parents of the athlete may also be affected due to the
side effects of the injury such as moodiness, drowsiness, memory loss and other physical
symptoms.
The group that is most adversely affected by head injuries among high school
students is the group of students themselves. Within the category of high school students,
we want to look at those athletes who are between the ages of 14-18. People who are
more commonly affected by these head injuries are those who live in lower income areas

because they lack the access to proper education and the correct athletic gear to help
prevent an injury. Having a traumatic brain injury may cause a person to lose interest in
social activities that they were interested in prior to the injury. For example, going to a
movie may cause pain because they are staring at a bright screen with loud noises for an
extended period of time.
Conclusion:
With the rising number of incidences of traumatic brain injuries in high school
contact sports, we found that the community in Indiana is in need of education on
preventing and dealing with concussions. Our focus for this program is to benefit high
school athletes, ages 14-18, involved in a contact sport. We will also address parents and
coaches on how to prevent concussions and treat symptoms after suffering injury. The
effects of concussions on athletes vary on many variables but have many long-term
effects on the body. Academics may suffer; headaches and other physical symptoms are
common after injury, as well as emotional effects. With our program, our goal is to
increase knowledge on traumatic brain injuries for the athletes to better prevent injury as
well as treat it. We also want to raise awareness through parents and coaches to better
prevent early return of play and to encourage proper healing. Finally, we want to decrease
the overall numbers of student athletes who are receiving head injuries due to lack of
knowledge and training.

References
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. (August, 2014). Heads Up:
Concussion in High School Sports. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/high_school.html - 4
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. (October, 2011). Nonfatal Traumatic Brain
Injuries Related to Sports and Recreation Activities Among Persons Aged 19
Years --- United States, 20012009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,
60(39), 1,337-1,342. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6039a1.htm?
s_cid=mm6039a1_w
Doehrman Buba Attorneys at Law. (2014). TBI In Indiana Defined.
Retrieved from
http://www.tortslaw.com/definition-of-tbi/
Straus, L. (2014). Concussion Statistics in High School Sports.
Retrieved from
http://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/concussion-rates-highschool-sports