The Arizona Brain Injury Association has just issued the following press release in which it states that they expect 10% of the state’s high school football payers to suffer a concussion this season. Studies Suggest 10% of Arizona High School Football Players Will Suffer a Concussion During This Coming Season

PHOENIX, Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ — With the high school football season just around the corner, coaches, parents and athletes need to focus on one of the most overlooked, misdiagnosed and least understood injuries that is sure to affect some of the 18,000 student-athletes in Arizona who will strap on the pads this year: sport-related concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury.

“The biggest problem in managing sports-related concussion is recognizing the injury, especially in athletes with no obvious signs that a concussion has actually occurred,” says Tamara McLeod, Ph.D., ATC, assistant professor, Sports Health Care Program, Arizona School of Health Sciences in Mesa. “Traditional neurological and radiologic procedures such as CT, MRI and EEG, although helpful in ruling out other causes of neurologic symptoms, are not useful in identifying the effects of mild TBI (concussions).”

Recent studies show that more than 62,000 concussions occur each year in high school sports, with football accounting for two of every three, according to the Brain Injury Association of Arizona. However, many mild concussions likely go undiagnosed and unreported. Studies estimate that approximately 10 percent of all athletes involved in contact sports such as football have a concussion each year. In addition, close to 6 percent of concussions may go unreported because athletes are not aware of the signs and symptoms and do not think the injury is serious enough to report to medical personnel.

Sport related concussions is a topic which i have written about here before. One post which I think parents, coaches and players alike should take a look at before the fall season begins can be loacted here.