Did Your Child Get a Concussion?

By theadmin

Before the end of the first half, the youth football team’s star running back found himself tackled and slammed to the ground by a larger player. The child’s father, Willie Drew, watched helplessly from the sideline as his son’s head hit the ground hard enough to make a frightening sound.

“It was like a gunshot,” Drew says. “I ran out on the field and he was wobbly, so we took him out of the game and sat him down.” In the second half, the boy felt better, so he rejoined the game and ran for an impressive five touchdowns.

If this had happened in the last couple of years, Drew would have reacted much differently. But back in 2002, many people didn’t know the severity of the danger posed by sports head injuries. Even as the assistant coach for a team of 8-year-olds, it was not something Drew had discussed with anyone — parents, medical personnel, or fellow coaches. Ultimately, there were no after-effects for his son, but when Drew looks back at the moment today, it scares him.

Take It Seriously

“We didn’t know anything about concussions at the time,” says Drew, who is president of the Metroplex Elite Youth Football League in Dallas. “We had always been concerned about neck injuries when I was playing in the ’80s. But there was never much talk about concussions. If I knew then what I know now, I would have never sent him back into the game.”Drew, whose program has teams in four age groups ranging from 4 to 12, says they don’t take any chances. While high schools and colleges have trainers, youth leagues generally do not.

“If kids get hit in the helmet, whether it is another player or the ground, they go out of the game and they do not go back in until they’re cleared by a doctor,” Drew says. “If they even complain about their head hurting, they are out. And if it is serious, we call 911.”

Of the 3 million kids ages 5 to 14 playing football, one of every 30 will have at least one concussion each season, according to a 2015 article by JAMA Pediatrics, a monthly journal published by the American Medical Association.

Pay Attention

Head injuries are not limited to football. The New York Times reported last year that a class-action lawsuit against U.S. Soccer, the governing body of the sport in the United States, was filed in 2010, after a study revealed that nearly 50,000 high school soccer players had sustained concussions. The case was settled in November 2015 when U.S. Soccer issued new guidelines, including one that prohibits players ages 10 and younger from heading the soccer ball in practice.

Parents whose kids play high-contact sports such as soccer, rugby, lacrosse, and others should teach their peewee superstars the risks of potential injury. It’s also important to talk to coaches and sports trainers, who have eye-to-eye contact on the field.

Unlike many injuries, concussions go unseen, which can be scary for parents. Symptoms can be delayed for days or even weeks, making diagnoses difficult, according to the CDC. But there are some things you can watch out for if your kiddo does sustain a blow to the head.

Know the Symptoms

Seek medical help if your child:

Appears dazed
Gets confused easily
Becomes more forgetful
Moves clumsily
Talks slowly
Loses consciousness, even briefly
Becomes moody
Has behavior or personality changes

Find out more at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Heads Up Concussion in Youth Sports Initiative.