Abstract
Head injuries in sports have merited greater attention from professionals, the media, and the general public in recent years. The purpose of this research was to conduct a review of articles that focus on the incidence of head injuries in football, baseball, ice hockey, and cycling. Twenty three studies were identified for inclusion because they contained quantitative data on the number or percentage of head injuries in those four sports. A table was created comparing the data by: sport, research design, level of play, and number of head injuries. Analysis of the data showed that the most studied sport was ice hockey, the most studied level of play was the professional level, and the most used study designs were case studies and emergency department surveillance. Some studies included implementation of prevention strategies to decrease the incidence of head injuries. The most common prevention strategies were rule changes and better equipment. Future studies will help determine the most successful prevention strategies that can be implemented in each sport to further reduce the incidence of head injury in sports.
Highlights
A class action lawsuit against the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) resulted in the establishment of a new program to assist college football players with medical monitoring and a new research program that focuses on the prevention, treatment, and effects of concussions [1]
This study showed that the incidence of head injuries is high for all levels of play in football, hockey, baseball and cycling
Future studies on head injury will lead to better prevention strategies to further reduce the incidence of head injuries
Summary
A class action lawsuit against the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) resulted in the establishment of a new program to assist college football players with medical monitoring and a new research program that focuses on the prevention, treatment, and effects of concussions [1]. In another lawsuit, retired National Football league (NFL) players received compensation from the league to assist with their ongoing medical costs and other losses. The players involved are suffering from dementia, depression, or Alzheimer’s disease, and they believe their diseases were the result of repeated head injuries they suffered while playing football [2] Other sports, such as baseball, ice hockey, and cycling carry a high risk of head injuries. This topic is important because even minor head injuries, if not treated properly, may result in traumatic brain injury (TBI), concussions, mental status changes sometimes death
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