YourSpine.com - Chiropractic - Head Injuries in Sports Impair Intellect

Head Injuries in Sports Impair Intellect

The September 8, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the risk for concussion in head injuries from contact sports is very high and that these injuries can impair intellectual function.

"The chance that a college football player has had a concussion playing football, either before or during college, is very high – about one in three," said lead researcher Dr. Michael W. Collins of the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan.

The study found that players who had two or more previous concussions measured significantly worse on tests that measured learning ability and memory. "Speed of information processing" was also affected.

A separate study of soccer players in the Netherlands reported similar findings. "Compared with control athletes, amateur soccer players exhibited impaired performance on tests of planning . . . and memory."

Collins went on to say that athletes should not be allowed to return to play until all symptoms of the concussions are gone. This is extremely important for players "who have sustained more than one concussion over their career." For these athletes, "we need to be even more cautious because our study showed the damage can last years."

There is good news. A study done at the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in Atlanta, Georgia found that the number of head injuries dropped 51% between 1980 and 1995. There was a 66% drop in head injuries in children 5 to 14 years old.

Along with brain damage, contact sports can also cause spinal problems and Vertebral Subluxation. If your children are playing contact sports, they need to be examined by a chiropractor regularly for spinal damage so that correction can occur as soon as possible.

Change Zip Code Close