Concussion in Youth Sports

By Maya Pundij

What is a concussion?

‘Concussion is a brain injury resulting in a disturbance of brain function’.

It is caused by a collision with another person or object, where the collision forces are transmitted to the head and brain.

How common are they?

Concussions can occur in many environments. In 2021 to 2022, statistics found that 2,300 of concussion hospitalisations were caused by sport, with an estimation that over 3 in 5 child hospitalisations resulted from sporting collisions. That is 62%!

How to recognise a concussion

Symptoms of a concussion can present in many different ways!

After a collision, the injured individual should be immediately checked for the below symptoms. If any of these are present, the individual should be automatically assumed to have a concussion and be taken out of the activity.

What are the next steps?

It is advised that the individual rests from strenuous physical or cognitive activity for the next 24-48hours after the collision. A review by a health care practitioner is recommended to guide a safe and gradual return to normal activities of daily living.

It is important to note that prolonged physical and cognitive rest can actually be detrimental to recovery, hence the importance of gradually progressing activities of daily living until the individual is ‘symptom free’.

This may look like:

Increasing screen time use.

Longer reading bouts

Half to full length school classes

Going on short walks

Return to normal school play

When can I return to sport?

Once the individual is ‘symptom free’ with daily activities, further rest from their sport is advised for 14 day period before returning to specific sport training. As you gradually increase your training load and are able to play a full training/practice match symptom free, you are ready to return to competition.

It is important that the 14 day period does not commence from the time of collision, it commences from the first day the athlete has been ‘symptom’ free!

Example return to sport:

Due to all athletes being different, the overall timeframe on return to contact training or competition may vary, regardless of the 14 day rest period.

The images below compare two athletes after a collision. The first athlete required 3 days to be ‘symptom free’, whereas the other athlete required a full 9 days (orange).

Both athletes have then followed with a 14 day rest period (yellow) before commencing training (blue). As you can see, the commencement of competition (green) varies depending on how long it takes each athlete to recover!

Contact us today to schedule a consultation for concussion management and a guided return to sport!

References:

Australian Institute of Sport. (2024). Australian Concussion Guidelines for Youth and Community Sport. https://www.concussioninsport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/1133994/37382_Concussion-Guidelines-for-community-and-youth-FA-acc-v2.pdf

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Concussions in Australia over the Last Decade. www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/concussions.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024). Injuries in Children and Adolescents 2021–22. www.aihw.gov.au/reports/injury/injuries-in-children-and-adolescents-2021-22/contents/activity.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023). Sports Injury in Australia. www.aihw.gov.au/reports/sports-injury/sports-injury-in-australia/contents/sports-injury-hospitalisations.