Can you remember the facts about the seriousness of a concussion? Can you recognize the signs of a concussion? What you need is a concussion clipboard.
Concussions are a serious matter. The Sports Concussion Institute provided the following statistics on their website (April 2014)http://www.concussiontreatment.com/concussionfacts.html#sfaq9)
• CDC estimates reveal that 1.6 million to 3.8 million concussions occur each year.
• 5-10% of athletes will experience a concussion in any given sport season.
• Fewer than 10% of sport related concussions involve a loss of consciousness (e.g., blacking out, seeing stars, etc.).
• Football is the most common sport with concussion risk for males (75% chance for concussion).
• Soccer is the most common sport with concussion risk for females (50% chance for concussion).
• 78% of concussions occur during games (as opposed to practices).
• Some studies suggest that females are twice as likely to sustain a concussion as males.
• Headache (85%) and dizziness (70-80%) are most commonly reported symptoms immediately following concussions for injured athletes.
• Estimated 47% of athletes do not report feeling any symptoms after a concussive blow.
• A professional football player will receive an estimated 900 to 1500 blows to the head during a season.
• Impact speed of a professional boxers punch: 20 mph.
• Impact speed of a football player tackling a stationary player: 25 mph.
• Impact speed of a soccer ball being headed by a player: 70 mph.
At the 2014 USAV High Performance tryouts evaluators with provided clipboards that contained tips for understanding and dealing with concussions. (See picture below).
Is your school’s booster club or parent-teacher organization looking for away to help make the school a safer place? Have you considered following the lead of the USAV by providing all coaches with a concussion clipboard that has the school logo and information about concussions?
In fact, it would be wise to provide all teachers with such a clipboard. You never know when a youngster might fall out of a swing on the playground or an exuberant tuba player might inadvertently hit an innocent trumpeter in the head.
Play it safe.
I recently had my coaches bag stolen out of my car in Indy and was trying to replace my concussion clipboard that I received at a clinic I attended in Chicago. Any help in this matter would be great. Jim
Contact USA Volleyball in Colorado Springs.