Youth Sports and Brain Injuries

Over the past few years, we’ve been tracking with the latest research on the effects of sports-related impacts to the head in an effort to help you make wise decisions regarding your child’s participation in youth sports. Our friends at the Concussion Legacy Foundation in Boston are providing the most helpful data and resources, and we encourage you to visit their website to learn more. They have developed a growing database of research on how blows to the head can result in what is called Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy, or CTE. One new study has found conclusive evidence that repetitive head impacts do, in fact, cause CTE. Parents and coaches are encouraged to exercise caution and diligence, perhaps even keep kids out of activities like youth football until eighth grade. A recommendation has been made to create child protection efforts like we have for lead, mercury, sunburns, and smoking. Parents, please don’t ignore the evidence, and steward your child’s health.