Concussions can occur in youth football games, but a recent study found most of these injuries occur during high school and college team practices.
Researchers looked at data from the Youth Football Surveillance System, National Athletic Treatment, Injury and Outcomes Network, and National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program to determine the prevalence and patterns of concussions among student athletes, the JAMA Network Journals reported.
The study revealed that during the 2012 and 2013 seasons there were a total of 1,198 concussion reported: 11.8 percent were in young athletes; 66.4 percent were in high school athletes; and 21.9 percent were in college athletes.
The findings suggest 53.9 percent of concussions occurred in youth football games, but for high school and college teams 57.7 percent and 57.6 percent occurred during practice, respectively.
Football player aged 7 and younger had no reported concussions, despite having the highest rate of athlete exposures (one player participating in a game or practice). The college concussion rate was 3,74 for every 1,000 athlete exposures (AEs); 2.38 for every 1,000 AEs among high school students; and 0.66 per 1,000 AEs in youths.
"The rate of concussion in youth players was generally not different from those in high school and college players compared with other injuries. However, football practices were a major source of concussion at all three levels of competition. Concussions during practice might be mitigated and should prompt an evaluation of technique and head impact exposure. Although it is more difficult to change the intensity or conditions of a game, many strategies can be used during practice to limit play-to-player contact and other potentially injurious behaviors," the study concluded.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
