Study: Girls More Prone To Concussions

High School- And College-Age Girls Playing Soccer Sustain 64% More Concussions

(CBS)  Ever since the U.S. women’s soccer team rose to the World Cup, the term “playing like a girl” has taken on a whole new meaning. A new study finds girls are playing so hard they’re getting serious head injuries more often than boys.

“What we found [is] girls significantly more likely to sustain concussion than boys in both girls basketball and girls soccer,” Dr. Dawn Comstock, the study’s author, told CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

According to a study to be published in the Journal of Athletic Training, while football still dominates the field for concussions, in high school soccer girls were 64 percent more likely to sustain a concussion - usually from falling while trying to head the ball.

In basketball girls were 300 percent more likely to get a concussion.

“The fact that women don't have necks as well developed as men, so that the shock absorber so to speak is not as well developed in the women,” said head-injury expert Dr. Robert Cantu. “And then the one I kind of like - women may just be a bit more honest than men in terms of honestly admitting that they've had post-concussion symptoms.”

Signs of a concussion include headaches, dizziness, confusion and insomnia. Researchers also found girls take longer to recover from head injuries.

“The headaches that you're having right now, are they every day?” Dr. Vernon Williams asked a patient. “Do they seem to fluctuate, come and go?”

High schooler Britany Ulshafer couldn’t concentrate in class after her concussion.

“We know that concussions are a serious brain injury and the negative symptoms can range all the way up to death,” Comstock said.

Still, the study authors don’t want parents to panic and pull their kids out of sports, saying the health consequences from obesity are more dangerous than the possibility of a concussion.

[juliedmr]

Thank you for this piece, My daughter received a head injury last Oct playing Division II college soccer and their was no evaluation for a concussion. She did sustain 60 stitches. She had to drop out of college and continues to suffer from memory and depression. Please continue to investigate what can be done to avoid these injuries in sports. Being overweight is far better than not being successful in school academics. Diane Rath

[weareone2]

Maybe another factor is that men''s brains have larger fluid-filled cavities than women, perhaps to act as shock absorbers; this may be due to their being more likely to get head injuries in fights, sports, and hunting.

[eggy1620]

%u201CSigns of a concussion include headaches, dizziness, confusion and insomnia.%u201D I won%u2019t say it, I won%u2019t say it, but insert your favorite joke here.

[kmjck]

How about kids wearing some head gear in soccer? My daughter plays goalie. All she has between her and an opponent%u2019s foot as she dives for a ball is her mouth guard.

[newsweekly1]

Last week was the 2 year anniversary of my daughter suffering from a grade 4 concussion during a varsity HS basketball game. She still suffers from severe headaches (classified as migraines), sleeplessness, irritability and confusion...nothing helps her. She gave up 4 college free ride scholarships to play ball because she knew her body couldn;t take the abuse anymore....she was a fabulous player who won dizens of awards and was names to the Top 100 players in the state.