June 2020 - 19

" This may at least be partially attributable to policies
such as the mandatory removal from play following
concussions, and strict requirements associated with
mandated return-to-play policies, " Chandran said in a
story published in Reuters.com.
While football continues to top the charts, in terms of
both in-game and practice concussions suffered, it's far
from the only sport where concussions can be an issue.
Data from the National High School Sports-Related Injury
Surveillance Study (HS RIO) showed that after football's
10.4 concussions per 10,000 AE, it was girls' soccer that
was the next sport with the highest concussion rate with
8.19 per 10,000 AE. Boys' ice hockey was the third-highest
concussion rate with 7.69 per 10,000 AE.
Football posted a concussion rate of 5.01 per 10,000
during practices with cheerleading surprisingly showing
up second with a rate of 3.6, followed by boys' wrestling's
rate of 3.12.
A growing awareness of concussion risks has prompted
more evaluations of athletes on the sidelines as soon as a
head injury is suspected, and it has also led many schools
to develop protocols to ensure injured students don't
return to sports or academics too soon.
Putting the Numbers To Work
With all this data being recorded that is publicly
available for consumption, how do coaches,
administrators, and athletic trainers put this to use? That's
precisely the question the University of Michigan is hoping
to answer with its newly opened concussion center.
For the last two years, the Michigan Concussion Center
has been devoted to maximizing societal and individual
health through the relentless pursuit of concussion
knowledge. Its staff have focused on neck-strengthening
as a preventative strategy and technology that could
eventually diagnose concussions in real time.
Dr. JT Eckner, Michigan Concussion Center's associate
director of research, has spearheaded the preventative
strategy - and the results showed that neck strength can
reduce head acceleration following impact, suggesting that
neck strengthening exercises may be a good strategy for
concussion prevention in football players.
" We have seen that our research participants with
stronger necks experience smaller head acceleration
responses, so we think that if an athlete does exercise to
strengthen their neck it should reduce their concussion
risk, " Eckner said in an issued press release from Michigan.
The next step is to conduct a larger-scale study involving
male and female high school soccer players to better
understand how neck strengthening exercises affect an
athlete's risk for concussions.
Forward-thinking is what drives the Michigan
Concussion Center. It's what pushed Dr. Steve Brogiio,
Ph.D., professor at the School of Kinesiology at Michigan
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June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2020
