Concussions

 

The facts: In a 2007 study, the incidence of concussions was highest in football (55,007; 0.47 per 1000 athlete exposures) and girl’s soccer (29,167; 0.36 per 1000 athlete exposures). Concussions made up 9% of overall sports related injuries. In soccer, concussions most often occur while performing a 'header'. For more information on sports-related concussion injuries, visit the CDC website.

 

Through our partnership with Optim Healthcare, all Mustang athletes must perform a cognitive baseline test to help in the prevention and treatment of concussions. To find out why, read the CDC FAQ's.

 

To learn even more about concussion prevention and treatment, take the Heads Up Online Training Course.

 

 

 

Overall approximately 95,000 ACL injuries occur each year (1 in every 3,000 people). About 70% of these are sports-related injuries. The highest number of ACL injuries occur in football, but the highest rate occurs in girls soccer (1 in every 6,500 exposures*). In fact, women are more susceptible to the injury than men. In basketball, women are 3.5 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear and in soccer, 2.7 times more likely.

 

The majority of sports related ACL injuries occur when there is no contact with another player, often when the athlete is decelerating and making a sudden change in direction or landing in an awkward position. Thus, it is very important for athletes to be well trained in both strength and agility, with special emphasis on posture, landing technique, core stability, and strength of the hamstring relative to the quadriceps.

 

One program which has shown good results in reducing the incidence of knee injury is the Santa Monica ACL Prevention Project. South Effingham began implementing a portion of the program with its weight training classes in the 2013-14 school year.

 

For additional information, see Optim Healthcare's Dr. Don Aaron's PowerPoint, from which all the above information was pulled. 

 

* Exposures refers to practices, games, etc.

 

 

For more information on preventing sorts injuries, visit http://www.stopsportsinjuries.org.