A concussion is defined by Meehan et al. as a blow to the head, neck or face that causes short term neurological deficits without structural changes in the brain as visible by neuroimaging. Concussions are a very serious medical injury that can lead to long term brain damage impacting memory, behavior, and mental ability. Many modern journals focus on brain health and injury and disease diagnosis and it is no wonder why: humans care about their brain health. Why is it then that so many young athletes often go undiagnosed with serious injuries? Meehan et al. reported that less than half of high school students who sustained concussions during a football game would report it to medical staff. In college students, they were unlikely to report any injury, but when they did they often called their concussion a minor head injury, terming it something of less danger. The percent of students in contact sports that were observed to have a head injury and resulting concussion symptoms is consistently lower than the percent of students confirmed to have concussions by medical diagnosis. This is a great pitfall in reducing the harm done to young athletes especially during developing years when the brains formative functions can be greatly impacted by such a disturbance. It was found that up to 30% of athletes showing symptoms and cause for concussions went undiagnosed (Meehan).
While the data itself cannot conclude the factors in the lack of diagnosis, theories exist that may explain part of it. Firstly, the mean age of the athletes in the report was 15.5 years old (Meehan). Consider this age as quiet vulnerable to the critizism of parents and coaches, and highly in tune to the behavior and expectations of the social sphere. As a fifteen year old athlete, they want to be great and hold up the team, not hold them back. Often receiving injuries can make a young teammate feel guilty for taking time out of the game or attention from the medical aids, and also can lose them playing time when they want to be doing the most to help their team win. These emotions could result in the belittling of their own symptoms and potentially ignoring signs of major damage.
Meehan, William P 3rd et al. “The prevalence of undiagnosed concussions in athletes.” Clinical journal of sport medicine : official journal of the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine vol. 23,5 (2013): 339-42. doi:10.1097/JSM.0b013e318291d3b3
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