Concussion in sport - European conference

First Brain Injury and Sport - European Conference:                 
Tackling the concussion crisis Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, in association with EBIS (European Brain Injury Society) will host a ‘Brain Injury and Sport’ conference at the Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, Dublin on Friday 13th December 2013. Educating players, coaches and clinicians about concussion management and return to play guidelines; ABI Ireland and EBIS are bringing together a panel of expert speakers to discuss the growing concern surrounding the head injury. For more information see www.braininjuryandsport.ie

Concussion in Sport - view editorial in The Lancet here

 Sports-related concussions in youth: improving the science, changing the culture released on Oct 30 by the US Institute of Medicine and National Research Council—focuses on concussions in young people between 5 and 21 years of age. Incidence data are far from definitive, but the report cites estimates of between 1·6 million and 3·8 million traumatic brain injuries related to sports and leisure in the USA per year, and National Collegiate Athletic Association data suggest that sports-related concussions have increased in recent decades. Information on the long-term health sequelae of concussions in young people is also patchy.

However, the report authors highlight that the ongoing development of the brain might affect susceptibility to, and recovery from, concussion. Concussion can result in physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep problems: typically recovery takes 2 weeks, although persistence of symptoms for periods of up to years has been reported. Worryingly, previous concussions are associated with an increased risk of further concussions, and there is evidence that repeated concussions increase the number and severity of symptoms.