By Bruce E. Beans, Pure Matters It's better to miss a game than
a whole season. That's the key message of a campaign by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) aimed at an
underrated health threat: sports-related concussions.
Concussions are a traumatic brain injury caused by a blow or
jolt to the head that causes the soft tissue of the brain to
knock against the skull's bony surface. Although they range from
mild to severe, they're all serious injuries that can harm the
way the brain works. According to the CDC, approximately 1.6 to
3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur
each year in the United States. For many of these injuries, the
athletes never lose consciousness yet still suffer significant
damage. Concussions can happen to any boy or girl in any sport,
says CDC epidemiologist Julie Gilchrist, M.D. Girls, however,
may have a higher rate of post-concussion neurological
complications than do boys. The short-term effects of a
concussion can generate additional problems th