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Patient Education

2019-02-20
Four Tips to Prevent Youth Concussions

Prevent Youth Concussions

With so many years of dedication and eyeballing the gold medals, you don’t want an injury to keep away from your goals. Even a concussion is one of the worst nightmares for any athlete. It is extremely dangerous for a young athlete to sustain a mild concussion during a game and return to play in a compressed state. All the athletes and coaches are very well aware of youth concussions. Coaches need to recognize any signs and symptoms right away because it can not only lead to brain injury but also keep the athlete from missing an entire sports season. Therefore, we have outlined some tips to prevent youth concussions so that you can prevent this issue in advance.

1) Use Properly Fitted Equipment

The importance of using a properly fitted protective equipment can never be overlooked. High-contact sports like football and rugby have chances for players to get head injuries. It involves strong blows and head-to-head contact. Protective gear including helmets and mouthguards are essential to protect any athlete from head injuries. A strong helmet can protect your skull and help absorb the impact. A mouth guard protects your teeth from jaw injuries.

But no matter how good the equipment is, your equipment alone cannot provide a complete protective barrier. Athletes must take over precautions to remain away from injuries during the game.

2) Follow the Sports Safety Rules

Safety rules are made to reduce the risk of injury for athletes, and these rules differ from sport-to-sport. For instance, one of the biggest rules of playing high-contact games is to play with your head up and avoid head-to-head contact. Therefore, find out the rules of playing your game right. Knowing how to play the sport safely with caution are the important factors in preventing concussions.  

3) Have a Concussion Baseline Testing

Baseline testing is a series of tests done before sports seasons start. These tests provide valuable information to the health care practitioners about the areas of the brain that can be impacted by a concussion. Though it won’t directly prevent a concussion from happening, the testing gives coaches and athletes an objective test to diagnose concussions when they happen. The testing involves both computerized and physical testing that can help you with concussion recovery.

4) Educate Yourself

Youth concussions are extremely common. Educate yourself with the consequences about how detrimental effect to the brain if left untreated. Many players walk off injuries and play through pain while ignoring the serious nature of the internal injuries. Athletes need to get sports physiotherapy to prevent injuries and recover from concussion faster.

Youth concussions are preventable. With extra caution and knowledge, you can easily prevent it from happening. If you are looking for a sports physio for concussion recovery, contact Emerald Hills Physio. Read our testimonials and decide for yourself!