A new study published recently in Pediatrics highlights that more children and teenagers are suffering traumatic brain injuries while playing basketball. Taking a ten year range from 1997 to 2007, researchers looked at visits to emergency rooms like the one where Dr. Josyann Abisaab works. They found that, for people under the age of 20 treated for basketball related injuries, the number of traumatic brain injuries had shot up by 70%.
Overall, the traumatic brain injury proportions doubled for boys and tripled for girls during this time, said senior study author Dr. Laura B. McKenzie.
Certainly, doctors like Josyann Abisaab, researchers and centers like the Brain Trauma Foundation encourage coaches, athletes and parents to understand what causes traumatic brain injuries and to recognize the signs of a possible concussion.
