Concussions are one of the most commonly discussed sports injuries that occur in high school. A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or violent shaking of the head and body. They have a drastically higher chance of occurring in contact sports like football, lacrosse, or hockey.

For students that want to minimize the risk of receiving a concussion or other form of head trauma but still want to take part in sports they should participate in low contact sports such as gymnastics, baseball, volleyball, and cheer, which have the lowest amount of head traumas reported each year. Sports like basketball are also safe, however they pose more of a risk than the sports previously stated.

The CDC reports that concussion rates have doubled in the 10 years between 2002 and 2012, with 3,800,000 being reported in high school sports in 2012. Approximately 33% of concussions happen  at practice. They also report that almost 50% of concussions are from football. About one in every five high school athletes will receive a concussion at some point in the season, most times they are not detected.

When people think about concussions they usually have the assumption that you lose consciousness or get knocked out when it occurs. But surprisingly, 90% of all concussions do not involve loss of consciousness. Most people can receive concussions and not realize it until side effects such as constant migraines and sensitivity to light begin to happen.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has reported that emergency room visits for concussions in kids ages 8 to 13 years old has doubled, and concussions have risen 200 percent among teens ages 14 to 19 in the last decade. This is due to rising awareness of the threat head trauma can pose later in life.

While the first hit can prove problematic, the second or third head impact can cause permanent long-term brain damage. Cumulative sports concussions are shown to increase the likelihood of catastrophic head injury leading to permanent neurologic disability by 39 percent.

Usually when an athlete gets a concussion they will have side effects such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, confusion, and even short term memory loss. People who get concussions are usually advised to stay home in a dark room with no loud noises for about one to two weeks to allow the brain proper time to heal. Simple tasks such as reading a book or cleaning can make the symptoms even worse. People are also advised to stay home from school as they can have trouble concentrating.

When someone gets a concussion one of the biggest indicators can be something like mood change. Spencer Schroen, a Ripon High School Sophomore, who formerly played football, got a concussion after a blow to the head during a game his freshman year. After being asked how it made him feel, he stated, “I felt really tired and not motivated for a while. I’d just stay home doing nothing. I also felt really irritable and frustrated when people talked to me or when I tried to do my homework. I just couldn’t focus at all. Now I can’t play football.”

Another RHS student, Deven Stokes, who got a concussion playing basketball a few weeks ago said, ”This girl on the other team came up behind me and pushed me. She fell on top of me with my head against the court, but I can’t remember whether or not I had already hit my head on the ground or not when she landed on me, this was just after getting knocked in the head the week before.” Memory loss of the incident is pretty common after head trauma, which can make it hard when you need to explain to a medical professional what exactly happened.

In the past decade, doctors and coaches alike have been trying to find the best way to prevent concussions. This has led to football coaches implementing the heads up tackling technique as well as sports equipment companies like Schutt, Riddell, and Xenith pioneering new technology such as shock absorbers and flex plates in their helmets that are used in football, hockey, baseball, and softball.