Concussions have long been an unwelcome byproduct of sports.
And while more attention has been paid in recent years to preventing the mild brain injuries among professional and school-age players, much of the focus, as well as the studies, have been limited to the high-profile and prime-offending game of football.
Officials at US Lacrosse, the sport's governing body, said they also need to step up efforts to learn how players get hurt and how to minimize risks. One recently released study has helped the group understand the frequency of injury and differences between males and females.
The results form the basis for further research that could eventually lead to changes in equipment or rules for one of the most popular sports in Maryland and one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. About a half-million play organized lacrosse.
"Lacrosse is growing so fast, and we really need to play catch-up," said Steve Stenersen, executive director of Baltimore-based US Lacrosse. "We want to maintain the integrity of the sport and improve the safety of the sport."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines a concussion as a mild traumatic brain injury resulting from a jolt to the head that causes the organ to move rapidly inside the skull.
Impacts can be short-lived or long-term, and symptoms can surface immediately or days later. At first, they can include sensitivity to light and noise, headaches and memory loss. Delayed symptoms include fatigue, confusion, mood changes and depression.
The CDC estimates that there are between 1.6 million and 3.8 million sport-related concussions a year. More than half of the concussions among high school athletes are caused by football.
And while Stenersen said there is much to be gained from football studies, officials want to better understand lacrosse-related concussions. The group formed the Sports Science and Safety Committee and partnered with MedStar Research Institute.
A study published last year in the American Journal of Sports Medicine and just released revealed that concussions were the most common type of head, face and eye injury for both male and female lacrosse players in high school and college.
Male high school and college players suffered more concussions than their female counterparts, although females had more head, face and eye injuries in general. That may be because men wear helmets with face masks, but women do not and only began wearing goggles in 2004, after data was collected for the study. Also, males were more likely to sustain an injury from player-to-player contact, and females were hurt more often from contact with a stick or a ball.
