New Data May Help Intercept Head Injuries in College Football medscape.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from medscape.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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College football players were more likely to have concussions and head hits during practices and preseason training rather than regular season play, an observational study of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I players showed.
In six NCAA teams across five pre-pandemic seasons, 72% of concussions and 67% of head impacts occurred during practices, according to Michael McCrea, PhD, of Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and co-authors.
Roughly half of all concussions occurred during preseason training, even though preseason training represented just 21% of the whole season. Head impacts in preseason were twice the proportion of regular season head hits, they reported in
The study was published in the Sports Medicine journal in January
The authors surveyed almost 31,000 student-athletes from NCAA institutions and military service academies
Between 11 and 27 percent of student-athletes without a recent concussion reported symptoms that can be linked to post-concussion syndrome (PCS)
Common symptoms include fatigue, low energy, and drowsiness
The study says the symptoms are due to a lack of sleep and stress
Researchers surveyed more than 31,000 people about their health
Almost a third reported symptoms usually associated with concussion
This includes headaches, dizziness, anxiety, insomnia and loss of concentration
Researchers say that stress and lack of sleep are likely causing the symptoms
Findings could help doctors figure out which symptoms are due to head injuries, and which have other causes