The Concussion Conference: Connecticut

The new 2014 CT Concussion Law applies to students K-12 as well as athletes.

Is your school ready with updated policies/practices for the 2014-15 year?

The Concussion Conference: 2014 Connecticut Concussion Law & Research-Based Best Practices for K-12 Schools

Wednesday, Sept 24, 2014 Hosted by Quinnipiac University Medical School, North Haven Campus Produced by Katherine Snedaker, LMSW Sponsored by Gaylord Center for Concussion Care

Register at TheConcussionConference.com - NY and AZ Conferences in 2015

Opening Remarks ESPN’s TJ Quinn

Keynote “Sports Concussions: What do we really know?”  Anthony Alessi, MD

Presentations from Medical, Academic, Legal and Athletic Concussion Experts for all levels of school staff

Administration Superintendents, Principals, Headmasters, Business Managers, ADs, Heads of Pupil Services Athletic Dept. Staff ADs, ATs, Coaches Clinical and Academic Staff School RNs, Guidance Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers, ATs, Teachers

Schedule All Participants can come partial, half or full day

Continental Breakfast    7:45 AM Administration Sessions  8 AM -10 AM Athletic Dept. Sessions  8 AM-12 PM Clinical/Academic Sessions  8 AM-4:30 PM  

Questions Katherine Snedaker 203-984-0860 Katherine@SportsCAPP.com

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Pink Concussions at American Academy of Neurology Sports Concussion Conference

We are incredibly excited to let you know that the Pink Concussions Study research results will be presented in poster form at the American Academy of Neurology Sports Concussion Conference this weekend in Chicago. This is a great opportunity to share this information with neurologists working in the concussion field. Since our paper has not been accepted yet for publication, we cannot yet release the results to the media. While turned down for publication, the reviewer wrote this about our paper: "I commend the authors on a very interesting and well-written article. Due to the minimal research on the topic, I think the paper will be interesting to researchers conducting concussion research. I have only a few concerns regarding the article in its current state that are listed below." With his constructive suggestions on how to improve our paper plus the feedback I will get over the weekend in Chicago, I am convinced we can get this paper published. Male Athletes and Concussions We could use your help as we still are recruiting male athletes for our 2nd concussion survey. We will compare this data against our concussion survey of 538 women athletes. But after thousands of tweets, only 82 men have signed up. Could you help? Please create a Facebook post or tweet about our male survey to reach out to your teammates, friends or coaches.  Sample Tweet   Wanted: Males, any sport level w/concussion history to take online #concussion survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MaleAthleteConcussions Here are some photos to use... We put on our sister site SportsCAPP in case the name PInk Concussions was unappealing to men. Sample Facebook Post Wanted: Male athletes with concussion history any sport/level for online concussion survey. Participants are needed for an International Study of Male Athletes and Concussions to explore athletes’ experience with concussion, reporting to coaches, and health issues. Will compare male responses to female study. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MaleAthleteConcussions

Concussions maybe invisible, but we now know our study will illuminate their effects on female athletes' lives. And we hope to learn about the past to help educate all athletes in the future.

Guest Blog: Concussions: The Gender Differences

By Arleigha Cook as a Guest Blogger

“You just have to get back out there.”

“That’s not a concussion headache.  That’s just a hunger headache.”

“Just start exercising.  That helped me.”

These quotes are all from conversations I had regarding concussions.  At a glance, I’m sure you sense a pattern.  Each of the above is a well-intentioned piece of advice, but, characterized by the notorious word “just,” each of these replies is incurably dismissive. In fact, they all tore at something inside me, as if the speaker took a look at me, saw my hope for validation of my concussion symptoms, and then pulled out the carpet from underneath me with an overtly simplistic suggestion of a quick recovery method that I should have seen before.

Interestingly, these people were brain injury survivors themselves.  And they were all male.

Hearing from another concussed individual that I should have been doing something different from the get-go – especially something as simple as beginning to exercise or just “getting back out there” was devastating.  To this day, each time I hear a suggestion of that nature, I sigh and push away an emotional reaction.  It was especially invalidating to hear from one of my friends (a skier and rugby player who had previously sustained three concussions) who said, “That’s not a concussion headache.  That’s just a hunger headache.”  To me, the pain of a “hunger headache” is the same as that of a “concussion headache.”  A hunger headache is a concussion headache.  Likewise, I have not been able to exercise without almost immediately experiencing concussion symptoms for over a year and seven months – I’m sure you can imagine how quickly I dismissed his “advice.”

These interactions got me thinking: men seem to recover from concussions more quickly than women do.  And even when they don’t, they seem to have a dismissive or nonchalant attitude about their recovery. So I started researching that idea, but only came across studies suggesting the contrary.  For example, a recent study published in the journal Radiology suggests that men actually take longer to recover from a concussion than women (see a Huffington Post article about the study here).While I have always thought I sounded like a hypochondriac, my tendency to air on the safe side may actually prove more beneficial than the laissez faire attitudes of concussed males. More than a few times I’ve come across men with concussion experience who think I’m exaggerating my symptoms (hence, “That’s not a concussion headache.  That’s a hunger headache.”).  The study featured in the Huffington Post article above even found, through diffusion tensor imaging (DTI – a form of MRI), that men seem to sustain significantly more abnormalities in a particular area in the white matter of their brains, otherwise known to scientists as the Uncinate Fasciculus.

Is this related to a basic genetic difference between men and women?  Is it the significant change to the Uncinate Fasciculus that causes male concussion patients to underestimate the time, importance, and attention their brains need in order to recover more quickly and effectively?  Presently, it’s hard to say.

My observations – which largely consist of college-age male athletes who receive concussions from football, lacrosse, and soccer – indicate that most men may have an oversimplified idea of the effort and duration involved in a timely and effective recovery.  While many women who have sustained one or moreconcussions seem to doubt their recovery or want to protect themselves through limiting exercise or other potentially dangerous activities, men seem to bear few reservations about returning to physical activity post-injury.  And, research has shown that maintaining a lower level of physical activity – if possible – can aid in the recovery process (see University of Buffalo’s 2013 study “Exercise treatment for postconcussion syndrome: a pilot study of changes in functional magnetic resonance imaging activation, physiology, and symptoms”).

This leads me to consider whether or not one’s cognitions can influence recovery speed.  There are biological differences thatinfluence concussion incurrence rates and recovery in men (such as neck strength, which can affect the damage done to the brain upon impact), but psychological state may be crucial in regards to recovery as well.  My questions: Is a healthy mental state essential for faster recovery?  Do males with concussions tend to have healthier mental states than do females with concussions?  If so, how and to what degree does this impact recovery?  My personal observation dictates that many athletes who have ended their careers as a result of concussion buildup have experienced long-term depression and anxiety because of the sudden life change due to the incurrence of brain injury.  I have especially noticed this in females.  This is not to say that males do not experience these manifestations of psychological distress; rather, it is to insinuate that psychological elements of recovery seem to affect women to a more severe degree and for a longer duration.

For now, we can only hypothesize.  The question of gender influences on concussion recovery is one that is currently being studied, and with the accelerating growth of the concussion field, there is much more to learn about gender, psychology, and outside factors that impact the recovery process.  And of course, with the more that we learn, the more we discover there is to learn.  There may be a large psychological component in recovery, and males may be predisposed to more easilyreframing cognitions surrounding this invisible injury.  Certainly there should be research done on this in the future.

---

Arleigha Cook is a brain injury survivor and a former soccer player and sprinter for Trinity’s Womens’ soccer and track and field teams.  After surviving her fourth concussion and receiving a diagnosis of Post-Concussion Syndrome, she has turned her focus to educating others about the effects of concussions.  An English major with a concentration in creative writing, Arleigha started a blog, www.brainmatter4.blogspot.com, on which she posts her thoughts about her own personal experiences with brain injury.  She has also been a guest blogger for B Stigma-Free and has spoken with Elite Sports Medicine at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center about concussions, using her personal story as an example.  Currently, she is over 1.5 years into her recovery.

Briana Scurry Guest Soccer Inspiration/Concussion Education

Mind Your Melon Invites

Youth Soccer Families to an Evening of

Soccer Inspiration and Concussion Education

with Special Guest Briana Scurry

Legendary US Goalkeeper

World Cup Champion

and Two Time Olympic Gold Medalist

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Sponsored by Shoreline Football Club

This event is pro-sport, upbeat and educational for young players from age 7 and up. Learn about the joys of soccer plus concussion education. Produced by Katherine Snedaker, MSW, the Mind Your Melon speakers don’t believe in scaring kids. We provide kids with helpful information to help make playing all sports safer.

3 PM Hangout with Briana @Location TBA in Darien/Stamford Briana and Katherine meet and chat with athletes with concussions or post concussion syndrome for a quiet, supportive 45 min talk – any age – no cost  - Please RSVP with tickets here.

7-8 PM Soccer Inspiration and Concussion Education Event @Bluestreak Briana gives talk of inspiration and concussion education, plus local youth players/parents tell their stories followed by Katherine’s educational game “Concussion Simon Says.” General public, please buy tickets here. Shoreline Families have been sponsored by their Club and just reserve a free ticket.

Want a Ball signed by Briana for Your Child? The Education Event will end with Briana handing out up to ten pre-signed balls to raise funds to cover event expenses. Your child will be called up on stage to receive the ball from her, and be thanked as a supporter. Suggested donation of $200 for a soccer ball for Briana will sign with your child’s name and hers before the event. Please buy balls here BEFORE the event.

8:15-9 PM Intimate “Meet and Greet” Reception @BlueStreak (Total of 6 family tickets are available) Briana meets with kids and their families after the event. Dessert. Briana will sign photographs which we supply. Suggested donation of $400 for one family up to 5 members – Please buy tickets here.

Briana was a goalkeeper for the United States women’s national soccer team for most of the years between 1994-2008, earning a record 173 caps for the United States. She started 159 of those games and finished her international career with a record of 133-12-14. She also earned 71 shutouts.

Event would not be possible without support of our sponsors:

Bluestreak InjureFREE SoccerAndRugby and Fairfield County Sports Commission

Mind Your Melon is the youth outreach program of SportsCAPP.com

See all our websites for more information on Concussions

SportsCAPP.com Youth Sport Concussion Education for Players-Coaches-Parents

PinkConcussions.com Info & Research on all Types of Female Concussions

TheConcussionConference.com Professional Training for School Nurses-Staff-MDs-ATs on Return To School next event is May 7, 2014, Parents are welcome to attend. 

It's 10 o'clock and do you know where your bed is? Effect of late nights and sub-optimal sleep on the brain.

Our focus is on concussions and sub-concussive hits damage to the brain, but good to be reminded about the effect of late nights and sub-optimal sleep on the brain.

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

Male Athletes & Concussions

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Why birth control pills help a concussion + Why you should care

The recently published study, "Menstrual Phase as Predictor of Outcome After mTBI in Women" is so exciting because this study goes a step beyond confirming that women's concussions are different than men's. This research explored why in detail the differences occur within the subset of women themselves compared to men's experience of concussion. The authors of the study are Kathryn Wunderle, BA; Kathleen M. Hoeger, MD, MPH; Erin Wasserman, BA; Jeffrey J. Bazarian, MD, MPH, of The University of Rochester.

I will now offer my layman's view of this study; and as always, I encourage you to read the original study posted below. Please feel free to correct/comment on my thoughts and send me any questions you would like me to pass on to the research team who conducted the study. I will post questions and responses in my next blog.

The Questions

Many of us who have experienced concussions or worked with women with mTBI have long felt there was a connection between concussion and a woman's cycle. In this study, researchers sought to prove the “Withdrawal Hypothesis,” which states that if a woman has a high level progesterone in her body at the time of an injury, she will experience sudden drop in progesterone. And that it is this decrease or "drop" that will cause worse concussion outcomes than a woman who had low level of progesterone at the time of injury and did not experience this "drop."

So who has a low level of progesterone (thought to be beneficial at the time of a concussion)?

• Men always naturally have low progesterone.
• Girls do before they get their first period.
• Women do, in later life, after their periods have ended.

Who has a high level of progesterone?

• Women of child-bearing years who progesterone levels rise and fall depending on the week of their cycle. 

Researchers in this study hypothesized that women who experience mTBI during part of their cycles when progesterone is high, would have worse outcomes than women injured during time in their cycles when their progesterone is low.

Does anyone has level of progesterone which is resistant to this "drop?"

• Women taking birth control do not experience a drop as the pill provides constant high levels of synthetic progestins.

Remember in the case of this study, low progesterone levels at the time of concussion were predicted to be beneficial as they did not "drop" because they were low at the start. High levels which were subject to the "drop" were thought to predict poor outcomes.

The Answers

The final results of this study support the researchers' prediction that women in their cycle where "progesterone is highest, had worse post-concussion symptoms" than women whose progesterone is initially low. Similarly, women who were taking synthetic progestin as birth control seemed to mirror the women who were in the low progesterone phases.

The authors of the study warn that their findings must be "considered preliminary." Yet, they believe if their conclusions are "confirmed by others, it has important implications for both treatment and prognosis."

My mind races with the possibilities...

• Could this study be the starting point for a future hormone screening test - or even for a doctor to ask a simple question about when was an injured woman's last period?
• Could this simple screen alert doctors which women are more at risk and need more aggressive interventions?
• Could women in these risk groups based on their cycles be treated with progesterone after TBI?

As with every finding in the concussion field, more research needs to be done. But this study supports the hypothesis that the acute withdrawal of progesterone after mTBI may be the missing link (or one of the missing links) to why differences are seen in men and women's concussions. And in my opinion, this is a huge news for the concussion world - for men and women alike.

PDF of The Menstrual Phase as Predictor of Outcome After mTBI in Women Study

Objective: To determine whether menstrual cycle phase in women at the time of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) predicts 1-month outcomes.

Setting: Six emergency departments; 5 in Upstate New York, and 1 in Pennsylvania.

Participants: One hundred forty-four female participants (age, 16-60) who presented to participating emergency departments within 4 hours of mTBI.

Design: Nested cohort study with neurologic and quality-of-life outcome assessment, 1 month after enrollment. Female subjects aged 16 to 60 enrolled in the parent cohort study, with 1- month neurological determination data available, were classified into menstrual cycle groups by serum progesterone concentration and self-reported contraceptive use. Main Measures: Rivermead Post Concussion Questionnaire and EuroQoL/EQ5D.

Results: Women injured during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle, when progesterone concentration is high, had significantly lower EuroQoL General Health Ratings and Index Scores than women injured during the follicular phase of their cycle or women taking oral contraceptives. Multivariate analysis confirmed a significant independent effect of menstrual cycle phase on EuroQoL Index Score and the Rivermead Post Concussion Questionnaire Somatic Subscore.

Conclusion: Menstrual cycle phase and progesterone concentration at the time of mTBI affect 1-month quality-of-life and neurologic outcomes. This association has important implications for treatment and prognosis after mTBI. Key words: brain concussion, brain injuries, follicular phase, luteal phase, menstrual cycle, postconcussion syndrome, progesterone, quality of life

PDF of The Menstrual Phase as Predictor of Outcome After mTBI in Women Study

Thank you to the authors - Kathryn Wunderle, BA; Kathleen M. Hoeger, MD, MPH; Erin Wasserman, BA; Jeffrey J. Bazarian, MD, MPH - and Leslie Orr of University of Rochester Medical Center - for allowing us to post this study.

Please direct questions to pricesned@gmail.com if you would like to take part in our exchange with the authors of the study.

INFOGRAPHIC New study: Is there a Risk Profile for Sport Concussions?

Pink Concussions: Study Explores Head Injuries in Female Athletes

 

There’s nothing like the pain of a concussion: a headache so bad, it’s vomit-inducing, and sensitivity to light and sound that can force isolation for weeks or months, sparking depression and anxiety.

Concussions have physical and emotional affects on all athletes, but Katherine Price Snedaker is spearheading research to look at female athletes’ experiences with concussions. She is hoping to use the research as a push for more education about head injuries in sports and a cultural change in the way concussed athletes are treated.

The study is an online survey for females 18+ who have had head injuries related to sports. Almost 350 women have already signed up to take the survey.

“I had concussions as a teenager, between sports and car accidents, and I was taken to the ER with headaches but nobody told me anything about concussions. I lived with that and in my 20′s, I noticed I kept getting concussions and when other (women around me) weren’t,” said Snedaker.

Then Snedaker’s son, who is in sixth grade, received a concussion during recess that kept him out of school for almost four months. But they didn’t stop – he received a number of additional concussions once returning to normal activities, and Snedaker became worried. His personality was flat, she said, and so she did research on the injury.

Snedaker, who has coached lacrosse and soccer, became passionate about concussion education and started clinics to teach parents, coaches and athletes about traumatic brain injuries.

In 2012, Snedaker who has a Masters Degree in Social Work, ran a post-concussion (support) group for teens through The Concussion Specialists of Connecticut. “In this group, 13 of 15 teens were girls,” she said. “And the the girls seemed much slower to heal, many had had repeat concussions, and all were isolated from their friends. Studies have shown girls take longer to recover from concussions. The dirty secret is some of us who get (concussions) as kids continue to have them throughout our adult lives. People have this fantasy that if they leave their sport, they don’t concuss anymore. It’s not always like that.”

So Snedaker launched PinkConcussions.com and consistently tried to update it with research relating to concussions in female athletes – except, there wasn’t much research being done.

She took to social media and connected with Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers, two researchers from Clemson University, and inquired about doing a study on the topic by posing questions to a general population of female athletes.

“The NFL is paying researchers to look at concussions (in football players), so that’s what researchers are doing,” she said. “There’s no money to be made in researching concussions in female athletes but we are hoping this will generate interest.”

Snedaker hopes to learn more about females’ experiences after being diagnosed with a concussion, reporting their concussions or playing through the pain. She also hopes to learn more about the emotional affects of the brain injury.

“There is new research being done with male football players and suicide relative to concussions, depression and alcohol,” she said. “We haven’t done the research to see how girls’ experience of concussion differs. I think girls are very social and struggle with the isolation. If they cannot text or go to the movies, school or their sport, it can be very depressing for many teenage girls recovering from concussions.”

In the future, Snedaker hopes to spearhead more research exploring many different aspects of concussions in female athletes. In the mean time, she will also continue to speak about the importance of education on the topic and implementing educational programs for coaches, parents and athletes.

“I would like concussion education to be like swimming lessons. We don’t call them drowning lessons…You reach a certain age and that’s just what you do. We don’t want you to drown. I think there should be an education piece as part of a curriculum in health where kids, parents and coaches learn about it, ” she said. “And it’s for every kid, not just athletes. Both active and non-active kids.”

Snedaker said she’s hoping the education can help people recognize concussions and learn how to manage them.  She’d like to see more girls playing hockey, soccer, and other contact sports – with the right training on head injuries.

“I want more kids playing sports because when you have coaches and referees, you are more likely to get concussion care if you get hurt in a sporting event rather than in your back yard,” she said.

Snedaker also wants to help those who have felt isolated due to their concussions.

“People don’t know how to support people with head injuries, so I want to reach out and talk about how we can help these families as a community. That’s how I sell it to parents: someone’s kid is going to get a concussion; how can you help the person sitting next to you?”

The survey will be live through Oct. 31 and Snedaker hopes to reach at least 1,000 women. Women from any country can take the survey. Participants can also agree to stay in contact with the organization for future possible studies.

For more information on the survey and concussions in female athletes, click here.

More about the Female Athletes and Concussion Study…

What outcomes do we hope to have in our study?

We are launching a new study of female athletes from all sports, and their past and present experiences with concussions. I am working with Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers, two researchers from Clemson University, who are very passionate about concussion education. The study has been approved by the IRB at Clemson University and we plan to publish the results. Through social media and our sports contacts, we hope to find female athletes, age 18 and over, who are willing to participate and have them sign up via PinkConcussions.com. On October 1, participants will be emailed a link to a twenty-minute online survey about their experiences with sports and non-sport concussions and reporting concussions. After October 1, participants can simply launch the survey via a link on PinkConcussions.com.

This is a qualitative study, meaning that rather than trying to predict or control, we are looking to understand from an experiential standpoint, what female athletes experiences are from their point of view. Then we think those results can inform additional studies with other groups that can then be used to generalize. There also is the potential for this study is to look at experiences as well as WHY athletes (in this case female athletes) are not reporting concussions. One of the most visible issues in sports is players, trainers, parents not reporting concussions to coaches, administrators, or doctors, and we wanted to try explore why does communication apprehension or reticence, occur in this context?

Finally, we also hope to create a database of women’s names, ages, sports, concussions, etc with their permission; and hopefully other researchers will want to do follow-up studies in the future.

Most importantly, just simply conducting this study, we want to raise public awareness for women with concussions. The study itself will allow any woman who wishes a chance to tell her story – in survey form – and for her to feel she is a part of our project and hopeful not alone. We hope this study helps in some small way to make this issue visible to the public and press, and creates a community feeling for the women involved.

Short Description of the Study

Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers in the Department of Communication Studies at Clemson University, along with Ms. Katherine Snedaker, MSW, of PinkConcussions.com, are conducting research to explore female athletes experiences with concussions and reporting concussions.

This research will be beneficial in shedding light on female athletes’ experiences with concussions and reporting concussions. Often female athletes are omitted from the public discourse surrounding concussions and the results of this research will assist concussion advocates in raising more awareness about concussion issues in sports.

The Sample Size

This is how we described how we would find participants for this study for the Clemson IRB application. We are accepting participants from any country.

Katherine “will recruit female athletes using her professional network of contacts. This will involve snowball sampling and networking through social media outletes such as Twitter. Only female atheltes over the age of 18 will be included in the study.”

The Survey

The survey will be “live” on October 1, and the women who volunteer to be in this study will be emailed the link to the study at that time. We plan to continue to enroll women in the study after October 1 through October 31st, 2013, and will directly send them the link at that time.

Type of Sports

We are accepting female participants, age 18 and older, who have played any sports. On the survey, we have an open text box for participants to type in all the sports they have played.

We wanted to be able to see what sports these women played, to learn in which sports they were concussed, and to find out about any non-sport concussions without limiting the participants’ choices. This is a study where women are volunteering to come forward and share their experiences so we really have no idea which women will come forward, from which sports, or what they will share.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Press Release

For Release: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 

Launch of National Study of Female Athletes and Concussions

Study begins October 1, to explore Female Athletes’ Experiences with Concussions

Contact:

Katherine Snedaker, MSW, PinkConcussions.com / 203-984-0860 PinkConcussions@gmail.com

Dr. Jimmy Sanderson, Clemson University / 864-656-3996 jsande6@clemson.edu

Norwalk, CT – Men’s football concussions are in the news daily from former and current players, but there’s rarely news about female athletes’ experiences with concussions. Female athletes experience a significant number of concussions, yet they seem too often overlooked when concussions are discussed in mainstream media. Mentioned in the report American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement: Concussion in Sport 2012, data suggest that in sports with similar rules female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts. In addition, female athletes experience or report a higher number and severity of symptoms as well as a longer duration of recovery than male athletes in several studies.

This new study will be focused on female athletes from all sports, and their past and present experiences with concussions. Current and former athletes are eligible for this study conducted by researchers from Clemson University with the advocacy group, Pink Concussions. For this study, female athletes, age 18 and over, who are willing to participate can sign up now at PinkConcussions.com. On October 1, participants will be emailed a link to a twenty-minute online survey about their experiences with sports and non-sport concussions and reporting concussions.

This research study will also explore female athletes’ experiences with reporting concussions, another salient avenue in the concussions dialogue, as many athletes do not report concussions willingly or are mis-diagnosed.

The research also will investigate female athletes’ willingness to have genetic testing that may show links to the repair and recovery of brain cells after concussion. After finishing the survey, participants in the study can opt for an additional study and consider submitting DNA collected by a cheek swab to be tested for variants at the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene.  Testing for certain genes has previously documented an association between specific genetic factors and outcomes from injuries such as concussion.

Apolipoprotein E is a protein that is important in the repair and recovery of brain cells that have been damaged due to concussion. The clinical studies point to a relationship between certain genetic signatures and poorer overall concussion response. While additional evidence is needed to better understand the relationship between APOE status and concussion outcomes, the American Academy of Neurology introduced APOE testing into concussion management guidelines this year.

The results of this research will help further concussion research by focusing on the communicative element present in this issue, and the results of the study will be helpful for athletes, parents, administrators, physicians, and advocates. This research will be beneficial in shedding light on female athletes’ experiences with concussions and reporting concussions. Often female athletes are omitted from the public discourse surrounding concussions and the results of this research will assist concussion advocates in raising more awareness about concussion issues in sports.

Co-Researchers in this study are Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers in the Department of Communication Studies at Clemson University, along with Ms. Katherine Snedaker, MSW, of PinkConcussions.com.

# # #

For more information about this study, help in recruiting athletes or to participate in the study, please fill the contact form at PinkConcussions.com or contact: Dr. Jimmy Sanderson

Clemson University

jsande6@clemson.edu

864-656-3996 

Launch of National Study of Female Athletes and Concussions

Press Release For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 17, 2013 

Launch of National Study of Female Athletes and Concussions

Study begins October 1, to explore Female Athletes’ Experiences with Concussions

Contact:

Katherine Snedaker, MSW, PinkConcussions.com / 203-984-0860 PinkConcussions@gmail.com

Dr. Jimmy Sanderson, Clemson University / 864-656-3996             jsande6@clemson.edu

Norwalk, CT – Men’s football concussions are in the news daily from former and current players, but there's rarely news about female athletes' experiences with concussions. Female athletes experience a significant number of concussions, yet they seem too often overlooked when concussions are discussed in mainstream media. Mentioned in the report American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement: Concussion in Sport 2012, data suggest that in sports with similar rules female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts. In addition, female athletes experience or report a higher number and severity of symptoms as well as a longer duration of recovery than male athletes in several studies.

This new study will be focused on female athletes from all sports, and their past and present experiences with concussions. Current and former athletes are eligible for this study conducted by researchers from Clemson University with the advocacy group, Pink Concussions. For this study, female athletes, age 18 and over, who are willing to participate can sign up now at PinkConcussions.com. On October 1, participants will be emailed a link to a twenty-minute online survey about their experiences with sports and non-sport concussions and reporting concussions.

This research study will also explore female athletes' experiences with reporting concussions, another salient avenue in the concussions dialogue, as many athletes do not report concussions willingly or are mis-diagnosed.

The research also will investigate female athletes' willingness to have genetic testing that may show links to the repair and recovery of brain cells after concussion. After finishing the survey, participants in the study can opt for an additional study and consider submitting DNA collected by a cheek swab to be tested for variants at the Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene.  Testing for certain genes has previously documented an association between specific genetic factors and outcomes from injuries such as concussion.

Apolipoprotein E is a protein that is important in the repair and recovery of brain cells that have been damaged due to concussion. The clinical studies point to a relationship between certain genetic signatures and poorer overall concussion response. While additional evidence is needed to better understand the relationship between APOE status and concussion outcomes, the American Academy of Neurology introduced APOE testing into concussion management guidelines this year.

The results of this research will help further concussion research by focusing on the communicative element present in this issue, and the results of the study will be helpful for athletes, parents, administrators, physicians, and advocates. This research will be beneficial in shedding light on female athletes’ experiences with concussions and reporting concussions. Often female athletes are omitted from the public discourse surrounding concussions and the results of this research will assist concussion advocates in raising more awareness about concussion issues in sports.

Co-Researchers in this study are Dr. Jimmy Sanderson and Dr. Melinda Weathers in the Department of Communication Studies at Clemson University, along with Ms. Katherine Snedaker, MSW, of PinkConcussions.com.

# # #

For more information about this study, help in recruiting athletes or to be a participate, please fill the contact form at PinkConcussions.com or contact:

Dr. Jimmy Sanderson

Clemson University

jsande6@clemson.edu

864-656-3996

Katherine Snedaker

PinkConcussions.com

PinkConcussions@gmail.com

203-984-0860

Why the fuss over Wambach's concussion?

Here are the issues why there is a fuss over Soccer's Abby Wambach's recent head injury and the ref's decision to stop the AT from examining her after she collapsed in the game. 1. Asking a concussed player if he/she is ok to play is like asking a drunk if he/she is ok to to drive. 2. Women are different than men when it comes to head injuries. 3. Children role model their play on how professional athletes play.

Concussed players are impaired and cannot make a determination if they are ok to play. This is one of the main the reasons that ATCs and other medical staff are present at games.

On the second point, we know women concuss at a higher rate then men but we are only at the point of guessing why due to neck strength, hormones, and/or genetic factors. And in general, women in general take longer to recover from concussions.

From American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Position Statement: Concussion in Sport 2012, page 6:

"Recent data suggest that in sports with similar rules female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts.

- In addition, female athletes experience or report a higher number and severity of symptoms as well as a longer duration of recovery than male athletes in several studies."

And I am convinced that it is not because women being more honest, sensitive or fearful to return to sports. There is a real issue here. I recently presented in Washington, DC, at the Institute of Medicine (IOM)/National Research Council (NRC) workshop on sports-related concussions in youth where almost every presentation brought up the issue of women and concussions and the need for more studies. The most alarming moment was when Tim Kelly, Head ATC of West Point spoke of how he sees a longer recovery time needed for his female cadets athletes than his male cadets. If there ever was a cohort of similar males to females as far as physical strength, personal determination and fortitude, I think West Point Cadets is it. Women are not just more honest, sensitive or fearful to return to sports. There is a real issue here.

So the bottom line is we have to educate parents, girls, coaches, trainers and doctors about head injuries and the risks. I spent my days working on this issue but there is no funding and only a few select media moments where we can get the message out.

On Super Bowl Sunday 2013, JIm Nantz provided one moment when he stated on a pre-game show with Roger Goodell that “women’s soccer players are 2 1/2 times more likely to suffer a concussion than college football player." What Nantz meant to say was to compare women’s soccer to "men soccer", not to football players. This “misquote” caused controversy as press, and soccer-football fans alike scrambled to google the correct statistics. It also was the inspiration for our website www.PinkConcussions.com all about the issues of female concussions.

And on the last point, children are watching and do model their style of play on adults. How an athlete plays to how they celebrate a victory after a goal are all absorbed in by young players. Wambach's decision to play on and ref and trainer's response was a golden teachable moment. The medical staff, coaching staff and the ref had a chance to stop play and check her out which would have been following their own protocol. This did not happen and thus Stefan's article and the media response has been a windfall to spread concussion education to more people, parents and players.

Sports Culture will always be more powerful than any warning from a doctor or lecture from an educator... We are hoping to change the current sports culture about playing thru head injuries and making refs. coaches and ATCs more aware of the need to check out players right after the hit and not just after the game.