Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum
Teen girls who play football at ‘double’ risk of concussion compared to boys - Printable Version

+- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com)
+-- Forum: Culture (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-49.html)
+--- Forum: Games, Sports & Hobbies (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-53.html)
+--- Thread: Teen girls who play football at ‘double’ risk of concussion compared to boys (/thread-10252.html)



Teen girls who play football at ‘double’ risk of concussion compared to boys - C C - Apr 28, 2021

Independent.ie (excerpts): Teenage girls who play football are almost at double the risk of concussion compared to their boy counterparts, according to a study. [...] sports-related concussion among female footballers was ... 1.88 times higher.

The study also suggests teenage girls are less likely to be removed from play and take on average two days longer to recover from injury and return to play than boys do. Male footballers were most often injured colliding with another player and were 1.5 times more likely to be removed from play on the day of injury.

According to the findings, girls were most often injured from contact with equipment such as the ball or a goalpost. Prof Stewart, senior author of the study, says the outcomes raise the question of whether sports should consider sex-specific approaches to both participation and concussion management... (MORE - details)
- - - - -

The Guardian (excerpt): The study says it is unclear whether the higher concussion rates among teenage girls are more down to their being better at reporting symptoms or a consequence of physiological differences between male and female athletes. However, it notes: “Female soccer athletes have lower neck strength and girth compared with male athletes, with these variables inversely associated with linear and rotational head acceleration after soccer ball heading.”

The paper, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, warns: “As result of anthropometric and brain microstructural differences between the sexes, female athletes may be at greater risk than male athletes of diffuse axonal injury, the principal pathology underlying concussion.” (MORE - details)