SUNDAY, Oct. 9, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- Every year, more than 300,000 sports- and recreation-linked traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, occur in the United States.
Now, experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are offering a multimedia "toolkit" aimed at helping high school coaches, trainers, and parents prevent, recognize and manage concussions among teen athletes.
The CDC initiative, called "Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports," includes a video and DVD featuring a high school football player who was permanently disabled after he suffered two concussions in a single game. He stresses that it's better to miss one game, or even an entire season, to help recover from a concussion rather than risking your life or future health.
The kit also includes:
"Concussions can happen to any athlete, male or female, in any sport, and they should never be ignored," CDC Injury Center Director Dr. Ileana Arias said in a prepared statement. "It's not smart to play injured. This toolkit will provide coaches and parents with a common-sense approach to help raise awareness and prevent sports-related concussions among athletes."
More information
You can order and download the concussion kit from this CDC Web site.