Minor sports knocks may cause brain injuryRSS Feed

Even the most minor knock on the head during a school football or hockey game could cause permanent brain injury, even without an individual suffering concussion.

This is the conclusion of a University of Rochester Medical Center study, in which researchers underline the potential consequences a head injury can have on the development of youngster's brains.

Of the patients studied, sports people who received sub-concussive blows showed abnormalities in their post-season diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans, which is similar to magnetic resonance imaging but without the images.

Changes in the DTI also correlated strongly with the number of self-reported head hits a person received, their symptoms and cognitive test results.

However, researchers also conceded the difficulty healthcare providers face when diagnosing concussion in youngsters.

Author Jeffrey Bazarian said the study, published in the Journal Magnetic Resonance Imaging, suggested the findings could have major implications for youth sports, if confirmed with further research.

"The challenge is to determine whether a critical number of head hits exists above which this type of brain injury appears, and then to get players and coaches to agree to limit play when an athlete approached that number," he added.

News from Serious Law, specialist brain injury solicitors

Posted by Paul Breen

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