Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Reliability of Concussion Testing and Effects of Multiple Concussions in Athletes

Abstract

An estimated 3.8 million concussions happen every year in youth, adolescent, collegiate and professional athletes. 1 In recent years, concussions have come into the spotlight due to local and national stories about athletes collapsing after sustaining a second concussion while still suffering from a previous one and other athletes committing suicide, which seem to be linked to concussions. Concussion testing throughout the country has become a regular procedure and baseline testing is becoming more popular in high school settings. For collegiate athletics, NCAA policy requires a pre-participation assessment for all athletes that include: A brain injury/concussion history, symptom evaluation, cognitive assessment, and balance evaluation.