As summer sports season starts to wane and fall rests on the horizon, we’d like to remind everyone of the need to deck kids out in the proper safety equipment for their sport.

According to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, an estimated 4.4 million kids between the ages of five and 18 are treated in emergency rooms each year for sports related injuries. The use of some simple protective gear will go a long way to help minimize harmful effects.

Helmets help to prevent concussions which can be caused by a blow or jolt to the head in sports such as football, baseball and softball. Children are resilient, and often will be up and running around shortly after an injury, so it’s important to check them for signs of dizziness, feelings of being faint or lapses in memory. All of these symptoms are indicators of a potential concussion.

Dr. Divine, the director for the center, stressed in a recent Medical News Today article the need for “coaches, trainers and parents to be observant of head injury symptoms because athletes may not report them…of utmost importance, athletes younger than 18 who have any post-blow-to-the-head symptoms affecting their thought process should not return to the same practice, game or contest and be evaluated by a physician prior to return to play.”

Youthful energy sometimes runs too high - resulting in fistfights, brawls, scuffles…and this energy isn’t limited to teenagers. Whether boxing for entertainment or out of anger, people need to be aware of how much damage a simple-seeming punch can cause.

Whatever the impetus, one hit to the wrong place can cause serious, permanent damage. An impact to the head can have unseen consequences, with memory problems and impaired cognitive functioning showing up long after the initial incident. It’s not just the force of hand to head that’s dangerous, it’s also the fall that the person may take after being knocked about.

A 2007 study from the American Academy of Neurology, tittled Does Amateur Boxing Cause Brain Damage?, focused on brain damage indicators such as high levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of neuronal and glial markers in the brains of amateur boxers. They found that there was four times the level in boxers compared to healthy non-athletes.

Considering that boxers make a living at a sport where the head is regularly impacted, this study has some potential application. There are a variety of opinions and even studies that try to either prove or disprove the lasting effects of a concussion - whether or not it can cause permanent brain damage. As with most topics we discuss here, we aren’t stating that this scenario is the absolute “for sure” one, but that prevention makes a world of difference.

You may not typically be an angry person, but perhaps the knowledge that one strong punch or even slap can cause brain damage will stay your hand when you are close to losing it. Perhaps bringing awareness of the potential for life-long damage will encourage youth to think twice before engaging in “friendly” boxing. Awareness - it’s a start!

Image from Beavis and Butthead.