The meeting at Georgetown University this past weekend was more than fruitful for this athletic trainer. I went in trying to get two things done: one, provide info to you the follower as best as possible and move along the discussion on female concussion and two, to learn something that is applicable to me as a “boot on the ground” athletic trainer.

The first was probably painfully obvious that I accomplished if you follow on Twitter and didn’t mute me and were not interested in this event (you should have been interested). The second objective I did meet by learning some techniques when working with females, not only at incident but with recovery, education and overall attitude.

Certainly I could write 4000 words on this event but that would be boring to you and I am still recovering from the weekend the the docs there asked that I “rest” my fingers. That being said I will give quick synopsis’s of each speaker, info that I took away as an athletic trainer and advocate for education about mTBI/concussion. It is entirely possible that I misrepresented some thoughts and missed some very valuable info for some out there; don’t worry speakers and audience this was done the best possible.

Lets begin, and this will be in chronological order of the event with presenters last name, in bullet form. My hope is that you will use this as furthering your info about the female sequale and in some cases change how you treat.

• Kerr:
  • The concussion rate is higher in females in males in college and high school sports, particularly in basketball, soccer, and softball/baseball.
  • Research suggests differences in symptoms reported as well as RTP.
  • More research needed at the youth level.
• Covassin:
  • Showed that neck strength is a confounding effect on possible injury.
  • MOI is different in the sexes: males contact with player while female is contact with ground/equipment.
• Lincoln:
  • Exposed us to the lacrosse injury and problems that exist, which is important because this is an emerging sport.
  • No head gear in woman’s lacrosse.
• Casswell:
  • Impact sensors and injury and how it may relate to injury.
  • Different types of injury for females vs. males (building on Covassin).
• Colantonio:
  • Logitudial study showed about 24% of female pop has had mTBI.
  • Females seek and get less care overall.
  • Reproductive impact after a mTBI need to be understood.
• Gioa:
  • Static and dynamic symptoms are different in female vs. males – needs research.
  • Academic performance shows no difference between sexes.  Continue reading →