As a parent, you worry about your children's health and safety. Are you prepared if your child hits their head? How do you know if your child has a concussion? As awareness of this head injury is growing, make sure you get educated. In this guide, learn surprising and sobering facts about concussions in children. You'll be able to recognize signs and symptoms and know where to go for pediatric concussion care.

Between the growing numbers of children and adolescents playing sports and the increased attention to head injuries by the larger sports community and the general public, pediatric concussions are emerging as a major concern. And as practitioners are seeing more young clients with head injuries, questions arise about age-appropriate assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and return to activity. Pediatric and Adolescent Concussion: Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes offers evidence-based guidelines where few previously existed. This comprehensive volume clearly explains the effects of traumatic injury on the developing brain in sports- and non-sports-related contexts, and establishes a framework for immediate and long-term management, especially the crucial first 24 hours. Chapters provide a basic grounding in its subject with a history of concussion as a medical entity and a review of definitional and classification issues, take the reader through the steps of a neuropsychological evaluation, pinpoint post-injury issues, and offer strategies for the prevention of further or future injury. Pediatric and Adolescent Concussion: Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes serves as both educational resource and practical framework for a wide array of professionals, including neuropsychologists, sports medicine physicians, child psychologists and psychiatrists, pediatric and family physicians, athletic trainers, social workers, and educators.

In the past decade, few subjects at the intersection of medicine and sports have generated as much public interest as sports-related concussions - especially among youth. Despite growing awareness of sports-related concussions and campaigns to educate athletes, coaches, physicians, and parents of young athletes about concussion recognition and management, confusion and controversy persist in many areas. Currently, diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms reported by the individual rather than on objective diagnostic markers, and there is little empirical evidence for the optimal degree and duration of physical rest needed to promote recovery or the best timing and approach for returning to full physical activity. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture reviews the science of sports-related concussions in youth from elementary school through young adulthood, as well as in military personnel and their dependents. This report recommends actions that can be taken by a range of audiences - including research funding agencies, legislatures, state and school superintendents and athletic directors, military organizations, and equipment manufacturers, as well as youth who participate in sports and their parents - to improve what is known about concussions and to reduce their occurrence. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth finds that while some studies provide useful information, much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms. The culture of sports negatively influences athletes' self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance. Athletes, their teammates, and, in some cases, coaches and parents may not fully appreciate the health threats posed by concussions. Similarly, military recruits are immersed in a culture that includes devotion to duty and service before self, and the critical nature of concussions may often go unheeded. According to Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, if the youth sports community can adopt the belief that concussions are serious injuries and emphasize care for players with concussions until they are fully recovered, then the culture in which these athletes perform and compete will become much safer. Improving understanding of the extent, causes, effects, and prevention of sports-related concussions is vitally important for the health and well-being of youth athletes. The findings and recommendations in this report set a direction for research to reach this goal.

Concussions in the pediatric population are a growing concern due to the impact concussions could have on the child’s health and well-being. Appropriate management of concussions in the pediatric population promotes recovery and the return of the student who has sustained a concussion to school and to normal physical activities. The purpose of this integrative review project is to evaluate the current practices, evidence-based recommendations, and guidelines to ascertain the optimum recovery times in children who have sustained a concussion within the school setting, grades K-12. An integrative review was conducted utilizing the Whitmore and Knafl framework. The four main themes found through the utilization of the thematic analysis included: (a) Recommended guidelines and evidence-based practices facilitate recovery and reduce risk of long-term symptoms; (b) Knowledge base and practices of providers in the management of concussions in school-age children may vary; (c) Concussion management in school-age children requires a community-based approach; and (d) Concussion management training for all stakeholders is important to ensure that evidence-based guidelines and recommendations are adhered to in the school setting. The integrative review will be published in a journal that will reach the targeted audience in the school system.

The occurrence of a concussion on a young, still-developing brain can result in persistent cognitive, physical, and behavioral consequences (Torres & Shaikh, 2019). Although there has been increased attention on the prevalence of concussions in middle and high school student-athletes (Kasamatsu, Cleary, Bennett, Howard, & McLeod, 2016), there is minimal research concerning concussion management in elementary schools (O’Neill et al., 2017). Furthermore, there is little research to suggest that elementary school staff in rural areas receive proper training to manage a concussion incident or to make classroom modifications for a student recovering from a concussion (Ettel, Glang, Todis, & Davis, 2016). The purpose of this study was to assess the concussion awareness of rural elementary school staff, specifically as it relates to appropriate identification and management of pediatric concussions. In addition, the research sought to determine the prevalence with which rural elementary schools have a school-wide concussion protocol in place. Participants included elementary school staff in rural Western North Carolina. The researcher collected data via an online, anonymous survey consisting of questions related to pediatric concussion awareness, training, and school-wide policies. It was hypothesized that there would be unsatisfactory concussion awareness among school staff and an inadequate occurrence of school-wide concussion training and protocols. The results of the survey suggested that the majority of participants did possess a basic understanding of concussion symptom identification. In addition, the data revealed that the majority of participating schools provided pediatric concussion training and have school-wide concussion response protocols in place. However, more than half of the participants indicated that they do not feel adequately trained to properly address the academic needs of a student recovering from a concussion. Thus, the training methods employed by some public school systems may be inadequate and need revision so that the transition from training to practice may be improved.

Between the growing numbers of children and adolescents playing sports and the increased attention to head injuries by the larger sports community and the general public, pediatric concussions are emerging as a major concern. And as practitioners are seeing more young clients with head injuries, questions arise about age-appropriate assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and return to activity. Pediatric and Adolescent Concussion: Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes offers evidence-based guidelines where few previously existed. This comprehensive volume clearly explains the effects of traumatic injury on the developing brain in sports- and non-sports-related contexts, and establishes a framework for immediate and long-term management, especially the crucial first 24 hours. Chapters provide a basic grounding in its subject with a history of concussion as a medical entity and a review of definitional and classification issues, take the reader through the steps of a neuropsychological evaluation, pinpoint post-injury issues, and offer strategies for the prevention of further or future injury. Pediatric and Adolescent Concussion: Diagnosis, Management, and Outcomes serves as both educational resource and practical framework for a wide array of professionals, including neuropsychologists, sports medicine physicians, child psychologists and psychiatrists, pediatric and family physicians, athletic trainers, social workers, and educators.

Concussions are increasing in incidence each year, and each state has a law on management of concussions in children. These factors strengthen the need for primary care providers to be well-versed in the evaluation and management of them. This text provides primary care physicians and clinicians with an evidence-based yet practical approach to diagnosing and treating concussions in children and adults. The book begins with a general overview of concussions. It then goes on to identify risks, signs and symptoms of concussions. Next, physicians and providers learn when and how to perform appropriate physical exams for suspected concussions. The following chapters focus on finding the correct type of testing to perform in suspected concussions. The testing options addressed include diagnostic, neurocognitive and imaging. Return-to-learn and return-to-play recommendations are then discussed to ensure that providers are able to properly educate patients on them. The book concludes by explaining post-concussion syndrome and identifying methods to prevent concussions and complications in the future. Each chapter presents a specific case along with 3-5 followup questions as well as a summary of key concepts. Written from the unique perspective of a primary care physician who also specializes in sports medicine and concussions, Concussion Management for Primary Care is a first-of-its-kind book that serves as a valuable resource for primary care physicians, sports medicine physicians and any other clinician treating patients suffering from a possible concussion.