National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Management of Sport-Related Concussion

Sport in today’s society is more popular than probably ever imagined. Large numbers of athletes participate in a variety of youth, high school, collegiate, professional, and recreational sports. As sport becomes more of a fixture in the lives of Americans, a burden of responsibility falls on the shoulders of the various organizations, coaches, parents, clinicians, officials, and researchers to provide an environment that minimizes the risk of injury in all sports. For example, the research-based recommendations made for football between 1976 and 1980 resulted in a significant reduction in the incidence of fatalities and nonfatal catastrophic injuries. In 1968, 36 brain and cervical spine fatalities occurred in high school and collegiate football. The number had dropped to zero in 1990 and has averaged about 5 per year since then.1 This decrease was attributed to a variety of factors, including (1) rule changes, which have outlawed spearing and butt blocking, (2) player education about the rule changes and the consequences of not following the rules, (3) implementation of equipment standards, (4) availability of alternative assessment techniques, (5) a marked reduction in physical contact time during practice sessions, (6) a heightened awareness among clinicians of the dangers involved in returning an athlete to competition too early, and (7) the athlete’s awareness of the risks associated with concussion.