Teen girls have double concussion risk of boys

[WarriorN]

Important research on sex differences in sport between girls and boys.

I know there's current research on dementia in female and male football and rugby players, as a result of head impacts and injuries, with women having more risk for this.

Research was done in the US interestingly and makes a stronge case for sex differences to be taken note of, and focus on impact rather than collisions.

Girls were less likely to be taken off pitch.

Teen girl footballers have double concussion risk of boys www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56894240

Bumping

This is really worrying for girls who play football. I heard something on the radio about heading the ball being linked to am increased risk of dementia too, I think?

As usual, all the research has (until now) focused on boys. There was some discussion of this OP on this fascinating thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4227308-Interesting-real-life-stats-on-boys-girls-sports

This is in line with the findings about (adult) male vs female rugby players and concussion.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-51434749.amp

I’m glad to see this on here. It’s just been covered on SE regional news now. Especially interesting when you take into account the possibility of girls being in teams which have admitted boys who identify as girls.

It's very important research and links closely to this:

www.theguardian.com/football/2020/nov/25/study-into-dementia-risks-from-heading-seeks-female-players-to-volunteer

What's really worrying in the US research is that girls were less likely to be taken off the pitch too.

They also mention stronger necks in teen boys which I wasn't aware of.

@WarriorN

Important research on sex differences in sport between girls and boys.

I know there's current research on dementia in female and male football and rugby players, as a result of head impacts and injuries, with women having more risk for this.

Research was done in the US interestingly and makes a stronge case for sex differences to be taken note of, and focus on impact rather than collisions.

Girls were less likely to be taken off pitch.

Teen girl footballers have double concussion risk of boys www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56894240

Have I understood correctly that girls are more likely to suffer concussion but less likely to be taken off the pitch? So not only higher injury risk, but a lower level of care?

Yes exactly pickle.

I'm not sure if that's because coaches are looking at concussions from collisions (possibly more boys colliding?) and not spotting it from headers or if it's harder to spot concussion in girls, or they're actually better at hiding it / coping (possible, trying to look tough)

I need to read it again; either way it's worrying.

In the study, teenage boys were most often injured when colliding with another player while girls were more likely to be concussed on contact with the ball or a goalpost, but this was less obvious.

Girls also took longer to recover, again more worrying.

Heartening at least to see repeated and explicit mention of sex-based differences, without a single reference to gender.

Sex-specific research used repeatedly and clearly. Good to see and illustrates the importance of it.

Regarding hormones; there's an app developed by a U.K. football team around best training regimes around cycle. (Again sex specific.) But it does say that even on the pill there's some hormonal cycle. I believe it really helped them.

www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/02/13/exclusive-chelsea-become-first-club-tailor-training-menstrual/

(I got the app, it's great.)

@cheeseismydownfall

Heartening at least to see repeated and explicit mention of sex-based differences, without a single reference to gender.

I can't imgine it would be possible to insert gender into this.

Aren't the FA rules for how many doctors or First aiders different for men and women's games too? Less required for women, naturally.

I mentioned this on another thread, but ski and snowboarding head accidents are often more severe in girls than boys as our neck muscles aren't as strong.

When you hit your head, the whiplash can make your head swing back and get hit again. The stronger your neck muscles, the lower the chances of secondary strikes to the head, making head injuries less severe.

Female skiers and snowboarders are at higher risk than males for this and testing them pre-injury (it's an annual concussion baseline test) and watching them after head injuries needs to be a different process than boys.

I should have noted that ski/snow board hits to the head are often due to crashes on ice, rocks or poles, but often happen on the ground, so if you are landing on your head, it's easier for males' necks to get rigid and not repeat hit the ground vs girls who are more likely to get a double hit after whiplash.

Is this established practice Delphinium20? As in a known known in the sport?

I read this article this morning and it was heartbreaking.

Zac Easter: He left his brain behind to save others from his fate www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/56894868

I suspect these brain injuries in the American football will be very similar if not the same. As the article states though,

CTE tends to develop over several years, with symptoms similar to Alzheimer's disease, and can so far only be detected after death.

So, proper diagnosis only after death at the moment.

Obviously, Football, may not be as high a risk. The Rugby codes may be up there in the risk factors.

And boxing and other fighting codes.

Each year, we get to know more and more about this. I wonder what the next steps will be for these sports.

More importantly though, how to protect our girls and women due to the known differences in our brain physiology.

That is really interesting delphinium.

It is supported by the findings of the Swansea Uni study into women and rugby. They too stated it was the way females hit the ground because of less muscles in their necks. And then the double whammy of the more delicate brain fibres that take much less impact to sustain permanent or cumulative damage.

The Glasgow Brain Injury Research Group is a co author on this.
gbirg.inp.gla.ac.uk/publications/

Prof Stewart was on a programme about concussion in rugby where he talked about the greater risks for women. It’s not just neck strength it’s that our neurones are finer. Cycling is another risky sport. They have a partnership with a US charity pink concussions.
www.pinkconcussions.com/

@HopeClearwater

My dd played football until 18, several of her friends played football on boys teams (because they are a better standard) until 16, it's allowed. Not everything is about trans

www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2021/04/02/exclusivefa-accused-treating-womens-footballers-second-class/ This is the article about how the FA requires less medical personnel at women's games despite the science saying they are more likely to be injured.

minniemomo

Of course girls/women can play on boys/men’s teams as long as the parents or the women agree having been properly told of the risks. That is a long standing practice for certain age groups.

It is the admission of males into female sports where females don’t have a choice except to leave that sport that is the issue. It is the lack of acknowledgement of the risks that are known and are being proved via studies coming out regularly that compounds the issue.

MelissaVonStressel

There seems to be a significant gap between the knowledge that we now have about these injuries and policy to protect females against the injuries or mitigate the amount of damage.

It won’t catch up until the subject of inclusion is finally resolved. By then, how many more women and girls will have been harmed. That is where the scandal lies in making these inclusive policies before research proved the historically built up knowledge rather than after it might have been proven safe. I suspect the lobby groups knew exactly what they were doing. ‘Suspect’ is a mild word here.