Carroll County Schools Warn Parents of ‘Deadly’ Concussions During Sports Safety Presentation

Ninety percent of concussions happen without loss of consciousness.

Fifty percent of young athletes suffering from Second Impact Syndrome die from their injuries.

The facts and statistics were frightening as about a dozen parents, young athletes and local coaches attended an informational session on sports injury prevention held by the Carroll County Public School System Athletic Department and the Carroll County Health Department.

The clinic included pre-participation physical evaluations, dehydration and heat-related illness, overuse injuries, concussions and parents’ role in their child's athletic participation.

Jim Rodriguez, supervisor of Athletics for Carroll County Public Schools and Meghan Young, athletic trainer at Westminster High School led the discussion and presentation Monday at South Carroll High School. 

A majority of the session dealt with concussions, the leading cause of sport-related death, including a discussion of the county school system’s policy for sports injuries.

“We’re standing as a school system that requires kids to stay off the field for at least five days after the injury,” said Rodriguez. “The best you can do is give it time to heal.”

From 2001 to 2005, more than 502,000 emergency visits were due to concussions in children between the ages of 8 and 19 years and approximately half of these visits were a result of concussions which occurred during organized sports, according to the information sheet handed out at the end of the presentation. 

According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated 38 million children and adolescents play in organized sports and each year more than 3.5 million children ages 14 years and under receive medical treatment for sports injuries.

And although rare, brain injury is the leading cause of sports-related death, with an estimated 2 out of 5 traumatic brain injuries among children are associated with participation in sports and recreational activities, according to Safe Kids USA, a nonprofit organization solely dedicated to eliminating preventable childhood injuries. 

But brain injuries aren’t the only issue. Young also talked about the dangers of dehydration. 

“Summer is different here than other places. A lot of the problems I run into is the kids don’t understand how much they have to drink,” said Young. “Dehydration not only hurts performance but can put a child at risk of heat-related illness.”

Rodriguez said that in order to stop dehydration, young athletes should drink about five ounces of water or sports drink every 20 minutes for a child around under 100 pounds, and about nine ounces every 20 minutes for those 130 pounds and heavier.

He also urged that nothing should be taken lightly saying, “the majority of injuries resolve themselves after a week or so but some sports related injuries like concussions can go and effect someone for the rest of their life.”

Two other sessions are offered this year including one at the Westminster High School auditorium on April 27 and another at Manchester Valley High School auditorium May 5.