(Ivanhoe Newswire) Female athletes who've suffered from more than one concussion recover differently than men or people without a history of concussion, according to a new report. It's estimated there are between one and four million sports-related concussions every year in the United States.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center tested soccer players because it's a popular sport and the rules are the same for men and women. Also, players don't wear helmets. They found women were significantly more symptomatic than men and they did much worse than men on reaction time tests. Both men and women players who had a history of concussion did worse on verbal memory testing.
The results of a concussion include temporary loss of normal brain function. It can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination.
Alexis Chiang Colvin, MD, co-author of the study, notes there has been a theory that men have stronger necks and torsos and can handle blows to the head better. However, their results don't support that. "When we accounted for Body Mass Index in this study, we still found a difference between males and females," says Colvin. "Therefore, there are differences in recovery between genders that cannot simply be attributed to size difference."
Given their findings, the authors urge doctors and sports coaches take an individualized approach to treating concussion patients. They also believe more study is needed.
SOURCE: Presented at the 2008 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, July 10-13
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