We tend to associate football as the sport in which concussions occur. And most studies show football as having the highest rates of concussions. That doesn’t mean that athletes in other sports can’t suffer concussions. In fact, female athletes need to be aware of these brain injuries just as much as males. We need to recognize the risk of concussions in girls sports.

There is evidence that girls might be even more susceptible to concussions than boys. In sports with similar rules and equipment, the girls’ sports almost always have higher rates of concussions than the boys’ sports.

Girls also appear to have higher rates of recurrent concussions than do boys. They are also more likely to exhibit symptoms for longer than 7 days than boys after these injuries.

The exact reasons that female athletes have these risks for concussions are not well understood. Some people think that females are more likely to report injuries. Regardless, this data suggests that concussions are serious injuries in girls, and they might be even more damaging than in boys.

Also read:
Recognize that concussions occur in sports other than football
Concussions in young female athletes

Therefore, everyone needs to recognize the risk of concussions in girls sports. Athletic trainers, team doctors and coaches need to watch for these injuries in female athletes just as much as they do for the boys’ sports.

Similarly, baseline concussion testing and formal neurological evaluation of concussions are just as crucial for girls as boys.