MHSAA releases study of head injuries in Michigan schools

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) conducted their first ever head-injury survey for the 2015-2016 school year. Spanning across all sports, the survey revealed a total of 4,452 reported head injuries in boys and girls sports. “Contact sports” yielded the highest amount of reported injuries including, 11-player football, followed by ice hockey, 8-player football, girls soccer, and girls basketball. Overall, male athletes experienced 67% of reported injuries, although male participation was far higher than female participation. Despite these injuries, 28% of these athletes returned to activity within 6 to 10 days. While 20% of injured players returned to activity within 11 to 15 days. One foreseeable issue with this study is of course the heavy reliance on “self-reporting” i.e. depending on the player themselves or an un-prepared, over-worked coaching staff member to report the injury.

For further detail: http://www.freep.com/story/sports/high-school/2016/09/28/mhsaa-contact-sports-concussions/91252452/