A new study out of the University of Pittsburgh is offering the first evidence that youth football players are at lower risk of getting a concussion during practice than games and experience an overall incidence of concussions similar to that of high school and college players.
Funded by NFL Charities, the study included 468 players from 18 youth football teams in the Pittsburgh suburban area. Concussive incidents were almost nonexistent during practice, occurring at a rate of just .24 per 1,000 exposures (or about one concussive hit in 4,000). During games, however, the rate jumped to 6.16 per exposure.
"This is the first study to examine concussion rates at such youth levels, and it echoes the message emphasized by USA Football and several national youth football organizations," says Michael "Micky" Collins, executive and clinical director of the UPMC concussion program. "So many people have added their voices to this issue, and for the first time, this study shows there's no scientific evidence concerning concussions to support limiting practice time for young football players. In fact, we encourage practice as a safety and concussion-education precaution."
The research appears in the Journal of Pediatrics and will be discussed at the UPMC's concussion conference, June 7-9, providing an opportunity for more than 400 health professionals to discuss the results.
"We welcome UPMC's research, which complements our ongoing, two-year youth football safety surveillance study to advance player health," says Scott Hallenback, executive director of USA Football. "The UPMC study's conclusions underscore the value of our Heads Up program, lending more evidence that youth players are safer when they -- as well as their coaches and parents -- are taught better tackling techniques, Center for Disease Control-approved protocols for concussion recognition and response, and proper equipment fitting."
The team also pointed out that while its research was a good initial step, more study is needed, especially to address the long-term effects of repeated head traumas. Other key findings of the study:
• The incidence rate of concussions in 8- to 12-year-old players was 1.76 per 1,000 game and practice exposures, comparable to the incidence rate among high school and college players.
• 8- to 10-year-olds were almost three times less likely to suffer a concussion than 11- to 12-year-olds, clocking 0.93 incidents per 1,000 exposures in games and practices compared to 2.53 in the older group. • Quarterbacks, running backs and linebackers made up 95 percent of reported concussions.
