C.T.E. Risks and Youth Sports: How to Keep Child Athletes Safe
Elizabeth Davis, MD
Pediatric Sports Medicine
For many parents, brain injuries are a fear when their kids take part in physical sports. But before you decide to ban your child from contact sports, keep in mind that the benefits still outweigh the potential risks of long-term injury. And there are ways to keep your child safer.
The sobering reality of the risk of brain injury was highlighted by a recent study that found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.) in a quarter of former professional football players who died from 2016 and 2021.
Understanding C.T.E. Risk in Youth Athletics
The degenerative brain disease has long been linked to football, but this was the first time researchers have been able to put hard numbers behind that link. They found the disease in 215 of 878 deceased players, ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s.
The dangerous brain disease is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. It is more common among athletes in sports – football, boxing and rugby, for example – that are heavy on physical contact. Studying the disease is difficult, since it can only be diagnosed after death, if the brain tissue is examined under a microscope.
The risk of these injuries tends to be greater in athletes who invest significant amounts of time in contact sports. But keep in mind the way youth athletics have evolved. It used to be that children would only get serious about sports when they entered middle school. Even then, they would alternate sports throughout the year, playing something different each semester.
But many of today’s kids are getting started in sports while in elementary school. They often get locked into one sport, which they play exclusively throughout the year, joining teams organized by schools, community organizations and private clubs. So they spend a lot more time playing sports, which increases the chances of injury.
6 Ways To Protect Your Child from Concussions and C.T.E.
Limit full-contact play for kids under 13. That doesn’t mean they can’t start learning the fundamentals of football. But limit them to flag football instead of full-contact tackling.
Choose leagues with strict no-contact practice rules. This may be more difficult, depending on the policies of your local schools and leagues. But some states – California and New Jersey, for example – are strictly limiting the amount of time that student athletes can spend in full-contact practice. The Florida High School Athletic Association limits full contact practice to 80 minutes a week. This is important, because concussions often happen during practice, rather than during games.
Ensure coaches teach proper safe-tackling technique. The men and women coaching your children represent a critical line of defense for your child’s brain health. Young athletes need to be taught the proper way to play the sport. In football, for example, they should be taught to lead with their shoulder (not their head) when making a tackle.
Confirm coaches follow concussion protocols. Coaches need to be educated about the dangers of head injuries, including how to recognize them and how they should be treated. Parents need to be advocates for their children, too. If you notice your child is playing on a team with a coach who has more of an old-school approach to injuries and concussions, it’s time to find another team.
Know what danger looks like. If you see your kid take a big hit or get off the ground shaking their head or looking wobbly, don’t hesitate to step in. At the first sign of a potential concussion, the child needs to be pulled from game action. Kids will often claim to be fine just to get back into a game. The worst thing you can do is put a concussed kid back into the lineup. At that point, the risk of a more serious injury goes up exponentially.
Recognize signs of head trauma. If you are worried that your kid might have a concussion, make sure you get them into someone with expertise. Skip the urgent care centers and go an emergency room or your pediatrician. They can refer you to a sports medicine specialist for proper evaluation.
This content is not AI generated.
