Concussions and the Marketing of Sports Equipment

Here is more testimony from the session that the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation (Jay Rockefeller [D-WV], Chair) held on October 19th, this past Wednesday. Alexis Ball is a senior at the University of New Mexico. According to her testimony, she has played soccer since the age of four, and as a junior at U-NM was captain of her team. Part of her statement is as follows:

Concussions are a very serious insult to your brain. People frequently
claim an athlete just sustained a concussion, like it is no big deal. Too often
coaches, athletes, and parents dismiss the severity of concussions because it is
not a visible injury. If an athlete tears their ACL or sprains their ankle, it
is apparent externally that they are injured. This is not the case with
concussions. A doctor or coach often cannot see the physical manifestations of a
concussion. Moreover, many of the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome are not
easily associated with the initial blow. I had no idea that my insomnia or the
sadness I had felt could be correlated to an injury that I had sustained months
prior. That is one message that I want to emphasize today. Athletes who have had
concussions must be aware that symptoms can last longer than a few days or
weeks. They can last for months and in some cases for life.

Read her entire testimony here. To read all the statements and additional testimony, go here.