President Calls for More, Better Research into Concussions in Children

On Thursday, May 29th, President Barack Obama called for more robust research into concussions, especially in young adults and children.

The president said that the medical community still faced too much uncertainty about the scope of the issue in children, as well as the long-term impact of concussions, whether a child has only one concussion, or faces repeated concussion injuries.

“We want our kids participating in sports,” Obama said as he opened a day-long summit at the White House. “As parents though, we want to keep them safe and that means we have to have better information.”

President Obama is an avid sports fan, and both his daughters are involved in school sports. He announced a host of initiatives to expand the understanding of concussions and their impact on children, including a $30 million project funded by the NCAA and the Department of Defense.

“This is the first acknowledgement that concussions are emerging as one of the most important health issues of the decade,” Dr. Douglas Smith, a professor of neurosurgery and director of the Center for Brain Injury and Repair at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, told NBC News. “It’s been the elephant in the room. Now everyone is saying, how long has that elephant been there? Awareness is skyrocketing.”

At the same time, Steve Tisch, a philanthropist and the co-owner of the Giants, pledged a $10 million donation to the department of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA to study concussions, with a focus on the head injury problem in youth sports.

“As the father of children who are athletes, and as an NFL owner, I greatly value the positive role that sports play in people’s lives and am personally concerned about sports concussions,” Tisch said in a press release. “UCLA runs one of the best youth concussion programs in the nation, and I’m honored that my gift will allow the program to accelerate and expand its efforts to help kids, parents and coaches understand how to prevent and treat concussions and enjoy the sports that they love.”

“The world is a changing place with retired NFL players stating on camera that they wouldn’t let their kids play contact sports. This is really bringing it to the level of a discussion for the family at the dining room table,” Smith said.

A recent study from the emergency medicine division at Boston Children’s Hospital found that headaches, dizziness, and blurry vision can appear right after a concussion, but mental and emotional symptoms such as irritability, frustration, and depression can appear later, and stay longer.

“Patients and their families should expect the physical symptoms that they experience after a head injury to get better over the next few weeks, but that emotional symptoms may come on later, even as the physical symptoms subside,” said lead researcher Dr. Matthew Eisenberg.

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Personal Injury Cases Related to Concussions and TBI

If your child received a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a result of negligence on the part of the school or sports league, you may have a personal injury case. The attorneys at Strom Law, LLC can help. We offer free consultations to help get you on the road to recovery, so contact us today. 803.252.4800.