According to experts like Dr. James Noble, member of the American Academy of Neurology, and author of a Columbia University study that’s recently been widely reported, “Women athletes are 50% more likely than male athletes to have a sports-related concussion.”
Recently, ESPN magazine senior writer Peter Keating sums up some important, women-related concussion news, acknowledging that gender, unfortunately, has NOT “been a hot, hot topic” despite the fact that women statistically suffer more concussions than men in the sports that both play. Research, he says, shows that “Female athletes with brain trauma tend to suffer different symptoms, take longer to recover and hold back information about their injuries for different reasons than males.”
In a related Reuters Health news report, Anthony Kontos, PhD, of UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program, with whom MAC Alliance is closely aligned, says that “Irregular menstrual cycles may disrupt the body’s hormones and lead to delayed development in young women after injuries.”
As we see it here at the MAC Alliance, one of the possible red flags in this issue is that many women’s sports advocates may be reluctant to push for this type of research, since studying male and female athletes separately, as Keating also reports, “could (unfortunately!) revert to stereotypes that women have been fighting for decades – that they aren’t up to the challenges of sports or …are simply weaker than men.”
Some of the reasons for the need for gender-specific brain injury research include:
- Neck Strength – Women and girls tend to have smaller heads and smaller neck girth which may cause more destabilization of the head/brain during an injury.
- Hormones: Some studies show female physiology/hormonal differences may cause more vulnerability.
- Progesterone, specifically: This hormone lowers during points in the menstrual cycle, which could lead female athletes to be more vulnerable to symptoms during this time.
- Bias: Are women reporting symptoms like ongoing headaches and, if so, are they being taken as seriously as athletes in high-impact sports like football?
The ESPN article shows that U.S. Lacrosse has recently explored its first standards for women-specific headgear. Hundreds of millions of dollars flow into football technology and helmet design, so we’re happy to hear about studies like this which target female athletes.
The MAC Alliance urge parents of female athletes to demand protection for their daughters even if the programs do not address gender-specific safety features. Sports with the highest concussion rates are reported to be basketball, lacrosse, ice hockey and soccer. If your daughter sustains a head injury, please take the necessary steps to ensure your daughter’s safety!
For more information, we’ve also published the results of the Women’s Sports Safety Initiative from Fall 2016, “Changing the Game for Women and Sports.”
