Palo Alto, CA - Researchers at Palo Alto University’s (PAU)  Behavioral Research and Assessment in Neuropsychology (BRAIN) Lab, are compiling data to help families and sports organizations assess when it is safe for student-athletes to return to play after a concussion.

As part of Brain Injury Awareness Month, The BRAIN Lab team and Rayna Hirst, PhD, who directs the University’s neuropsychology program, offer several important tips for parents of student athletes.

1. Beyond football

Be aware that brain injuries can happen in any sport, not just football. A 2020 study showed the most common sports for concussions were football, hockey, and soccer, but concussions also occur in other sports such as gymnastics, cheerleading, basketball, and rugby.

2. Know the symptoms

Concussions can cause a range of symptoms that affect both cognitive and executive functions. Common concussion symptoms include:

• Appearing dazed or confused
• Dizziness or clumsiness  
• Experiencing nausea or vomiting (for an unexplained reason)
• Forgetting what happened prior and/or after the event
• Headache or pressure in the head
• Losing consciousness (even for a moment) 

3. Recovery time

If a student-athlete has had a concussion, Dr. Hirst emphasizes the importance of having enough recovery time before returning to play. A suggests that just one concussion can take a high-school athlete up to 30 days to recover after a concussion before they should return to play, and even longer for roughly 10 percent of those athletes.

4. Additional risk factors

It’s important to note additional risk factors a student-athlete might have. For example, a 2022 study shows that children with ADHD may be up to twice as likely to have a concussion, suggesting that weaknesses in attention or executive functioning may increase concussion risk. Prior concussion history and accident proneness may also be predictors of future concussions.

Palo Alto University’s Sport Concussion Study

At Palo Alto University, Dr. Hirst leads a Sport Concussion Study that is helping to establish cognitive baselines for individual student-athletes who play sports that have an increased risk of concussion. The study, being conducted by graduate students, is playing an important role in advancing effective concussion care and return-to-play protocols nationwide by providing  individualized baseline testing for a full range of organized sports, including football, hockey, soccer, gymnastics, cheerleading, basketball, and rugby.

Knowing the cognitive baselines for a student-athlete before having a concussion is important because each athlete recovers at different rates, meaning the time when it is safe for them to return to play varies. The Sport Concussion Study is unique in that it provides data for younger students aged eight to 16 years old, whereas most programs throughout the country focus on high school and collegiate athletes.