Differences in Concussion Rates and Symptoms Between Genders

Abstract

Injuries are a major part of athletics. Over 2.8 million sports related injuries occur each year (Zamora 2011). It is somewhat amazing that athletes, particularly in high contact sports, are as durable as they are. They are exposed to injury nonstop throughout an entire season, every year, for 10 or more years, and it is astonishing that our bodies can take such a beating before it begins to break. Different sports expose its competitors to different types of injuries. However, in my opinion, one of the most common, and the most devastating injury an athlete can encounter, as far as lifelong health is a concussion. Gender may have huge influences on symptoms and severity of concussions. There have been many studies suggesting that concussion symptoms may vary between males and females, and that females may be more susceptible to suffering a concussion (McIlroy 2011)