Concussions in Lacrosse: A 10-Year National Epidemiological Study

Abstract

Concussions are recently becoming an important topic of study due to their high prevalence, especially in athletics. Sports like American football have received much media attention as cases of serious and long-term effects are becoming more frequent. Lacrosse is another sport that is of interest for study because, although it could be considered America’s oldest sport, participation has significantly increased in recent years. A particularly interesting feature of lacrosse is that the rules differ greatly between men and women, which may lead to differences in injury prevalence. The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of the epidemiology of concussions in lacrosse players from 2004 to 2014 and analyze any differences between men and women. Comparisons to American football are used to determine severity of concussion trends in lacrosse and to provide insight into potential strategies to reduce the risk of concussions in lacrosse.