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Concussion Epidemic Among Young Athletes
Doctors, students, and coaches are finding out that concussions can be a real headache. Boys and girls who play contact sports like football and soccer can develop lifelong problems if their concussions are not treated properly.
A concussion happens when you get hit on the head hard enough to shake your brain inside your skull. A concussion can cause all kinds of symptoms like dizziness, headaches, and memory problems. In the past, when a kid got hit on the head during a game, his coach or a doctor might have him rest for a week and then send him back onto the field. They didn't have any way of testing kids to see if they had a concussion.
Now, the experts at the Sports Medicine Center at the University of Pittsburgh say that kids need to be checked out after a bump on the head. If they have a concussion, they should stay out of the game for longer than a week. Doctors there use a sophisticated computer program that tests how well a player's brain works after an injury. This helps prevent players from returning to the games they love too soon.
Once your brain is better, it's OK to play again. Until then, it's even easier to get another concussion, and that could cause problems that last a lifetime.
I'm Lucy and that's what happened in sports this week!
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