Young Athletes Needed For Concussion Study

(WHBC) – Akron Children’s Hospital is seeking young athletes for a concussion clinical trial.

The athletes must be between 12 and 19 years old and be in generally good health but have been diagnosed with a concussion.

Dr. Joe Congeni, director of Sports Medicine at Akron Children’s Hospital and the principal investigator for the study, says they are studying whether cooling the brain after a concussion can reduce symptoms and speed up the athlete’s recovery.

“To see if there’s a benefit to icing the brain the way we ice the knees, ankles or shoulders of injured athletes,” he told Canton’s Morning News.

He says the standard of care for a concussion has been brain rest until symptoms resolve. But, this study can play an important role in discovering how concussions are treated in the future.

Athletes who pass the initial screening will be randomly assigned to either receive the cooling therapy and brain rest or brain rest alone.

If you’re a parent, and are interested in your athlete being evaluated for the study, call 330-543-8260.

In the past decade, concussion has emerged as a major concern in youth, college and professional sports.

Approximately 1 in 5 high school athletes suffer a sports-related concussion during each season.

Football players suffer the most concussions, but numbers have been increasing in sports such as lacrosse, women’s basketball and soccer.