A lead study author who is based at the Drexel University College of Medicine recommends recent concussion laws designed to prevent head injuries in American teenage athletes be extended to summer camps, travel teams, and all-star teams. According to Drexel sports medicine physician Thomas Trojian, MD, this would help ensure all youths who sustain head injuries receive the appropriate care and education.

A university news release notes that the study Trojian served as lead author for indicated a marked increase in the number of teenagers receiving medical treatment for sports-related concussions after laws pertaining to sports-related concussions were passed in Connecticut in 2010.

The release reports Connecticut was one of the first states to set laws in place intended to ensure the safety and appropriate management of sports-related concussions among American high school students. Trojian’s study investigates whether such a state law has had an impact on the medical system.

During the study, Trojian and colleagues analyzed the emergency department records of two major trauma centers in Connecticut. Results suggested a marked increase in the frequency of high school students being treated for sports-related concussions was observed. The release notes that this rose from 2.5 visits per month prior to the law being passed, to nearly six per month thereafter. This may indicate, the release says, that the state’s sport-related concussion law has assisted in improving the evaluation and detection of such injuries among high school students, by increasing obligatory emergency room visits.

To this end, Trojian adds in the release that the “Concussion laws mandating the removal of athletes with a head injury from play might be expanded to include all organized sports, at all levels, including summer camps, travel teams and all-star teams.”

At the time of the study, Trojian was a team physician for the University of Connecticut Athletics and served as the sports medicine advisor to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Trojian is on the faculty of Drexel University College of Medicine’s Department of Family, Community and Preventative Medicine, and is the lead physician for Drexel Athletics.

[Source: Drexel University College of Medicine]