Local high school athletes may be at greater risk than college players

High school athletes may have a higher risk of getting a concussion than college players.

That’s the conclusion of a joint report released today by The Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. A panel of medical experts found that concussion rates were higher in high school-aged athletes who played football, baseball, men’s soccer and lacrosse than for college athletes who play those sports.

The report finds that the average collage football player experiences 6.3 concussions per 1,000 athletic exposures, a number that includes all practices and games. Meanwhile, the average high school football player will see a concussion rate almost twice as high, 11.2 concussions per 1,000 athletic exposures.

The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control Foundation and the NFL Foundation.

KCPT recently tracked the incidence of high school concussions in two in-depth local reports following the groundbreaking PBS Frontline series, League of Denial.