A new revelation has given parents good reason to make sure their Oregon teenagers take every safety precaution when playing sports or participating in other physical activities. A new study has revealed that abrain injury can be more detrimental to a teen than it would be for an adult or younger child.
Originally, doctors believed that children and teens were more likely to recover fully from traumatic brain injury than adults. However, the study proved that teens who suffered from these injuries were more likely to experience short-term memory loss than anyone else.
This is a particularly significant study considering the prevalence of TBI in teens throughout the United States. Maintaining active lifestyles, including participation in intense physical sports, puts this demographic at risk of suffering one of these injuries. In fact, 300,000 TBIs a year in the United States occur through sports or other recreational activities.
The researchers examined 96 people in total. A third of those subjects were teens, ranging in age from 13 to 16. They were compared to adults and children ages 9 through 12.
Of all subjects, the teens were most sensitive to TBI. Concussions have a more serious effect on the front regions of the brain, and that part of the brain is in a rapid development phase in teens. This, according to researchers, makes teens more susceptible to the effects of TBI.
But, teens were not the only demographic to suffer potential harm from TBI. People of all ages can experience the effects of a concussion for up to a year.
Doctors encourage anyone who experiences a concussion to take the proper safety measures and allow themselves to rest cognitively. This means taking a break from school and other activities that can be taxing on the brain.
Source: Mail Online, “Being concussed as a teen does more damage to your memory than being knocked out as a child or adult,” Sadie Whitelocks, Feb. 28, 2012