ABSTRACT
Multiple mild concussions in high-profile, professional football players in the mid 1990s and the resultant media feeding frenzy have ushered in a new era in the study of mild head injury in athletics. In particular, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and CNN Sports, among others, have begun a cascade of events including a new appreciation for and concern over the immediate and long-term effects of the invisible sports injury. This new focus is predicated on the newsworthy nature of this injury involving sports celebrities, its potential for disability and career termination, and the obvious liability and financial implications. These concerns are shared by athletes, their families, school officials, team physicians, coaches, athletic trainers, franchise owners, athletic directors, player agents, insurance companies, and the public. Sensitivity to the effects of mild head injury on the playing field has created a need for information and expertise in factors critical to the identification of mechanism, prevalence, and severity of injury. These factors, along with treatment, recovery curves, long-term outcome, and prevention, all parallel the concern over sports spinal-cord trauma and orthopedic injuries in earlier years. The natural inclination has been to
turn to the clinical/medi-cal and scientific literature in an attempt to find similarities and answers to questions regarding sideline medical assessment of severity, and criteria for return to play or termination of athletic career after multiple mild head injuries.
