Girls' lacrosse on-field concussion study

Researchers analyzed video recordings of 529 high school girls' lacrosse games and studied the circumstances surrounding incidents that lead to head injuries, in hopes of decreasing the incidence of concussion.

As in any other physical activity, identifying potential rule changes, equipment modifications, or reporting procedures often helps to determine how to keep youth athletes safe during play.

Two athletic trainers videotaped the lacrosse games in the Fairfax County Public School system in Falls Church, Va., during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

They found 25 head injuries, including 21 concussions and four contusions (bruises). Twenty of the incidents were recorded but only 14 were of sufficient quality to be included in the study, published in the February edition of The American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Researchers concluded that playing near the goal at the varsity high school level is associated with head injuries, in addition to the following:

1) stick-to-head contact was the most common source of head injury

2) body-to-head contact was the second leading cause

3) defending a shot and competing for a loose ball caused the same number of head injuries

4) a vast majority of the injuries occurred inside the 12-m arc and in front of the goal

5) 100% of the injuries involved two players and most actions were unintentional

6) turf vs. grass played no role

7) penalties were only called in a very small percentage of the incidents

Researchers made note that the lack of penalties called (2 of the 14 incidents) might be cause for review of existing policies, or at the very least, their enforcement.

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