It has long been believed that women heal from sports concussion more slowly than men do.
However, a recent nationwide study of collegiate players in the United States disproves that idea, showing that men and women heal from sports-related brain injuries roughly equally quickly. According to a study that was just published in the journal Sports Medicine, recovery patterns for both genders were comparable on tests of brain function, concussion symptoms, mental health, balance, and reaction time. Researchers also discovered that there was no discernible difference in the amount of time it took for men and women to resume full-time sports engagement.
“With such a large sample, I think a lot of people will be surprised that women and men recover along the same trajectory,” Ohio State University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences assistant professor and senior researcher Jaclyn Caccese said. “We’ve believed for a long time that women heal more slowly, but data suggests that they heal similarly if they have equal access to care.” Researchers examined medical records from over 900 athletes who participated in NCAA college sports for the study. In the survey, women made up about three out of every five athletes. 15 sex-comparable sports—basketball, diving, ice hockey, soccer, and volleyball—were the subject of the analysis. Football and wrestling, two exclusively masculine sports, were expressly left out by the research team.
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Sports Concussion
“Much of the concussion research came out of football, a predominantly male sport,” Caccesse said. “This study is important because it’s the largest study of concussion recovery in women to date.” For example, a 2022 review showed 40% of the 171 studies upon which athlete concussion recovery consensus papers are based had no female participants, Caccesse noted. Overall, the studies relied on samples that were 80% male.
Sports Concussion
“We’ve been making clinical decisions based on studies that included only a very small percentage of females,” Caccesse said. “But if student-athletes’ cognitive function, symptoms and mental health are recovering along the same trajectories, we probably don’t need to hold women back longer.” Participants completed pre-season health assessments to allow researchers to accurately track recovery from any concussions that might occur.
Sports Concussion
Post-concussion evaluations were taken within six hours of the head injury, one to two days later, the day they started their return-to-play protocol, the day they were cleared for competition, and six months post-injury. Tests included assessments of brain function, memory, balance and reaction time, as well as surveys on health, anxiety, depression and quality of life.
Sports Concussion
Recovery trajectories did not differ by gender, except that women reported more problems with eye and inner ear function than men within 48 hours of their injury. Women on the whole waited a day longer than men to start return-to-play workouts, but both genders returned to unrestricted competition after the same amount of time—on average, two weeks post-concussion. Women did report more symptoms than men, both at baseline and during recovery. These included more complaints of headaches, pressure in the head and fatigue, researchers said. This suggests that gender-specific norms need to be established to allow doctors to properly evaluate an athlete’s health following a concussion, Caccesse said.
Sports Concussion
“Otherwise, clinical providers might think women are not recovering who they actually are,” Caccesse said in a university news release. High schools tend to focus athletic trainer resources on sports with the highest risk of injury, mainly male-dominated football, Caccesse said. That means there’s a good chance female athletes in high school haven’t received the same sort of medical attention. “Student-athletes at the institutions in this study receive immediate access to the best sports medicine evaluation and treatment. I think that could be one of the driving factors in why we didn’t see much of a sex difference,” Caccese said. “Historically, some women’s sports didn’t have the same on-site access to health care, and what that does is result in delayed evaluation, delayed initiation of treatment and prolonged recovery,” she explained. “I think having someone on the field watching and taking care of athletes, knowing them and knowing how to provide concussion management is key.”
Sports Concussion
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
