By Benji Cohen<\/p>\n
While much of the discussion about concussions centers on football and the men \u2013 both young and professional \u2013 who play it, Dr. Cynthia R. Labella is quick to point out that there is another sport that gets much less attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe concussion rates in women\u2019s soccer are almost as high as the concussion rates for boys in football,\u201d says LaBella, the medical director for the Institute of Sports Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children\u2019s Hospital of Chicago.<\/p>\n
Abby Burridge is among those statistics. The college Junior is the center-back for Loyola University’s Women’s soccer team. She suffered the second concussion of her collegiate career last spring.
\n[vimeo 153179822 w=474]\u201cMy coach yelled at the ref for letting me continue to play, \u201c said Burridge. \u201cAnd then right away our trainer asked me [about]\u00a0any symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burridge\u00a0is not alone and it doesn\u2019t just happen during games. “In practice a lot of people on our team got concussions in practice, like randomly last year in non-contact drills,\u201d she\u00a0said.<\/p>\n
As a pediatric sports medicine specialist, Dr. LaBella says there are a number of factors that need to be considered when a player suffers a concussion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt affects multiple aspects of their life and their brain function,\u201d she said. \u201cSo we need to be able to assess all of those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abby Burridge says her concussion not only affected her athletic career, but also her academic life.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy biggest issue that I had with my concussion was the concentration,” she said.<\/p>\n
Dr. LaBella says concussions are becoming more frequent in women’s soccer because the game is becoming both more popular and more physical.<\/p>\n
By Benji Cohen While much of the discussion about concussions centers on football and the men \u2013 both young and professional \u2013 who play it, Dr. Cynthia R. Labella is quick to point out that there is another sport that gets much less attention. \u201cThe concussion rates in women\u2019s soccer are almost as high as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":26141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,31,585],"tags":[192],"class_list":["post-26102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-and-science","category-sports","category-winter-2016","tag-promo"],"yoast_head":"\n