Sports Concussion Expertise Requires Integrating Complementary Viewpoints

摘要

There is no question that the landscape of sports concussion is changing. One needs only to consider the number of recently enacted youth sports concussion laws to appreciate the degree to which our society is now engaged in the issue. With a national movement to create even more legislation at both the state and the federal levels and a searing media spotlight, there is no other aspect of sports medicine that is under such outside scrutiny. In response, our academic medical organizations, professional sports leagues, and other sport governing agencies produce a growing series of policy and position statements aimed partly at improving athlete health and partly at public relations. Clearly, a new narrative on the topic has emerged, one that is driven by very tragic outcomes that occurred as the result of playing sports, one that is fueled by emotion and the unknown, and one that is currently overshadowing the foundation of clinical knowledge and experience.