How common are concussions in sports?
Nationwide, high school, college, and professional athletes suffer about 300,000 concussions a year. Football accounts for one-third of the total, by far the highest number of any sport. At the high school and college levels, some 20 percent of athletes who play contact sports have suffered at least one concussion. These figures have held steady for the last decade. But the problem has gained higher visibility in recent years, after concussions forced the retirements of several star players, including Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. He joined stars in other sports, such as hockey great Pat LaFontaine, whose six concussions drove him into premature retirement in 1998. More recently, concussions have gained additional prominence thanks to the work of an unlikely authority, former professional wrestler Chris Nowinski.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Chemnitz: an 'unlikely renaissance' for the 'forgotten' townThe Week Recommends The birthplace of Germany's industrial revolution is hoping to reinvent itself
-
Maha Kumbh Mela: world's largest religious festival gets under way in IndiaIn The Spotlight Politics of Hindu nationalism has cast a shadow over event touted as biggest ever gathering of humanity
-
North Carolina Supreme Court risks undermining its legitimacyUnder the radar A contentious legal battle over whether to seat one of its own members threatens not only the future of the court's ideological balance, but its role in the public sphere
