Youth Sports Research Update

The Childress Institute funds research, education and advocacy to improve pediatric trauma care and reduce injuries for children. A portion of that funding is focused on youth sports and recreation. Back-to-school and the fall sports season is a perfect time to give you an update on our progress.

We piloted the youth football head impact research at the Virginia Tech Wake Forest University’s School of Biomedical Engineering when it began many years ago. Now it’s grown and received attention from many people across the U.S., including significant funding from the NIH. Recently, they have published several articles that showcase their findings which stress a few key findings such as reducing impacts at practice and the importance of an athletic trainer:

• Head impact exposure measured in a single youth football team during practice drills
• Presence of Athletic Trainers in a Youth Football Organization: A Single Institution’s Experience
• Subconcussive Head Impact Exposure and White Matter Tract Changes over a Single Season of Youth Football

We are also part of an elite national consortium of leaders in youth TBI and concussion research called the Four Corner Youth Consortium. They’ve made headway in coordinating multi-center research, which you can see detailed in this published paper:

Building the Four Corners Youth Consortium (4CYC) for Brain Health in Youth Sports and Recreation

The work we fund in the ATV space continues to find traction. The ATV research group published a paper earlier this year and they continue to challenge kids and parents to implement their safety basics.

All-Terrain Vehicle Injury in Children and Youth: Examining Current Knowledge and Future Needs

Although research takes time, patience and hard work by many to see results, the projects we fund will continue to make an impact on youth sports safety for years to come. You can support our research initiatives by giving to the Concussion Care Fund.