Canadian Study Reveals that Concussions Have Severe Impact on Young Athletes’ Quality of Life

According to The Concussion Research Project at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) — a study of 25 children who sustained concussions and continued to suffer from headaches and other symptoms three months after the incident — concussions can make life so miserable for some young athletes that they rate their level of happiness at about the same level as chemo-therapy patients.

The research project began in May 2011 and accepted referrals from CHEO’s emergency department and physicians across the city of Ottawa. Led by CHEO neurosurgeon Michael Vassilyadi, MD, FAANS, the project worked with 15 boys and 10 girls, ages 12 to 17, all of whom had persistent concussion symptoms. Eight of the children suffered head injuries while playing hockey. Smaller numbers were the result of sports such as basketball, football, gymnastics, snowboarding and tobogganing. For more information, click here to read the full article.