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Table 2 Professional Athletes’ Awareness of Injury Symptom Identification

From: Winning at all costs: a review of risk-taking behaviour and sporting injury from an occupational safety and health perspective

Study

Awareness measured

Participants

Sex

Mean age (years)

Findings

Broglio et al. [34]

Concussion

650 soccer players, 43 coaches, 34 medical staff

Not indicated

16.8

10.0% athletes sustained a concussion in the past year and 62.0% of these injuries were not reported.

Medical staff reported a heavy reliance on the clinical exam (92.0%) and athlete symptom reports (92.0%) to make the concussion diagnosis and return to play decision, with little use of neurocognitive (16.7%) or balance (0.0%) testing.

Cournoyer and Tripp [38]

Concussion

334 high school soccer players

Not indicated

16.3

Concussion symptom identified: headache (97.0%); dizziness (93.0%); confusion (90.0%); Loss of consciousness (81.0%); nausea or vomiting (53.0%); behaviour and personality change (40.0%); trouble falling asleep (36.0%); being more emotional (30.0%); being nervous or anxious (27.0%).

Fedor and Gunstad [24]

Concussion

382 college athletes and 230 college non-athletes

M/F

Case group: 19.6

Control group: 19.6

Student-athletes expected significantly more distractor (1.19 ± 1.05 vs. 0.84 ± 0.89), somatic (6.05 ± 1.76 vs. 5.30 ± 2.12), and cognitive (2.31 ± 0.90 vs. 2.01 ± 1.10) symptoms compared with controls.

No significant differences emerged for emotional or sleep symptoms.

Kerr et al. [39]

Concussion

214 former collegiate athletes in NCAA

M/F

Not indicated

70.4% did not know when they had suffered a concussion.

McCrea et al. [43]

Concussion

1532 high-school soccer players

Not indicated

Not indicated

36.1% lacked awareness of probable concussion.

Miyashita et al. [45]

Concussion

454 high-school athletes

M/F

15.7

The number of athletes who reported at least 1 concussion history: before study session < after study session (p = 0.00).

Williams et al, [60]

Concussion

26 professional soccer players

M

59.6

80.8% athletes who were knocked unconscious would be taken to the emergency room.

80.8% managers would keep players with concussions out of games; 69.3% physiotherapists making return to play decisions regarding concussions.

38.5% athletes would play with a concussion during semi-final playoff games.

57.7% athletes would play through a headache resulting from a concussion.

  1. M male, F female; % percent, < less than/ lower than, p p-value