A concussion is twice as common in women’s football as in men’s. Samantha Nupen discusses reasons for this, how to prevent this potentially devasting injury, and the physiotherapist’s role in management.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 - England’s Alex Greenwood receives medical attention after sustaining an injury REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Most sports-related concussions (SRC) occur due to collisions between players with elbow- or head-to-head contact. Falls also account for many concussions, with the head or body making contact with the ground in a way that transmits a force to the head(1). Furthermore, the link between heading and SRC is less clear.
Female football players are twice as likely to suffer from a concussion, with incidence rates significantly higher while heading. Goalkeepers have the highest incidence(2). Furthermore, women footballers exhibit more severe symptoms and take longer to recover from concussions(3).
Biomechanically
During acceleration and deceleration injuries, the brain moves forwards in the skull. The frontal lobes strike the inside of the skull, causing a contusion (coup injury) and a rebound injury (contra-coup) to the occipital lobe. This results in tensile and shear strain on the axons and compressive strain on the brain tissue. In SRC, there is often a rotational component. The brain rotates on its axis, causing shear forces (see figure 1). There is stretching of blood vessels which may cause a hematoma. This is not visible in standard neuroimaging studies like CT or MRI scans.
Our international team of qualified experts (see above) spend hours poring over scores of technical journals and medical papers that even the most interested professionals don't have time to read.
For 17 years, we've helped hard-working physiotherapists and sports professionals like you, overwhelmed by the vast amount of new research, bring science to their treatment. Sports Injury Bulletin is the ideal resource for practitioners too busy to cull through all the monthly journals to find meaningful and applicable studies.
*includes 3 coaching manuals
Get Inspired
All the latest techniques and approaches
Sports Injury Bulletin brings together a worldwide panel of experts – including physiotherapists, doctors, researchers and sports scientists. Together we deliver everything you need to help your clients avoid – or recover as quickly as possible from – injuries.
We strip away the scientific jargon and deliver you easy-to-follow training exercises, nutrition tips, psychological strategies and recovery programmes and exercises in plain English.