Objective: A pilot study to examine the incidence and characteristics of co
ncussions for one season of university football and soccer.
Design: Retrospective survey.
Participants: 60 football and 70 soccer players reporting to 1998 fall trai
ning camp. Of these, 44 football and 52 soccer players returned a completed
questionnaire.
Main Outcome Measures: Based on self-reported symptoms, calculations were m
ade to determine the number of concussions experienced during the previous
season, the duration of symptoms, the time for return to play and any assoc
iated risk factors for concussions.
Results: Of all the athletes who returned completed questionnaires, 34.1% o
f the football players and 46.2% of the soccer players had experienced symp
toms of a concussion during the previous season. Only 16.7% of the concusse
d football players and 29.2% of the concussed soccer players realized they
had suffered a concussion. All of the concussed football players and 75.0%
of the concussed soccer players experienced more than one concussion during
the season. The symptoms from the concussion lasted for at least 1 day in
28.6% of the football players and 18.1% of the soccer players. Variables th
at increased the odds of suffering a concussion during the previous season
for football and soccer players included a past history of a recognized con
cussion.
Conclusion: More university soccer players than football players may be exp
eriencing sport related concussions. Variables that seem to increase the od
ds of suffering a concussion during the previous season for football and so
ccer players include a history of a recognized concussion. Despite being re
latively common, many players may not recognize the symptoms of a concussio
n.