When you think of an athlete who has suffered a concussion or other traumatic brain injury (TBI), you might conjure up images of boys on the football team ramming into each other at full speed. In every high school sport played by both girls and boys, concussion rates are higher among the girls. While football is the number one sport that sees the most concussions, girls’ soccer comes in second, with 8.4 concussions per 10,000 games and practices.
Research suggests that female athletes have a longer recovery time than their male counterparts and may experience worse symptoms. Women and girls are participating in sports at increasing rates, and it’s important to recognize the difference in concussion symptoms and recovery so athletes get diagnosed and treated promptly and appropriately.
Reasons Behind the Frequency
While there are physiological reasons why women are more susceptible to concussions, men are less likely to report symptoms of a concussion. Women, on the other hand, are more likely to seek out medical care, resulting in more documented cases of concussions in females.
“Women tend to have thinner skulls than men, along with smaller neck muscles, which can predispose female athletes to getting a concussion,” says Sarah Menacho, MD, a neurosurgeon and neurocritical care specialist at University of Utah Health. “Data shows that women are also more likely than men to report concussion-related symptoms, and these symptoms can persist for a longer time period prior to recovery than in male athletes.”
Understanding the Difference in Symptoms
Concussions occur after a blow to the head. In sports, this can happen after colliding with another athlete, such as during a header in soccer, or after being hit with a ball or other equipment, like a field hockey or lacrosse stick. This impact causes the brain to jostle around inside the skull, which can cause bleeding and other injuries to the brain.
After suffering a concussion, women and men both may experience telltale signs, including:
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Amnesia
- Confusion
- Ringing in the ears
- Fatigue
- Blurred vision
However, women often present their symptoms differently than men.
“Women will often note more difficulty with vision and memory following a concussion but are less likely to experience a loss of consciousness than male athletes,” Menacho says. “Female athletes may also experience more trouble with mood-related symptoms like anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping but are less likely to report feeling more irritable after a concussion than male athletes.”
Female athletes also tend to have longer recovery times than males, though this isn’t always the case. Recent studies have shown that men typically recover from their concussions significantly faster than women. This is thought to be because women may experience more severe symptoms, which require more time to resolve before returning to sports.
Preventing Concussions to Stay in the Game
Sports can be unpredictable, and injuries are sometimes inevitable. However, schools and sports programs can take some measures to reduce the number of concussions, especially among female athletes. These measures include:
- Implementing the use of protective head gear. Few women’s sports require the use of helmets by all their players, even if the male version of the game does, like lacrosse for example.
- Rule changes. In 2015, the United States Soccer Federation banned heading of the ball for all athletes under the age of 10.
- Staying informed. Knowing that female athletes are more susceptible to concussions during sports can help coaches, parents, and the athletes themselves know when to seek medical attention.
“Any athlete, male or female, with concern for a sports-related concussion should be immediately removed from play and assessed by a trained medical professional,” Menacho says. “The effects of multiple head injuries can lead to permanent cognitive damage and a predisposition to diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, so it’s crucial that head injuries are treated immediately to prevent long-term issues.”
