Concussion: Sport and recreation

On this page

• Concussions in sport and recreation
• Monitoring concussions in Canada
• What Canadians know about concussions

Concussions in sport and recreation

We are working to improve safety and reduce concussions in sport and recreation.

Information and practical resources have been developed for:

• athletes
• coaches
• parents
• teachers
• health care providers
• school and sports staff

Resources

• Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport
  • developed by Parachute, a national injury prevention organisation
  • received support from the Public Health Agency of Canada in collaboration with Canadian Heritage - Sport Canada
• Concussion protocol resources
  • for national, provincial and local sports organizations
• Sport Information Resource Centre
  • list of national sports organizations that have a protocol for managing concussion
  • toolkit on the 4 "Rs" of concussion: recognize, remove, refer and return
• We Can Do Better: Conference on Concussions in Sport (videos)
  • medical experts, Olympic and Paralympic athletes, former professional hockey and football players talk about concussions

Monitoring concussions in Canada

Hospital emergency departments collect information on concussions and other brain injuries.

For example, among children and youth between 2011 and 2017:

• For children and youth 5 to 19 years:
  • brain injuries made up 80% of emergency department visits, out of all head injuries from sports and recreation
• For boys and girls 5 to 9 years:
  • brain injuries were most common in ice hockey, compared to all types of injuries in this sport
• For children and youth 10 to 14 years:
  • for boys, brain injuries were most common in ice hockey, out of all types of injuries in this sport
  • for girls, brain injuries were most common in ringette, out of all types of injuries in this sport
• For children and youth 15 to 19 years:
  • for boys, brain injuries were most common in rugby, out of all types of injuries in this sport
  • for girls, brain injuries were most common in ringette, out of all types of injuries in this sport

The National Ambulatory Care Reporting System also collects information from hospitals. In 2016-2017, 46,000 children aged 5 to 19 had a concussion:

• boys: 26,000 (54%)
• girls: 20,000 (45%)

For more information

• Data Blog on sport and recreation-related concussions and other brain injuries among children and youth

What Canadians know about concussions

Public opinion research with parents, coaches, athletes, school staff and health professionals shows that:

• 1 in 2 have little or no knowledge
• 1 in 4 do not know how concussion is treated
• 15% can identify the best ways to treat concussion
• 4 in 10 know how to find information and other resources

Parents, coaches, athletes, school staff and health professionals need to:

• keep up to date on how to recognise and diagnose a concussion
• be aware of the Canadian guideline and concussion protocols for returning to school and sports

Find out more

• Baseline Survey on Understanding and Awareness of Sport-Related Concussions
  (January 22, 2018)
  • pdf
  • html

What Canadian youth know about concussions

Public opinion research with youth, ages 5-19, shows that:

• 9 in 10 understand that someone does not have to pass out to have a concussion
• 8 in 10 have little or no knowledge of concussion
• 7 in 10 identify that a concussion is a hit to the head that causes headache or blurry sight
• Canadian youth know very little about where to obtain concussion information or who is responsible for identifying a concussion and how to treat it.
• 7 in 10 incorrectly believe wearing a helmet will prevent a concussion
• 6 in 10 believe a harder blow results in a more severe concussion
• 4 in 10 think they should stop taking pain relief medication if they suffered a concussion

Find out more

• Understanding and Awareness of Sport-Related Concussions, With a Focus on Youth (May 23, 2019)

Poster to share

• Concussion in sport

Download the alternative format
(PDF, 1.4 MB)