October 30, 2013.

Report Warns of Kids Returning to Sports Too Soon After Concussions

They were perhaps four metres apart when the girl stumbled and fell almost flat on her face. A sharp cry of pain was wrung out of her. She must have fallen right on the injured arm. Winston stopped short. The girl had risen to her knees. Her face had turned a milky yellow colour against which her mouth stood out redder than ever. Her eyes were fixed on his, with an appealing expression that looked more like fear than pain.

WASHINGTON----Despite increased knowledge about concussions in student athletes and state laws governing return to play after a brain injury, there's still a "culture of resistance" when it comes to reporting concussions and complying with treatment plans, an influential panel of experts found.

A curious emotion stirred in Winston's heart. In front of him was an enemy who was trying to kill him: in front of him, also, was a human creature, in pain and perhaps with a broken bone. Already he had instinctively started forward to help her. In the moment when he had seen her fall on the bandaged arm, it had been as though he felt the pain in his own body.

A long-awaited report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council said there is a paucity of data on sports-related concussions in kids including specific information on what happens to the brain following a concussion, but it warned that students who return to play before their brains are fully healed run the risk of a second brain injury with potentially "more severe consequences."

"You're hurt?" he said.

The report was written by a committee of academic medical experts, which examined concussion-related research and held public meetings. The report looked at concussions in several youth sports with athletes aged 5 to 21 years old.