With overlapping symptoms shared between ADHD and concussion, when an athlete with ADHD is concussed it becomes difficult to determine which symptom belongs to which condition.
Athletes with ADHD Face Higher Concussion Risk and Longer Recovery
With overlapping symptoms shared between ADHD and concussion, when an athlete with ADHD is concussed it becomes difficult to determine which symptom belongs to which condition.
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New research from the University of Mississippi indicates that athletes with ADHD need even more scrutiny when head injuries are involved.
Athletic trainers, coaches and doctors have focused considerable attention on detecting concussions among athletes and ensuring they have time to heal after suffering one.
Athletes with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder are more susceptible to concussions and have a longer recovery period, said Corbit Franks, assistant professor and clinical education coordinator for athletic training at the University of Mississippi. He collaborated on a literature review with Jeffrey Parr and Mary King, both of the University of Southern Mississippi. The work is published in the journal Clinical and Translational Neuroscience.
“ Our purpose was to bring together high-quality, peer-reviewed research into a single review paper for clinicians, coaches and athletes and see how much ADHD affects the risk, assessment and recovery of concussion,” Franks said.
For Franks and Parr, the research is personal. Franks was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, and Parr’ s stepson also has it.
“ I’ ve had ADHD my entire life, and doing concussion testing wasn’ t really a thing when I was playing baseball and football while growing up in Tennessee,” Franks said.“ What we called back then,‘ getting your bell rung,’ I know now I had several concussions playing, but they were never assessed or diagnosed or anything else.”
When Parr’ s stepson hit his head, some obstacles arose.