Did you know high school female basketball players are six times more likely to suffer a concussion than males of the same age playing the same sport? Also, do you realize high school female soccer players are 40% more likely to suffer concussions than their soccer-playing male cohorts?

Concussions, one of the most prevalent brain injuries, is a problem reaching near-epidemic proportions nationwide, but they aren’t unique to sports or to children, a fact currently being highlighted across the country, owing to March being National Brain Injury Awareness Month.

The number of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) suffered by children and adults each year is a staggering 1.7 million, with another 795,000 individuals sustaining an acquired brain injury (ABI) from non-traumatic causes.

The message in all of this is we must make prevention a priority, especially when we consider that many of the leading causes of TBI are sports, as shown in the attached graphic.

Get involved by supporting an organization devoted to supporting brain injury sufferers in your area. We can all do our part to lower the incidence of brain injuries.

Infographic supplied by: Master of Science in Nursing program at the Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies.