Danny+W.

=Concussion Analysis=

Goals:
The main goal of this project is to learn more about the causes, symptoms, and treatment of concussions, and to collect data to try to conclude conclude which sport between football, wrestling, and hockey has had the greatest amounts of concussions over the past 4 years at Belmont Hill, and based on the data, conclude what might be the reason for the greater frequency in one sport than the others.

Discoveries:
The hypothesis formed based on the question above was that there would be more concussions overall in football than in the other two sports (hockey and wrestling). Based on the results collected, football did have the most concussions over the past four years and therefore the hypothesis was proven to be correct. However, there have been interesting patterns that can be noticed by observing these numbers.

Challenges:
Even though the numbers of concussions that were collected do have a pattern, the testing that was done could have had some errors. First, the ImPACT test has not been used long enough at Belmont Hill to make good, solid conclusions about the concussion history of the three sports. Also, in the first season it was used four years ago, it was not mandatory for all players to take the baseline, therefore there were probably fewer concussions that year because there were fewer detected by the ImPACT test.

Looking Back:
In the process of completing this project, I learned more about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment about concussions in athletics, especially in football, wrestling, and hockey. The most enjoyable part of this experience was collecting an analyzing the data because it really showed me how this information about concussions is relevant to our school and community. Overall this project was a great learning experience and I enjoyed learning about a condition that had a large effect on my life this year.

Project Recources:
1. Randolph, E. 2010. Concussion and mild traumatic brain injury. Uptodate. [online] [] (Last accessed on March 9, 2011)

2. ImPACT Test: Overview and Features of Computer-based Concussion Evaluation Program. ImPACT Test. [online] [|www.impacttest.com](Last accessed April 5, 2011)

3. Shaw, G 2010. New Rules for Football Concussions. Football Concussion Controversy: Brain Damage, Tests, and More. [online] [] (Last accessed April 5, 2011)

4. Jancin, B. 2010. Girls’ Soccer Second to Football for High School Sports Concussion. Internal Medicine News. [online] [](Last accessed April 5, 2010)

5. Walker, D. 2010. Concussion Treatment. First Aid Information for Concussion. [online] [] (Last accessed April 5, 2011)

6. How often do Concussions Occur? Sport Concussion Epidemiology. Kinesiology and Community Health: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. [online] [] (Last accessed April 5, 2011)