According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, the number of children going to hospitals with concussions is up approximately 60 percent in the past decade.  The CDC study considered non-fatal brain injury data for the years from 2001 to 2009 and children 19-years of age and younger.  The CDC looked at traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, skull fractures, and bleeding in the brain.  The estimated number of children going to the emergency room for brain injuries in 2001 was 153,000.  In 2009, nearly 250,000 children were treated at emergency rooms throughout the United States for brain injuries.  Bicycling and football were the leading reasons for kids’ brain injuries.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6039a1.htm

According to many experts, the increase is not necessarily a bad thing.  It could mean that more parents and coaches are being more careful about treating head injuries and are more aware of the formerly underappreciated long-term problems associated with concussions.  Please remember — there is no such thing as a “mild” traumatic brain injury.  A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be classified as mild if loss of consciousness and/or confusion and disorientation is shorter than 30 minutes.  Even though this type of TBI is called “mild”, the effect on the family and the injured person can be devastating.