Association of sports and physical activity with mild traumatic brain injury and behavioral and neurocognitive function.

The study looked at data from one time point, so it cannot show whether sports participation came before or after mild TBI history. Parents reported injury history and sports participation, and the mild TBI definition required memory loss or loss of consciousness, so some concussions may have been missed. The study could not tell whether the mild TBI occurred during sports or elsewhere. Children who played sports differed from nonparticipants in age, sex, race, parental income, parental education, and behavior scores, so residual differences may explain some findings. The sample was 9- to 10-year-old children, before major adolescent changes, so it may not apply to older or more competitive athletes. The findings are associations, not evidence that starting or stopping a sport changes mild TBI risk or development.

Dr. Max provides expert testimony in traumatic brain injury cases for plaintiffs and defendants on a more or less equal ratio, and this is about 5% of his professional activities. No competing financial interests exist for the other authors. The supplied text does not state a funding source.

Do not conclude that soccer or climbing cause mild brain injury, or that yoga prevents it. The study measured sports participation and injury history at one time, and the authors state these are associations, not evidence of a causal effect.