These people are likely to develop post concussion syndrome, where headaches, fogginess, poor concentration and disturbed sleep persist (Washburn 2). Those with ADD, learning disabilities, or psychiatric illnesses are more at risk more (Washburn 4). This possibility of long term effects from concussion is what makes them so dangerous. .
Concussions don't just happen it professional sports, they are just as common and dangerous in youth athletics as well. About 40 million children age 6-18 years old compete in organized sports every year. Of that, about half of them compete in multiple sports (Denke 1). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Traumatic brain injuries (concussions fall into this category), have increased 60% among adolescents (the author did acknowledge however that increased awareness of concussions has influenced this number) ("More Kids " 1). Concussions have even become more prevalent in wreck leagues for younger kids. In these leagues, the teams are usually coached by volunteer parents that don't have the assistance of an athletic trainer that most high school teams have. This leads to problems because concussions are hard enough to diagnose with an athletic trainer on site, but without one, it makes successfully recognizing the symptoms of a concussion that much harder. This makes concussions in younger wreck leagues much more dangerous than you'd expect. Even though these younger athletes suffer fewer concussions than high school athletes because they are lighter and slower, they are still seen often. In New Jersey alone, ER's see between 3000-6500 kids aged 5-14 years old with concussion symptoms each year (Washburn 5). Teen athletes are more vulnerable and suffer more concussions than adults. This is a major problem because their brains and nervous symptoms also take longer to recover from these types of injuries than their adult counterparts (Washburn 1).