Sports-Related Neurologic Injuries: More Than Just Concussion

Objective Describe important patterns of neurologic injury in sports related trauma. Background Sports related neurologic trauma represents a unique, complex pattern of injury with potential significant impactful morbidity. An estimated 8.6 million sports injuries occur annually, 300,000 of which result in traumatic brain injury (TBI). The incidence of other nervous system injury is underreported. Design/Methods Retrospective analysis of consecutive patients who presented to an emergency department between January 1, 2015 and January 1, 2020 with a sports related injury. Characterization of neurologic vs non-neurological bodily injury, sports activity, and demographic data were collected. Results Out of 15,525 patients with sports injuries, 390 sustained neurologic involvement of which 50% were between 1-18 years of age. Although TBI represented the majority (85%) of neurologic injury, 5.6% sustained spinal cord involvement and 5.1% had peripheral nerve injury. Spinal cord and peripheral nerve involvement were associated with prolonged hospitalization when compared to those with mild-moderate concussion X2 (1, N = 199) = 5.73, p = 0.0167. Conclusions Spinal cord and peripheral nerve injury represent the minority of sports related neurologic involvement, however, may lead to significant prolonged hospitalization, morbidity and mortality.