Florida Tech Expert to Speak on Concussions in Sports

May 1 Presentation Explores How to Decide What Sports Are Safe

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Frank Webbe, co-director of the Florida Institute of Technology Sport-Related Concussion Project, will discuss how to make decisions about participating in sports in this timely public presentation.

The hour-long presentation begins at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Link Multimedia Room on the second floor of Evans Library on the Florida Tech campus in Melbourne.

Webbe, a professor of psychology at Florida Tech, has studied the risk factors for concussion in sport as well as best practices for assessing and managing sport-related concussions. More than 10 percent of all adult participants in formal athletic activities – an estimated 300,000 people – can be expected to suffer a concussion this year.

Females have an increased likelihood of concussion, research shows, a greater risk of serious head injury and a more problematic recovery. And children and adolescents have a complicated set of risk factors, as well, not only because of the size and skill differences within the age groups of players but also because of the plasticity of the still-developing brain.

Webbe notes that too many leagues and teams, particularly those at the youth and high school levels, have little knowledge of or commitment to evidence-supported guidelines for managing concussions and the timetable for returning to play.

Webbe will touch on these matters and more in his presentation, which is sponsored by the Florida Tech College of Psychology and Liberal Arts. For more information, email sos@fit.edu.

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