Altitude Lessens Risk of Concussion

If you are going to experience a concussion, try to have it at a high altitude. That is the advice implied by a study carried out by the Colorado School of Public Health. The study shows that high school athletes playing at higher altitudes suffer fewer concussions than those who play closer to sea level. Dawn Comstock, Ph.D. a co-author of the study, said, “This is the first time any research has linked altitude to sports-related concussion. It appears that when you are at altitude there may be a little less free space in the skull so the brain can’t move around as much.”

The Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine published the study that was authored by David Smith, M.D., of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

According to a report in Medical Press the researchers analyzed the concussion statistics of athletes playing multiple sports in 497 high schools throughout the U.S. The schools ranged in altitude from near sea level to 6, 903 feet. The medium altitude was 600 feet. The data came from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance System directed by Comstock.

The results showed a 31% decrease in concussion rates among all high school sports played at altitudes of 600 feet and above. Concussion rates for high school football, which they examined separately, decreased by 30% at the higher altitude.

“We did see significant differences in concussion rates with elevation changes, ” Comstock told the Medical Press writer. “This could mean that kids in Colorado are less likely to sustain a concussion playing sports than kids in Florida.”

One possible explanation, suggested by the fact that concussions usually result from the brain colliding with the skull, is that as one ascends in altitude blood vessels in the brain undergo mild edema or swelling. This swelling causes the brain to fit more tightly in the skull so that it cannot move around as violently when struck.

Comstock said that, if the study results are correct, researchers should be able to replicate the study results in the National Football League. “For example, if the Broncos play the Chargers in San Diego or the Dolphins in Miami they should experience more concussions than when they play in Denver, ” she said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate the annual incidence of sports-related traumatic brain injury in the U.S. at 1.6 million to 3.8 million with many going undiagnosed. In a recent 10-year period there has been a 100% increase among 8- to 13-year-olds and a 200% increase among 14- to 19-year-olds in sports-related emergency room visits for concussion.