This is your brain on sports. Measuring concussions in high school athletes in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

Concussions can have a negative impact on students' ability to perform in the classroom as well as on their health and well-being. Therefore, timely treatment is especially important. To better understand the scope of the problem in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Health piloted an online sports-related concussion reporting system in 36 public high schools in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. In the 2013-2014 academic year, 730 concussions were reported to our system from certified athletic trainers working with those schools, with one out of every 100 athletes sustaining concussions. From this, we estimated that 2,974 sports-related concussions occurred among high school athletes statewide. This information is useful for evaluating and guiding prevention efforts and for informing clinicians on how to treat concussions.

Certified athletic trainers.

Certified athletic trainers optimize people's ability to participate in athletics or activities of work and life. Athletic training encompasses the prevention, examination and assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of emergent, acute, subacute, and chronic neuromusculoskeletal conditions. Certified athletic trainers play a key role in health care delivery today, and that role is expected to evolve and grow in the future. This article describes what certified athletic trainers do, outlines their educational and certification requirements, and describes the ways they work in different settings-from the sidelines to industry to medical clinics.