As the seventh annual Riders4Helmets International Helmet Awareness Day, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 17, approaches, take a moment to consider if you would know if someone was suffering from a concussion.

The average number of traumatic brain injury-related deaths in equestrian sport is more than seven times that of traumatic brain injury-related deaths in contact sports (such as American football). That’s an average of 60 deaths in equestrian sports each year.

Many of those deaths can be due to an inaccurate diagnosis of a concussion.

Concussion Basics

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head, which causes the brain or head to move back and forth rapidly. When that happens, inside your head your brain will bounce or twist around, damaging the brain cells and creating chemical changes in the brain

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.