I’m hearing more and more about athletes getting concussions from running into each other. All three of our kids are on soccer teams. They seem to love hitting the ball with their heads. Could this cause a concussion?

You are quite right that the number of concussions among adolescent athletes is a problem. It is estimated that there are 136,000 concussions each year just among high school athletes. And that is probably a very conservative number because many athletes avoid reporting injuries of this type.

Football players seem to be at greatest risk for head-to-head collisions resulting in concussions. Soccer players have the next highest rate of concussions. But head-to-head collisions isn’t the only way sports athletes end up with a concussion.

Hitting the ground after a fall and running into sports equipment such as goal posts and sideline bleachers are other ways athletes can get a concussion. “Heading the ball” has not been reported as a source of concussions among soccer players.