TThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is announcing a new multimedia educational toolkit to protect teen athletes from a serious but often underestimated health threat - concussion. Concussions are a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by a blow or jolt to the head that can range from mild to severe and can disrupt the way the brain normally works. More than 300,000 sports-and recreation-related TBI’s occur in the United States each year.

This initiative, "Heads Up: Concussion in High School Sports," includes information to prevent concussions and identify symptoms and immediate steps to take when an athlete is showing signs of a concussion. The centerpiece of the toolkit is a video and DVD featuring a high school football player who was permanently disabled after sustaining a second concussion during a game. The toolkit also contains practical, easy-to-use information for coaches, athletic directors and trainers, teens, and parents.

Click here to order your toolkits free-of-charge online.

Click here for more information about concussions, traumatic brain injury, or injury in general from the CDC Injury Center's website.