Head Games

Girls are getting more concussions than boys are. Why they are at risk

Bill Cramer for TIME

A hit on the field caused goalkeeper and honor student Anson to read at a third-grade level.

The word concussion tends to evoke macho images when you're talking about sports: hulking football players flying across the field, crushing their heads into one another's helmets, lucky if they can count their fingers by the end of the game. But brain pain doesn't affect just boys. Ask Christin Anson, a high school junior from Lancaster, Ohio. During a soccer game her freshman year, an opposing player kicked her square in the back of the head. She shook it off and even finished the game. "I just thought I'd have a headache for a day or two," Anson, now 17, says....

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!