“She’s just highly strung or emotional” – how female brain injuries are going undetected

Various studies suggest that women and girls sustain more concussions, at a higher rate than their male counterparts in the same sports.

A recent National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Injury Surveillance Program study, for example, shows the rate of concussion per 1000 athlete-exposures in football is 6.3 in females versus 3.4 in males. Similar differences were noted in basketball (6.0 in females versus 3.9 in males) and baseball/softball (3.3 versus 0.9).

Women are also known to experience more severe symptoms, and take longer to recover.