Concussion Safety

Do your part to get concussion safety information on every sideline.

Concussion Safety Starts with You

For more than a decade, CDC’s Injury Center has helped advance the public health response to concussion. Through our HEADS UP campaign, we put concussion educational materials into the hands of coaches, parents, athletes, and school and health care professionals nationwide.

A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can make the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging the brain cells. Most children and teens who have a concussion feel better within a couple of weeks. However, for some, symptoms may last for months or longer and can lead to short- and long-term problems affecting how they think, act, learn, and feel.

More than ever before, we know how important safety is for ensuring children and teens reach their highest potential, on and off the field. 

Get Involved

All of us—parents, coaches, athletes, teammates, spectators, and others—play a role in creating a culture of concussion safety.

• Create a customized HEADS UP website and/or HEADS UP handouts and posters if your child’s or teen’s team, sport, or school colors and logo.
• Download CDC’s free HEADS UP Concussion app.
• Take a HEADS UP concussion online training.
• Read “Sports culture must change to reduce head injuries” blog from Injury Center Director, Dr. Deb Houry.