New study shows which high school sport has highest rate for concussions in athletes

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There's new research on concussions among high school student-athletes.

The top three sports for concussions are football, girls' soccer and boys' ice hockey.

Doctor Elizabeth Pieroth, director of the Concussion Care Program at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, joined ABC7 to talk about this new research.

RELATED: Recognizing the signs and symptoms of concussions in children

Recently, researchers looked at concussion rates for 20 high school sports using athletic trainers' reports over five school years. They found 9,542 concussions during that time, 64% of which occurred during competition and the rest during practice.

Cheerleading was the only sport with a higher rate during practice, according to the reports.

RELATED: CDC issues first guidelines to treat youth concussions

Football had the highest rate, followed by girls' soccer and boys' ice hockey.

A newly published study in neurology shows that among football players studied, concussion does cause damage to the brain that is hard to diagnose:

Despite new concussion protocols, including mandated removal from the game if a concussion is suspected, parents need to advocate for their athletes who may not disclose symptoms.

'Dark room, no stimulation' are not the current best practices for treating concussion, Pieroth said.

RELATED: FDA approves device to help protect athletes from traumatic brain injury

For more information, watch her interview above.