Medical and sports professionals gathered in Montreal Saturday, for a day-long seminar aimed at shining some light on the importance of recognizing and treating concussions.
"There have been so many serious, serious head injuries -- not only to professional athletes, but primarily young children. So we need to create this awareness of just how serious these injuries are," sport psychologist Paul Dennis said.
According to emergency room physician Dr. Scott Delaney, anyone participating in contact sports must pay close attention to how they feel afterwards.
"The most common symptom is headaches, followed by feeling dinged or confused -- so just not feeling quite right," Delaney explained.
Problems often arise, not necessarily from the brain injury itself, but because people don't give themselves enough time to heal.
"It's almost a badge of courage to come back before they've healed, and they equate playing injured as a sign of toughness," Dennis said.
Amateur hockey player Connor McRae says there is indeed a strong push to get back in the game quickly.
"There's pressure that you're putting on yourself, plus pressure coaches are putting on you and you don't want to disappoint," McRae said.
But some, including former amateur hockey player Kevin Mailhiot, realize the risks are too great. After he suffered seven concussions, Mailhiot chose to pursue a career in law instead of a life on the ice.
"I decided to go to school because my future was there and I think today it was a good decision," Mailhiot said.
Often, it can be up to parents to guide their young athletes. Otherwise, as Trauma Director at Montreal Children's Hospital Debbie Friedman has witnessed all too often, it's easy to get back into the game too soon.
"The second the child is feeling a little bit better, the child feels like they want to return, the parents feel they're ready to return," Friedman said.
Earlier this month, a Canadian study found that concussions were occurring among junior players at a rate 3.3 times higher than previously reported.
Suggesting that brain injuries are "occurring at epidemic proportions," lead researcher Dr. Paul Echlin's study called for standardized treatment at ice-level, more education of players and coaches and better tracking of recurring concussion injuries.
With files from CTV's Maya Johnson in Montreal
