Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center

Douglas Terry, PhD, and colleagues surveyed former professional football players about whether they believe they have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. (photo by Donn Jones)
September 25, 2024

Vanderbilt’s Douglas Terry named Senior Director of Research for the National Football League

The role will concentrate on several initiatives meant to enhance the health and safety of NFL players and is an extension of Terry’s expertise and work on sport-related concussion and cumulative head impacts.

By Holly Fletcher
Douglas Terry, PhD, and colleagues surveyed former professional football players about whether they believe they have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. (photo by Donn Jones)
September 23, 2024

New study reveals common belief of CTE, link to mental health among former professional NFL players

“Understanding the proportion of former players who think they have CTE — and identifying the common symptoms in those who believe they have CTE — is an important step for helping these individuals receive medical and mental health treatment,” said Douglas Terry, PhD, assistant professor and clinical neuropsychologist in the Department of Neurological Surgery and co-director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center.

By Holly Fletcher
August 28, 2024

For former NFL players, football before age 12 not linked to worse health later in life: study

Data from 4,189 former NFL athletes who spanned the ages of 24-89 show no evidence playing organized football younger than age 12 led to more cognitive, mood, sleep, cardiovascular or other health issues later in life. These results, which are published in Sports Medicine, contrast with previous small studies from a decade ago.

By Holly Fletcher
April 28, 2022

Care access pathways similar for young Black and white athletes in concussion network

Vanderbilt research found that both Black and white young athletes who suffered concussions while within a sport-related concussion (SRC) clinic referral did not experience health disparities related to their care.

By Craig Boerner
Scott Zuckerman, MD, MPH, left, Aaron Yengo-Kahn, MD, and colleagues are studying sports-related concussion recovery patterns in young Black and white athletes.
September 23, 2021

Study explores concussion recovery by race

Vanderbilt researchers are exploring the outcomes and experiences of Black and White athletes following a sports-related concussion.

By Nancy Humphrey
November 1, 2018

New registry seeks answers to sports concussion mysteries

News of sport-related concussions may rule airtime on ESPN, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that the situational factors surrounding concussions and the severity of symptoms were studied from a medical perspective.

By Kelsey Herbers
September 20, 2018

CDC releases new mild traumatic brain injury guideline

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new clinical recommendations for health care providers treating children with mild traumatic brain injury, often referred to as concussion.
By Tom Wilemon
March 8, 2018

Study finds concussion severity worsens later in football season

New research by the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center indicates the severity of concussions among high school football players is worse later in the season.
By Tom Wilemon
June 1, 2017

Conference to feature national leaders on youth sports safety

People committed to making youth sports safer will meet in Nashville July 13-14 for a biennial event that has become one of the nation’s premier conferences on the topic.
By Tom Wilemon
March 30, 2017

NFL names Sills as league’s first-ever chief medical officer

Vanderbilt’s Allen Sills, M.D., has been chosen by the National Football League (NFL) to be its chief medical officer, a newly created position.
By Tom Wilemon
March 16, 2017

Concussion baseline testing now available for younger children

The Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center is now offering neurocognitive testing that helps physicians better manage treatment of concussions in younger children.
By Tom Wilemon
October 13, 2016

Guidelines to help concussed students return to school

Tennessee is about to join a handful of states with “Return to Learn” guidelines that recommend how to help students who have suffered concussions ease back into the classroom.
By Tom Wilemon
July 28, 2016

Seminar focuses on latest concussion research

Neuropsychologist Gary Solomon, Ph.D., recently weighed in on one of the hottest debates in sports medicine, asserting that research doesn’t support the popular theory that concussions put athletes at higher risk for psychiatric illness.
By Tom Wilemon
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