Concussion is often viewed as a temporary injury, but new evidence suggests it may have longer-term safety implications. To explore this, researchers conducted a population-based analysis in Ontario, comparing over 425,000 adults with a past concussion to more than 2.6 million adults who experienced an ankle sprain. Over a median 10-year follow-up, about 1 in 15 patients experienced a motor vehicle crash requiring emergency care. Patients with a history of concussion had a 49% higher risk of being involved in a serious crash than those with an ankle sprain.
The elevated risk was particularly significant in the early weeks after injury and increased further among individuals who had repeated concussions. The risk patterns remained consistent across patient subgroups and crash severity levels. These findings suggest that concussion recovery may involve persistent cognitive or sensory…
