Guelph Storm defenceman Tim Campbell knew he had a concussion last season after being run over on a clean hit by the Erie Otters’ Michael Liambas.

“I got on the bus after the game and knew something was wrong,” Campbell said Thursday as the team prepared for a pair of weekend home games. “I felt noxious. I had no appetite. I went to Shane (Mabey, the team’s athletic therapist) and told him I didn’t feel right.”

Campbell was out of the lineup for a couple of weeks recovering from the concussion, the second of his career.

“When it first happens you think you just got hit hard and your heads a little foggy. Then it doesn’t go away and you know something’s wrong,” the 19-year-old said.

A new study, based on a pair of unnamed junior hockey teams last season, says concussions are seven times more common than previously reported for junior-aged players.

The study was led by London doctor Paul Echlin and appears in the November issue of the medical journal Neurosurg Focus.

Storm team doctor Jonathan Davids said concussions aren’t happening more frequently. But what has increased lately is the identification of a concussion, the willingness to disclose the symptoms and diagnosis of the problem.

“I don’t think they are happening more. I think they’re happening at the same rate. But people are becoming more forthcoming about them and people know what to look for,” Davids said.

To continue reading click here