Concussions are on the rise among high school athletes, and girls are especially vulnerable to the injury, which can cause serious damage, as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Research to be published next month in the Journal of Athletic Training suggests that, unlike other sports-related injuries, concussions are on the rise among high school athletes. Girls appear to be especially vulnerable, logging higher concussion rates than boys in sports played by both sexes.

Researchers at Ohio State and Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, analyzed injuries among U.S. high school athletes participating in nine sports: boys’ football, soccer, basketball, baseball, and wrestling, and girls' soccer, basketball, volleyball, and softball. They estimate that in the 2005-06 academic year, high school athletes suffered 135,901 concussions -- or 9 percent of all sports-related injuries

The study found that girls were more prone to get their proverbial bell rung than boys were. Female soccer players had a 68 percent higher rate of concussion than their male counterparts. In basketball, girls were 200 percent more likely than boys to have a concussion."We were a little surprised to see the higher rates among girls," said the study's senior author, Dawn Comstock, who thinks a couple of factors might explain the discrepancy. In general, boys have stronger neck muscles, which act as a shock absorber so the head doesn't get jarred as severely.

"And there may be some socio-cultural aspects going on," Comstock said. "Unless the person is knocked unconscious, we often have to rely on the athlete to tell us what's wrong. Traditionally, boys have been taught to suck it up for the team and fight through the pain. They may not be as willing as girls to report the symptoms of concussion."

Playing through the pain is the worst thing you can do when it comes to concussion, said Dr. Preston Wolin, who specializes in sports medicine at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Institute of Chicago. Wolin has seen plenty of these brain injuries as team doctor for local high school, college and professional athletic organizations.