Rebel Wilson shares concussion story for Abbott and brain injury association

For actress Rebel Wilson, best known for her roles in the Pitch Perfect films and Jojo Rabbit, concussions are a personal cause. 

In 2017, Wilson slipped on wet grass while filming a movie and suffered a concussion. She did seek care after the injury after enduring excruciating headaches that lasted for days. However, Wilson told Yahoo Entertainment returning to 16-hour work days immediately after the injury was her “biggest regret.” 

Nevertheless, Wilson has remained passionate about head injuries and is now using her star-power to raise awareness of concussion care.

“People often believe only athletes and stunt doubles get concussions,” Wilson said in a statement. “But in reality, concussions are almost always everyday accidents like whacking my head when I fell down a hill.”

To that end, Wilson is the celebrity face of Concussion Awareness Now, a concussion care awareness coalition co-founded by Abbott and the Brain Injury Association of America that is composed of nearly 20 advocacy groups. Members include the National Council on Aging, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association and the American Physical Therapy Association, among others. 

Concussion Awareness Now is set to produce educational campaigns as well as other awareness efforts around head injuries and seeking care for possible concussions. 

Though often associated with contact sports like football and hockey, concussions are more common than many assume. 

According to data from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, there are an estimated 1.7 and 3 million sports- and recreation-related concussions annually in the U.S. Those head injuries, even if minor, can have serious repercussions for patients. There were more than 64,000 traumatic brain injury-related deaths in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The aim of Concussion Awareness Now is to bring together a variety of stakeholders who treat brain injuries and empower patients to seek care whenever they suffer a blow to the head. 

“With Concussion Awareness Now, we have no small goal,” Brain Injury Association of America CEO Susan Connors said in a statement. “We want to change the societal norm about concussions so that when you sustain a potentially serious hit or jolt to your head, or your loved one does, you won’t hesitate to get it checked and get on the right path to the best possible care.”