Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are so common that at least 2 percent of the U.S. population is living with disabilities resulting from them, according to the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF).

Many of these individuals surely suffered their TBIs while playing sports, as the BTF states that an estimated 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports-related injuries occur every year. Athletes are also known to receive mild TBI incidents, or concussions. What is troubling is that new research shows that individuals who are dealing with this condition may need more time to recover than they think.

In a recent study, researchers from the University of Oregon (UO) found that high school athletes who suffered concussions had trouble focusing and switching tasks when faced with distractions up to two months after sustaining their injuries. This means that these individuals may need longer than the recommended seven to ten days to recover.

"If a person goes back to the playing field without a full recovery, that person is put into great danger of being re-injured," said Li-Shan Chou, a professor of human physiology and the director of the UO Motion Analysis Laboratory.

Based on this new research, individuals who believe they have recovered from a concussion should consider taking an IQ test to see if there have been any changes to their cognitive abilities.