Concussions

[bostonspider]

Two tough, but interesting, articles about concussions and Richmond Football from the campus newspaper.

First one:

http://www.thecollegianur.com/article/2014/04/using-head-concussions-making-impact-richmond-football

Second one, which follows up after the death one year ago of a former player, who was interviewed in the first story.

http://www.thecollegianur.com/article/2015/12/life-and-death-after-football-Schmitz

I am not sure where we go with this issue, how we can better protect our student athletes, but watching UR play on Friday, it will definitely be on my mind.

[PAllen]

Pretty scary Mayo Clinic study recently too. I'm too lazy to dig it up, besides, it was a very small sample size based on the numbers involved, but it basically said that if you play football competitively, you will have permanent damage to your brain. Other sports and head injuries can cause it too, but they grouped brains into three groups: healthy, mild damage, significant damage. Then they went to the families and asked about risk factors. Everyone that played football was in the significant damage group.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

I didn't think I'd say this, but these are two great articles.

[melloware13]

I remember reading last year about how UNH runs practices without helmets to force players to contact body to body (and to reduce that day's direct risk of head injury). I think there will always be a risk of head injury in football, as there is in pretty much every other sport (more on that lower). Main question is how can the risk be lessened for such a violent sport.
I have yet to see a sport that has 0% risk of head injury. I swam up until my senior year of HS, and suffered concussions in practice, one from a combination of not very good oversight and swimmer error and one due to lane overcrowding. The worst one of those was the first one (my 5th overall) during 11th grade, basically it was a sprint head to head collision off the wall, I was unconscious in the pool for a few seconds, and missed a week of school. The other one I was kicked in the head.
I live this first hand that the only way to completely eliminate risk of injury (whether to the head or elsewhere) is to not do anything. The golden ticket is to find the way to reduce risk and report any issues.

[Sycamore62]

I dont have time to read the article so part of this comment is to remember to go back and read, but 60 Minutes did a story on this and one researcher said they were seeing CTE linked more to non concussion repetitive hits....(i pictured this as every play an OL, DL and most LBs have for their whole career)

[2ram]

i've always maintained that i went into college smarter than i came out. too many hits to the head :(

[Sycamore62]

i've always maintained that i went into college smarter than i came out. too many hits to the head :(

For me, it turned out that alcohol wasnt an effective long term treatment for concussions.

[walliver]

The first article was interesting and well-written.
The second article focused on concussions despite the fact that this player died from a bad heart. A person that young is not expected to have hypertensive cardiomyopathy. I finished the article wondering if other issues were present.

I suspect that the concussion problem will eventually be the death-knell of college football. The NFL may be able to get by paying gladiators to fight for us.

[YoUDeeMan]

The first article was interesting and well-written.
The second article focused on concussions despite the fact that this player died from a bad heart. A person that young is not expected to have hypertensive cardiomyopathy. I finished the article wondering if other issues were present.

I suspect that the concussion problem will eventually be the death-knell of college football. The NFL may be able to get by paying gladiators to fight for us.

Concussions will eventually lead to many future lawsuits...and colleges will eventually have to stop playing or pay.

As far as the second article goes...the player seemed to have suffered from depression and some memory loss. They said there was damage in his brain, but it was inconclusive as to whether there was enough damage directly related to his concussions. However, he made his own grave...he refused to report some concussions so that he could continue playing.

Unfortunately, we all think we are immortal when we are young.

[RedFlash]

However, he made his own grave...he refused to report some concussions so that he could continue playing.

Players certainly have to be encouraged to self report symptoms, but I'm not sure most 18 or 19 year old's fully understand or appreciate the risks they are taking when they don't report them. Sure the culture has changed and protocols are in place to try to protect these kids, but I have a hard time blaming a kid for making an ill informed decision - especially when he's suffered a head injury which may have impacted his very ability to make a sound decision.

[Bisonoline]

The first article was interesting and well-written.
The second article focused on concussions despite the fact that this player died from a bad heart. A person that young is not expected to have hypertensive cardiomyopathy. I finished the article wondering if other issues were present.

I suspect that the concussion problem will eventually be the death-knell of college football. The NFL may be able to get by paying gladiators to fight for us.

The mish mash on the second article was weird. Meh on the first.

What gets me is almost every article that comes out they act like its an epidemic. Which it isnt.

[2ram]

The mish mash on the second article was weird. Meh on the first.

What gets me is almost every article that comes out they act like its an epidemic. Which it isnt.

not trying to be argumentative, but how do you know it isn't?

[ngineer]

I remember reading last year about how UNH runs practices without helmets to force players to contact body to body (and to reduce that day's direct risk of head injury). I think there will always be a risk of head injury in football, as there is in pretty much every other sport (more on that lower). Main question is how can the risk be lessened for such a violent sport.
I have yet to see a sport that has 0% risk of head injury. I swam up until my senior year of HS, and suffered concussions in practice, one from a combination of not very good oversight and swimmer error and one due to lane overcrowding. The worst one of those was the first one (my 5th overall) during 11th grade, basically it was a sprint head to head collision off the wall, I was unconscious in the pool for a few seconds, and missed a week of school. The other one I was kicked in the head.
I live this first hand that the only way to completely eliminate risk of injury (whether to the head or elsewhere) is to not do anything. The golden ticket is to find the way to reduce risk and report any issues.

I figure I've had about 3-4 concussions in high school and college football. I have also had some bad head banging incidents non-football related involving weird accidents (i.e. standing up and banging the top of my head on a steel girder that I forgot was overhead in a low ceiling area. Saw stars and probably lead to my neck surgery a few years later for a discectomy. I wonder, now, at age 64 how much of my memory loss that I start encountering is due to the traumatic past versus the usual "senior moments".

While the risk of football cannot be eliminated, I think if we went back to the old leather style helmets, without facemasks to create leverage on the neck, thereby forcing tacklers to use their arms and shoulders, that a drop in concussions would occur. Have studies been done of rugby players? American football grew out of rugby and perhaps returning toward those roots might save the sport from extinction.

[Bisonoline]

Ive gone to many reunions over the years and see many of the guys I played with every weekend at the games. Plus Ive met tons of guys who played before me and after I dont know one guy who is having these problems. If its an epidemic some of these guys would be tipping over I would think.
Now I will say that a guy from my era was Mike Webster. But he took TONs of rhoids and was from the era that still used the old suspension helmets before they came out with the current helmets.

[2ram]

Ive gone to many reunions over the years and see many of the guys I played with every weekend at the games. Plus Ive met tons of guys who played before me and after I dont know one guy who is having these problems. If its an epidemic some of these guys would be tipping over I would think.
Now I will say that a guy from my era was Mike Webster. But he took TONs of rhoids and was from the era that still used the old suspension helmets before they came out with the current helmets.

Well, there's a difference between frequency and severity. It could be that very few 'tip over' but most experience mild cognitive issues. I think there's a lot more to learn about the impact of repetitive impacts to th e head.