Sure, Put ‘Im Back On The Ice
Oct 31st, 2007 at 9:29 am by Susie
You take a hockey player who’s already had at least one serious concussion, he gets another one and a week later, is suffering from obvious post-concussion syndrome, and they say they might let him back on the ice next week.
That’s worse than stupid. That’s criminal. We put our kids at risk, too.
Oh, and did you know repeated concussions can lead to severe, early-onset Alzheimers? I guess they left that out of the NFL highlights film:
Mr. Nowinski, who experienced repeated concussions which ended his career and caused severe migraines and depression, believed that the examination of Mr. Waters’ brain would link his suicide to the numerous concussions he experienced as a professional athlete. Dr. Bennet Omalu of the University of Pittsburgh, a leading forensic pathologist concluded that “Mr. Waters’ brain tissue had degenerated into that of an 85 year old man with similar characteristics as those of early-stage Alzheimer’s victims.”
Dr. Omalu went on to say that had Mr. Waters lived another ten to fifteen years he would have been totally incapacitated. Dr. Omalu had previously examined the brains of two former Pittsburgh Steelers who were found to have post-concussive brain injuries: Mike Webster, who became homeless and cognitively impaired prior to his death from heart failure in 2002 and Terry Long who committed suicide in 2005.Other retired players have reported depression, memory problems and even thoughts of suicide.
Research into more than 2,500 former NFL players by Center for the Study of Retired Athletes found that cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s like symptoms and depression rose proportionately to the number of concussions sustained by the athlete. Athletes who experienced three or more concussions were three times more likely to experience significant memory problems and five times more likely to develop earlier onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms.
There’s an interesting theory that suggests that, of all things, helmets may be partly to blame. While hard hits in hockey have always existed, people have apparently been more willing to take shots to the head since helmets were introduced. (And remember, helmets were mandated in hockey not because of a player-on-player hit, but because a guy fell backwards, cracked his head open on the ice, and died– an unfortunate accident rather than the outcome of a deliberate act.) One wonders if there are as many concussions in, say, rugby, or whether head-to-head hits were as common in football back in the days of leather helmets.
Actually, they’re quite common in rugby.
http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/injuries/head_&_neck/concussion.php
Status quo on the leagues Dirty secret. Still nothing new from Goodell on the coming clean about what the true origin of football concussions. The Patriots have not had one concussion yet this year. Most players are protected with an orthodic device developed with Marvin Hagler and proven through NFL stats to drastically reduce concussion from blow to the jaw. http://www.mahercor.com