CTE - scary stuff
 

I don't recall this subject being posted in the recent past, although concussions in contact sports has been discussed previously on this forum. It seems to me to be in the news more frequently & all too often, the outcome inevitably results in a diminished & or a shortened life span for an increasing number of retired pro athletes - Tony Dorsett being the latest example.

I wonder if the short term gain & stardom accorded pro athletes is worth shaving good years off the back side of their lives - especially now research into inherent risks & the effects of cumulative physical wear & tear are being recognized. This may give parents of young children considering participating contact sports just cause for some concern.

New evidence of repeated or accumulated head trauma is sure to have some repercussions & may possibly bring changes to the future of contact sports. One has to bear in mind of course, these changes should avoid altering the basic spirit or to emasculate said sport.

Although the NFL & NHL have recently been taking some steps to address this issue, the basic question remains: what more can or should be done about it?

How do you folks feel & where do you think the solution(s) may be found?

Cheers
JB

I know in HS FB they are adjusting practices to have only a few hitting days. I still think that if you took away the pads and helmets the injuries would decrease. Maybe I'm wrong but what if you compared Rugby to Football and Hockey? Does Rugby have as many concussions?

If these new claims were accurate and not exaggerated, we wouldn't have a boxer on the planet over the age of 30.

I believe there is an ulterior motive at work.

I heard an interesting theory the other day, the suggestion was that because the helmet has gotten so much better over the years, that it gives the wearer a sense of invincibility, and he learns to override the messages from the brain telling him to protect his head. He then attacks his opponent with more violence than he would if he did not have the false sense of security these high tech helmets afforded.

It seems counter intuitive, but the suggestion was to throttle back on the amount of protection a helmet offered, thus reestablishing the cerebral messages from the brain....

Don't know if you can unring the bell, but it made for a thoughtful discussion....

There was a good Frontline on this topic. Runs about 2hrs but pretty interesting all the way through.

League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS

So what's up with Tony Dorsett?
I saw him being interviewed the other day re: inflate-gate and he seemed lucid.

Follow the money. There are so many untold thousands of ex-football players who have no signs of any concussion symptoms, but the media always finds the way to highlight a few.

Hey Don - Google: Tony Dorsett & his dealing with CTE. The link Ayles posted was quite interesting. Some bad stuff is starting to surface especially when post mortems include the study of the brain tissue of some athletes who've passed in recent years.

JB

I had revived a thread from a while back about Derek Boogard after I had read the book "Boy On Ice".
One of the things that was chilling was when they asked Derek how many times he had been hit in the head that caused him to see stars and he had replied that it would be a countless number of times.
I wonder how the current crop of MMA fighters will be doing in a few years?

Being paid millions of dollars with the risk of lingering injury in the future vs being paid hundreds of dollars with the risk of lingering injury in the future. My father in law has been a contractor his entire life, he's not even 60 and has a number of health issues due to his body just being worn out. Our military men and women face death on a regular basis for wages that are borderline poverty. And on, and on, and on........

As the father of a son that plays football, is it something to be aware of? Absolutely. But will it deter me from letting him play football? No way. Car accidents are the leading cause of teen death, but I'll still let him drive. It's all about risk vs reward, and the rewards and life lessons that can be gained playing sports far outweigh the risks.

My son is a Defensive starter for our high school team as a Sophmore because he is 5' 11" and 180 lbs, so they put him on the line against some monstrous sized guys. He ended up with a concussion that kept him out for two games. I think being on the line against big guys is better than running full speed down the field, and having those kind of collisions with other guys and the ground.

There were new rules enacted this year in high school sports that automatically disqulify you for the present game and the next weeks game due to a concussion.I don't know how the NFL handles concussions, and who is responsible for releasing a player to play after having one, but you can be sure that some teams are pushing that timeline to get their money's worth.

NFL now has a non-affiliated 3rd party on the sideline that does the concussion evaluations. I believe the 3rd party has the power to grab a player after a nasty hit and force them to be evaluated. If they don't pass the test they can't play, I believe they actually have to go back to the locker room.

Judging by the way most NFL players of today act there is already some serious brain damage present.

At a soccer game last year we saw an ambulance pull onto the football field next to us. 10yr old was hit hard and didn't get right up. Told coaches/parents that he couldn't open his eyes to see, it was too bright. ambulance takes him away and official word is concussion.

Ran into a close friend of the boy's family the next evening at a party. This close friend has boys who play ball with this kid. He said, and I quote, "of course he couldn't open his eyes, the sun was in them when he was on the ground! he opened them ok in the ambulance, he's fine no big deal'.

I think stars get in the eyes of many parents. I'll admit I think minor sports injuries are an opportunity for a kid to develop a strong attitude and heart, but I would draw the line at brain injuries.

If any of my kids took a hit in any sport and showed concussion symptoms, they would be seeing a doctor before playing again. I think sports are important but I'm not naive, none of my kids are future pros.

The 10-year old soccer story does illustrate a good point - concussions aren't just football. The NFL is by far our nation's most popular sport, and are therefore the easiest target. But there are ample opportunities to get concussions playing any sport. I recall reading an article several years ago that stated the highest rate of concussions was in girls soccer, but the total number was lower due to the limited number of total players.

Brian Williams got 10 concussions in one week when every single time he drove a car for a week straight he was bombed by terrorists.

In Manhattan.

Right after coming back from finding Noah's Ark.

Former Flame, Steve Montador, was found dead in his home yesterday.
He was a pretty good hockey player helping the Flames to their Stanley Cup appearance in 2004.

He did have a problem with concussions and had never come back from his last one in 2012.

I hope that his family donates his brain to CTE research at Boston University.

Steve was 35.

A friend was in a pretty dramatic wreck during a vintage formula vee race in 2012. I was gridded behind the lead group having been shoved off the track in the earlier race. He hit a wall at an angle, flipped and the car skidded upside down on the roll bar before tipping back over. I thought he was dead. His helmet came off and was 30 feet from the car. Bad concussion, still feeling the effects. Helmet saved his life. Friends daughter was a ski racer, one too many hits in the head. She's better after 3 years of no racing but will have permanent effects. She's 25. Fellow cyclist took a year to recover from a bad wreck, hit her head, broke a collarbone, etc. It is serious stuff. I think more technical gear in football has given players a sense of invincibility. I also think "hitting for the slo mo espn highlight" has changed tackling in football. Also, now days, kids tend to focus on one sport and play that sport year round if they are good enough. That has lead to a lot more reps by the time someone exits high school. Also, remember the days when a big kid in high school was someone over 6 foot, 175 lbs? Guys my size played line. I'm 6'1" and 195 lbs. Now I'm the size of high school wide receiver.

Hey Bill

I remembered him being paired up with Mike Commodore on that great Cup run - I think they were nicknamed "the doors" - very sad indeed.

JB

Nothing new, really. The term "punch drunk" has been around for a long time.

The one sports focus is bad news for kids. It limits their development from an athletic standpoint and makes injuries more likely. Many baseball docs attribute the drastic recent increase in Tommy John surgery (pitchers) to kids specializing in sports at an early age. My son LOVES football, but also plays basketball and baseball. I think the diversity is good, plus he has fun. Anybody else remember Nolan Ryan throwing around a football to warm up for pitching a game? He always said it helped to stretch more and different muscles.