While the scandal at Penn State remains in the headlines, with good reason, we should also focus attention on a significant problem facing student athletes: concussions in college football. In the weeks ahead, along with the excitement of post-season play, we will, in all likelihood, see at close range the health consequences of a sport that's based on collisions.
An estimated 300,000 sports-related traumatic brain injuries, most of them concussions, occur annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Concussions can happen in a variety of sports, but it is football and the martial arts that have taught us the most about their incidence and severity.
The adverse effects of concussions may appear immediately or may occur weeks, months, or even years later. In former pro football players, we see higher than average levels of memory loss and even dementia. Further, it is not just the "big hit" that causes harm: data indicate that multiple smaller hits may be causing cumulative damage to neurological and cognitive function. We have also learned that after a concussion, patients need cognitive as well as physical rest -- a finding with important implications for college students.
We must act now to prevent the immediate and long-term harm caused by concussions in football. Of course, some argue that football is in essence a violent sport and in fact that is one reason both players and fans like it. Some may claim that protecting our athletes will somehow harm the sport. But such claims pale in light of the fact that young athletes are suffering unnecessary harm and that we can do something about it.
We can take preventive and therapeutic action without destroying the sport. Coaches know that athletes can prepare with less contact in training -- and thus fewer opportunities for injury -- than they're having now. Many of us have forgotten that there was a time when helmets were not worn and that the NCAA was formed in 1906 primarily to change football rules to protect the health and safety of players who were dying on the field. Football can -- and must -- change more.
The NFL has tightened some of its rules that govern when players can return to the game after concussions and has made efforts to educate players about the risks. These are good steps, although more can and should be done in pro football.
What about college football?
Last summer Ivy League presidents adopted recommendations from an ad hoc committee of coaches, administrators, doctors, trainers and expert consultants to significantly change the way our football teams practice and play, in order to reduce the chances of concussion and to limit the harm of concussions that do occur. We made the following changes:
It may be hard for young players or pros to accept the fact that what they're doing could seriously damage their quality of life years from now. But we have plenty of data to compel us to limit the chances of head injury now and to treat our athletes after concussion in ways that will maximize their long-term health and well-being.
The Ivy League has taken an important step. Administrators, coaches, trainers -- anyone with authority in football programs, from middle school to the pros -- needs to do the same. Or find an even better way to protect our players.
Todd Green, Ph.D.: Where Is the Courage in College Football?
Stephen Montemayor: As Awareness Increases, Solutions Near for Football's Concussion Issue
Sheila Lirio Marcelo: Pop Warner Football And Head Injuries
Head Injuries News - The New York Times
Football Concussion Controversy: Brain Damage, Tests, and More
Football concussions and brain damage, from high school to the ...
At Last, Football Faces Concussion Problems Head-On : NPR
http://sciencewitness.com/2011/11/14/concussion-discussion-iii-the-impact-indicator/
In all schools, winning is secondary only to protecting student athletes from injury; unfortunately, when practicing and especially during competition, a player may try to hide the effects of a hard hit rather than leave the game. Ignoring a “bell ringer” or concussion symptoms doesn’t mean the impact didn’t happen or the brain hasn’t been changed is some way; furthermore, these “unrecorded incidents” place the player at risk for “second impact syndrome (SIS)."
These Ivy League changes, 30 states, the NFL and the NCAA have policies and concussions management plans based on a multi-facet approach beginning with observed and the player’s responsibility to self-report symptoms; unfortunately, effective sideline observation and self-reporting are major weaknesses especially considering those “unrecorded incidents.”
The best solution is automatically recording and saving records of all significant G-force helmet hits; in so doing, the player’s reluctance to admit a problem is eliminated and the trainer can test for a concussion before the risk of SIS comes into play. Using inexpensive biosensors to measure and keep accurate team records of the actual number and the frequency of G-force helmet impacts every player experiences will start helping protect our student athletes.
Record the G-force impacts and let the parents decide if playing contact sports is in the best interests of their child!
Herman Hothead
Who wuda thunk it?
Football and other athletics are secondary to the mission of the school. Other universities will say the same thing but when it comes down if X is going to affect the money then they are going to be against X.
The modern athletes are becoming so unnaturally big and strong. The speed and power of the hits are just getting bigger and bigger. Steroids are so extremely prevalent in all sports, it's probably a big part in why concussion effects are getting worse.