Head injuries in sport

[Ken Robb]

my dad was born in Scotland in 1908. He played soccer as a kid and retired as a professional in 1948. He headed many heavy wet leather balls and probably had a few concussions from on-field collisions. He died at 81 having suffered from increasing dementia in his later years. We assumed it was Alzheimer's but these new studies make me think Dad's problem may have been a result of many hits to his head. I like that idea because head hits aren't hereditary. I hope.

[weiwentg]

Deeply troubling. I've come to think that because football rewards really large players and immensely powerful hits, it is equivalent to a blood sport. I question if it should be allowed to exist in its current form. I would abolish it if I were writing the rules, but I'm an extremist.

Not sure what can be done to ameliorate the damage in football. If rubgy is safer, then diverting players to rugby may help young men in general.

Cycling is far from exempt. Remember Chris Horner in the 2011 TDF? I am thinking something like mandatory exams for riders who crash, mandatory withdrawal if they have any level of concussion, liberalize rider replacement rules. Consider allowing crashed riders to skip one stage under some conditions (e.g. easy days).

[FlashUNC]

Football has pretty much always killed people.

But the on-field deaths during the Teddy Roosevelt era have been replaced with something happening much further in the future.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

my dad was born in Scotland in 1908. He played soccer as a kid and retired as a professional in 1948. He headed many heavy wet leather balls and probably had a few concussions from on-field collisions. He died at 81 having suffered from increasing dementia in his later years. We assumed it was Alzheimer's but these new studies make me think Dad's problem may have been a result of many hits to his head. I like that idea because head hits aren't hereditary. I hope.

I think the doctors might agree with you--my sister-in-law suffered a full-on TBI in a car accident. Did the full course of rehab, and had permanent long-term impairment to a degree.

The one thing the doctors were emphatic about--she had to quit playing soccer for just this reason--the chance of re-injury it was too great. So she took up rowing...

And if it is the cumulative effect of series of minor jostles rather than full-on hits that cause blackouts or TBIs then no amount of coaching about how to hit in football will save the sport.

[Elefantino]

The NFL only professes to be concerned about head injuries because it was caught ignoring head injuries and attempted (and, for a brief time, succeeded) to impugn the character and qualifications of anyone who made the connection between the NFL and head injuries.

Protect the shield.®

[buddybikes]

>>>All that said, I have not yet seen the study methods published so perhaps my skepticism is misguided.
To be clear, my intent is not to minimize any concerns about traumatic head injury ( I have no doubt it is an underestimated risk) nor defend the sport of football (which I do not follow).....I only cringe when poor science is sensationalized.

this was a fact based study on whether the brain has CTE not a drug comparison. Just happened to be 110 out of 111. Only question in detail is the extent of CTE and perhaps comparing to the general public if this just occurs through lots of people's lives.

[gasman]

Originally Posted by steveandbarb1

>>>All that said, I have not yet seen the study methods published so perhaps my skepticism is misguided.
To be clear, my intent is not to minimize any concerns about traumatic head injury ( I have no doubt it is an underestimated risk) nor defend the sport of football (which I do not follow).....I only cringe when poor science is sensationalized.

this was a fact based study on whether the brain has CTE not a drug comparison. Just happened to be 110 out of 111. Only question in detail is the extent of CTE and perhaps comparing to the general public if this just occurs through lots of people's lives.

Read the study. It's good but not perfect science. They looked at 202 brains, 111 of them played in the NFL. The rest were college and HS level.

This is a problem that should be studied more but it sure seems like a real problem.

[fiamme red]

New York Times: Playing Football Before 12 Is Tied to Brain Problems Later

[19wisconsin64]

Hey, we are (mostly) in the USA on this forum, where big business sort of rules most things.

Change won't occur until lots of law suits occur with big dollar payouts. Football is a multi-billion dollar sport.

A lot of Americans live in denial of things, and head injuries is just one of those things.

A while back I made a posting offering to pay a thousand dollars for a helmet that protected my brain. The response was more of one being laughed at than taken seriously.

Unfortunately I suffered some brain trauma when I was younger, and now that I am 53 it's really beginning to affect me in a not good way.

It's tough to tell kids not to play football, or to head the ball during soccer. It will tougher to let them know that we knew about the dangers but didn't warn them properly. Hope things improve.