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Nick Mercer: Why we continue to see players play

19 May

Nick submitted this article prior to the Bryce Harper wall escapade but it would certainly fall into this opinion piece.

While I didn’t intend to write a post about brain injury in sport, I was inspired to write it based on some events in the NHL playoffs.  Since it’s not my point to dissect the danger of the two hits, I won’t spend much time on them. In fact, I’ll just share the links to the Gryba hit on Eller and the Abdelkader hit on Lydman. Seriously, whether I think either of those hits was clean or delivered with malicious intent is not, in any way, the basis or inspiration for this post. What is, is the idea that we – the North American contact sports-loving public – have all but abdicated our right to a free conscience. Whether either hitter was deserving of the suspension they have subsequently received, depends not on the hit they delivered, but on which team you cheer for (or against), or whether or not you like seeing big hits in hockey. It has nothing to do with what happened.

Some people don’t like where the NHL or NFL are heading; the frequency with which penalties are called when a player hits anywhere near an opposing player’s head. I don’t think that either of these two leagues, NHL and NFL, understand the concept of risk and reward. Hard hitting contact sports are so popular because they exhibit risk in a raw form. That’s probably why some/many of the athletes who make it to the highest levels get into the types of trouble they do. We watch news about multi-millionaire athletes who crash Porsches or who get arrested, and we may think “why would someone with so much to lose risk so much?” However, the athletes actually made logical (that doesn’t necessarily mean good) decisions. They do what all of us do before making most decisions. They, however briefly, look at their risk/reward histories plus their confidence Continue reading →

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A Chuckle and Video

10 Apr

I really don’t have much for this quote found in this article;

“I have a theory on concussions,” he said. “I think the reason there’s so much more of them — obviously the impact and the size of the equipment and the size of the player — but there’s another factor: everyone wears helmets, and under your skull when you have a helmet on, there’s a heat issue.

“Everyone sweats a lot more, the brain swells. The brain is closer to the skull. Think about it. Does it make sense? Common sense?” said Carlyle, who said he’d never talked to a doctor about his premise, which he was introduced to by Jim Pappin, the former Leaf who also played his career helmet free.

“I don’t know if it’s true, but that would be my theory. Heat expands and cold contracts. The brain is like a muscle, it’s pumping, it swells, it’s a lot closer to the outside of the skull.”

Stick to coaching hockey, eh!

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The ESPN article and video (click link or below) regarding the NFL Concussion Litigation; Continue reading →

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ESPN OTL Article Sparking Quite A Debate

8 Apr

On the surface this article may be innocuous to many, but the the minutia of concussion research and information is coming to a head very quickly, especially pertaining to the NFL.  Tomorrow is the first hearings in front of the judge – and the possibility of total dismissal - for the concussion law suits filed by thousands of former NFL players.

ESPN and its Outside the Lines department (in conjunction with Frontline) filed this article taking a look at two of the most prominent people in the concussion research/awareness arena, Dr. Robert Cantu and Chris Nowinski;

Two prominent concussion researchers — including a senior adviser to the NFL — served as paid consultants to law firms suing the league for allegedly concealing the link between football and brain damage, according to interviews and documents obtained by “Outside the Lines” and “Frontline.”

The article written by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada sheds light on the very issues the research community faces with this problem.  Some of this information can be classified as “not new” to people who participate in the constantly shifting arena of litigation and research, while some information can be deemed as scathing.  There is a very tight and ubiquitous line in this matter;

Researchers often are asked to appear as expert witnesses in legal proceedings related to their fields. The NFL suit, with the potential for billions of dollars in damages, has created a large demand for researchers with expertise in the science of concussions.

But some researchers said they have turned down such requests despite the potentially lucrative payoff out of concern the perceived conflict could compromise their research.

Conflict of interest (COI) is something we all need to pay attention to, although it applies to this current article, the COI in this field is rampant and often unchecked.  This is nothing new, players have talked about COI, other journalists have noted it, and one of our prominent commentators (Dr. Don Brady) on the site has even devoted some of his dissertation to COI.

It would seem this is nothing “new” in the world Continue reading →

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Anyone Want Money?

12 Mar

Basic RGBWell according to our comment section there are many of you out there looking for solutions; along with the efforts of established companies, like the helmet makers.  Now you can draw up and submit any ideas to the efforts of General Electric and the National Football League;

GE and the National Football League’s Head Health Challenge I aims to develop new solutions to help diagnose mild traumatic brain injury and invites proposals for scanning technologies and biomarkers that can accelerate growth. This four-year, $60 million partnership aims to improve the safety of athletes, members of the military and society overall.

The above is only step one, you have 111 days left to complete step 2;

We are seeking viable technologies for detecting early stage mild traumatic brain injuries at all stages of development for Challenge I. Ideas are welcome from all industries, organizations, and technical fields.

Visit the above linked website for further details and required forms.  I implore those that feel they have a technological solution to make the effort.  I will say this as candidly as possible; you cannot do it alone, you WILL and MUST have the resources and “blessings” of the NFL to get things done in the concussion effort.

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Let’s Clear Something Up Here

5 Feb

On Twitter yesterday I commented on the words Jim Nantz spoke on “Face the Nation” regarding concussions (emphasis mine);

“[r]esearch shows that at the college level, a women’s soccer player is two and half times more likely to suffer a concussion than a college football player. I don’t hear anyone saying right now, ‘should we put our daughter in these soccer programs?’”

Huge props to Jason Lisk of bigleadsports, for doing the work of digging to find the information that Nantz used in the interview.  The long and short of Lisk’s adventure was that he could not find a specific connotation of such claims.  The 2007 article he cited in his wirte-up can be found here, Concussions Among United States High School and Collegiate Athletes, via nih.gov.  You can look and see what Lisk and myself see, football concussions occur more than female soccer concussions – except for an anomaly (very small one less 4%) – in college football and female college soccer.  Lisk also notes this was a 2007 study, although ancient in the realm of concussions, it is very solid and worth citing.

A repeat of the above study could not be found and probably should be done, however there are plenty of “concussion incidence” research in the high school sports.  Those can be found by simply going to ‘Google Scholar’ and defining your terms.  Here is a very good one regarding concussions alone, Marar et Al_ Epidemiology of Concussions, where the football vs. girls soccer numbers are; 6.4/3.4 (that is per 10,000 athlete exposures).  This is a 47% increase as compared between the two sports, almost two-time as likely.  More important is that this information was published a year ago, some of the freshest information out there.

Specifically Nantz was using collegiate soccer as his “trump card” in the case for football.  Not only is collegiate soccer a rare occurrence for those playing soccer, it is not nearly as populated as high school and youth soccer, where the concussion problem is WAY lower than football.

Not only was Nantz – and Limbaugh – spewing information that is both hard to find (no source) and outrageous to this author, it is completely irresponsible to even suggest that female soccer is more “dangerous” than football, in terms of concussions.

Here is my diatribe from twitter last night; Continue reading →

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Team Gleason PSA – Hey NFLPA Please Read

31 Jan
I received this from an anonymous source and was asked to spread this news, hopefully it will reach those it is intended for…  How bout you watch the video first then go to the Team Gleason website;
Subject: PSA release: NFL Players and Coaches stand together to cure ALS
Hi everyone…I hope this email finds you well…
Just wanted to let you know that beginning today, we at Team Gleason are rolling out a new ALS awareness campaign to be introduced this week in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.
Here’s a link to the video, which takes viewers directly to the Team Gleason website:
This is important, please spread if you get the chance…  This is NOT JUST A FOOTBALL PROBLEM, this is a problem for everyone!

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NFLPA News

31 Jan

So at 3:15pm EST the NFLPA will hold a news conference to discuss some “goings on”; the biggest nugget in this presser will be the announcement of a 100 million grant for Harvard over 10 years to study them.  All aspects of player health is the word I seem to be getting.  Which is good, because for a long time the former player has been neglected and has led to current and future players taking risks their bodies will not be able to cash in down the road.  I believe you can catch it live on YouTube as well, perhaps someone can provide the link in the comments…

In other NFLPA news, Deadspin and Barry Petchesky wrote about how players are overwhelmingly disenfranchised with the medical care they receive as a big-bad NFL player;

An NFLPA study, the results of which were obtained by the Washington Post, finds that the vast majority of players have serious doubts about the care they’re provided.

The NFLPA asked its players to gauge on a one to five scale how much they trust their team’s medical staff. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said five, meaning they’re not satisfied at all. An additional 15 percent said four, and just three percent responded to the question with a one or a two.

“The most troubling aspect of the survey for me is that lack of belief that the doctors are treating them for their players own health, safety and wellness reasons,” DeMaurice Smith said.

Perhaps this is why the NFL is entrusting the elite Harvard to study such things and happenings to players over a long-term time frame.  Petchesky  also takes part of the article to touch on the conflict of interest (COI) that is VERY rampant on the NFL sidelines concerning medical care.  If you have followed and read here long enough you will know it is something that we have been harping on for over two-year and one of our illustrious commentators, Don Brady, has written a dissertation that includes this problem.

Simple facts are that the team athletic trainers are paid by the team, not the players, and in a majority of NFL clubs the “team doctor” is actually paying for the privilege.  In a business model, it would appear – in my humble opinion – that the teams are making sure their priorities are met when it comes to injuries.  NOW HOLD ON…  There are some very outstanding athletic trainers and doctors that roam the hallowed sidelines of the National Football League, and they are VERY VERY VERY good at what they do, but the appearance – TO THE ACTUAL PLAYERS – is that their medical care may not be in their best interest.

I am not throwing anyone under the bus here, I am merely Continue reading →

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CDC, NIOSH and Department of HHS Issue Statement

27 Jan

For many years the “government” has kept its collective mouth shut about happenings in sports.  Occasionally they will make statements regarding the health of players in sports; case in point steroids and PED’s.  The highest football league in the States and world has often had little resistance from “government” while doing business, until now.

The Department of Health and Human Services along with The Center for Disease Control and The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have released an NFL Notification about brain and nervous system disorders.  The NFL Notification can be found by clicking on the jump above.  Here are the highlights;

  • In general, brain and nervous system disorders were more than 3 times higher among players; 17 players died with Alzheimer’s, ALS, or Parkinson’s compared to 5 men in the U.S. (see graph).
  • More speed position players died from these disorders compared to the non-speed position players.
  • ALS was 4 times higher among players; 7 players died with ALS compared to fewer than 2 men in the U.S.
  • Alzheimer’s was 4 times higher among players; 7 players died with Alzheimer’s compared to fewer than 2 men in the U.S.
  • Parkinson’s was not increased among players compared to men in the U.S.

This is not “old” news rather, it is confirming what has already been known, but Continue reading →

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Concussions 201

23 Jan

The Concussion Blog, has for years, presented you with the basics of concussions and other issues surrounding this particular brain injury.  Most of it was factual information/research that I opined about.  Others were original information that was seen here first.  Regardless our aim – and continues to be – is to keep everyone aware and educated about this topic.

I was passed along a great article on concussions, it was beyond the “basics” but not so in-depth that you get lost in the mumbojumbo;

In other words, concussions are not caused by a brain doing back flips within the skull. In fact, miniscule amounts of movement might be to blame.

The article was written in response to the Stevan Ridley “Fencing Response” producing injury this past weekend and Dave Siebert colored this situation perfectly; Continue reading →

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Matt Chaney – Tireless Worker

18 Jan

SpringGame1984Sideline
If you have been around enough you have seen the stylings of Matt Chaney on this blog, he is someone I call a friend.  In some circles that discounts me as a professional, which is both stupid and dumb.  I don’t always agree with Matt, heck him and I have been known to battle via electronic and phone communications.  However, his opinion is a valuable one – often his work is based in so much fact it makes your head spin as to why some of its missed.  Regardless, Matt has published two recent articles on his blog, for all to consume, here are some excerpts.

Part 1, published January 7th;

Historic football excuses thrive in modern debate over brutality

Lawsuits, criticism explode and officials project blame onto individuals

Old talking points of football apology resonate yet as officials tout anti-concussion measures like trainers along sidelines, new rules for safer play, injury reduction and expert consultation—same type of promises heard from gridiron leaders during the Victorian Era

American football gets lambasted in public for maiming and killing, denounced by an influential movement of critics, and game officials pledge safer play based on their new concepts of prevention, including:

*Qualified trainers and doctors will patrol sidelines.

*State-of-art medical response will treat the rare severe casualties.

*Limits will govern length of practices.

*Injury tracking will cut rates already on decline.

*Coaches will properly train players.

*Every player will undergo medical prescreening.

*Experts will lead safety reform in rulemaking and research.

*Referees and coaches will enforce new rules of experts.

*Players will follow new rules of experts.

Sounds familiar, these steps, a practical recitation of talking points for contemporary “safer football” promoted by the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, in face of lawsuit frenzy against the league and sport in general, along with festering disgust in the public.

Except the football rhetoric is 119 years old, from 1894, a packaged response during the game’s initial siege against formidable opposition seeking abolishment. Continue reading →

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George Visger – A Story to Tell

15 Jan

You have seen him post in the comments and there have been many stories written on him and his plight, but it is nice to get those involved to write about themselves as much as possible.  George Visger a former NFL player has taken the time to send along a couple of notes, it began with this email;

I played for the 81 Super Bowl champion SF 49ers.  During the season I developed hydrocephalus (water on the brain) from concussions, and underwent emergency VP Shunt brain surgery.  Four months after our Super Bowl XVI victory, my shunt failed, I had 2 more brain surgeries 10 hrs apart and was given last rites.  Also given the hospital bills, and forced to sue for Work Comp.  Completed my  Biology degree during brain surgeries 4 thru 7, now on # 9.   The long-term effects of concussive and sub concussive hits can be seen in what it’s done to my family in the following KVIE Channel 6 Sacramento link.

KVIE Channel 6  Sidelined:  Concussions In Sports   121912- http://vids.kvie.org/video/2318744182
After that was sent my way I asked for something he has written and wants to be known, and below is what I received.  Thank you for your time George;
My football and TBI career began in 1970 at age 11, playing for the West Stockton Bear Cubs Pee Wee Pop Warner team in Stockton, CA.  Twenty nine kids on the team, and 3 of us went on to play for the undefeated, nationally ranked, 1975 A.A. Stagg high squad and sign NFL contracts in 1980 (me, Jack Cosgrove, Pat Bowe).  We also had a kid on the squad by the name of Von Hayes, who went onto a multi-year MLB All Star career with the Cincinnati Reds.During my 3rd year of Pop Warner, I knocked myself unconscious in a worthless Bull – In – The – Ring drill and was hospitalized.  This was the only “diagnosed” concussion I sustained, despite playing several games through college and pros where I have no memory of playing. Continue reading →

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Sports discourse in the aftermath of Junior Seau’s suicide

13 Jan

Screen shot 2013-01-13 at 6.32.33 PMI remember the anguish that punctured my thoughts when Junior Seau, a star in his own right on the gridiron, placed a handgun to his chest and took his own life eight months ago at his California home. Sitting in my room, I sunk into my chair and spoke no words for more than an hour while giving all I could to refrain from shedding any tears. His death struck me in an unforgettable way that positioned myself, once again, at a crossroads with football and its place in our culture infatuated with the image of the modern-day gladiator.

On May 3, 2012, the day after Seau’s suicide, I scrambled for answers with the shadows of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) looking over my back. I ran a number of searches in Google’s archives for newspaper articles from the 1990s to find some sort of explanation for his actions, but rarely was Seau’s name mentioned directly in relation to a head injury. Although my efforts were rather premature and assuming, there had to be some sort of correlation between Seau’s noted altercations behind closed doors with the thousands of hits his brain endured over the course of a 19-year professional career.

There are, of course, many different storylines that people turn to to explain something so tragic immediately after its occurrence, but confirmation of my original hypothesis (shared by many, I’m sure) by the National Institute of Health several days ago left me in an inexplicable state of unsettled anxiety. Though I inferred Seau would be diagnosed postmortem with CTE, my response to the official announcement was still along the lines of, “Unbelievable.” Continue reading →

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Post Week 16

28 Dec

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

REMINDER: I am asking for your help this week; as you probably have noticed by my tweets and facebook posts.  The NFL teams that do not make the playoffs and don’t play in the Wild Card round (24 of them) do not have to report concussions after this week.  I am looking for you the reader to tweet/email us any concussion found.  It has to be within these parameters:

  1. Reported by team/media
  2. Have a source

As always you can tweet/send me info about a particular instance of questionable action taken after a huge hit.  I thank you in advance as we are pumped to possibly have the first ever “official” Week 17 concussion report.

Week 16 brought us the “usual” numbers but an unusual occurrence of a player fessing up to a concussion four days later, as Greg McElroy divulged his injury to the team late in the week.  Along with the “usual” numbers we have surpassed last years total concussion count in the regular season (by four and counting).

I really don’t have an opinion this week to share with all of you so let us get onto the numbers for the past week in the NFL… Continue reading →

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Post Week 15

21 Dec

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

After last week and the NFL reporting only six concussions this week picked right back up to previous levels.  We have unearthed 14 concussion for Week 15; showing that last week was definitely an outlier.  Since Week 11 the number of concussions per week were as follows: 16, 19, 15, 6, and 14.  As my two-year old’s favorite TV show says “one of these things are not like the others”.

Our data collection, the most comprehensive since 2010, has shown that more than 50% of ALL concussions in the NFL occur after week number 9, or the back half of the season.  As of this week we have surpassed the Week 1-9 total of 80; there have been 82 since Week 10.  Of course the pundits will tell you that all the byes have taken place, so more teams means more concussions; true.  However, as the season wears on and the accumulation of hits to the head compile, the theory of cumulative subconcussive blows eventually creates concussive episodes may also be a culprit of our bigger numbers in the second half.

Going forward into the last two weeks – wait one week (I will get that in a second) it will be interesting to see if the trend continues or if there will be another “outlier”.  About that “one” week thing I just mentioned; sure there is two games left but because 67.5% of the league is done after Week 17 concussion reporting is horrible.  As was explained last week, teams will not – do not – report concussions if they are not playing a game in the 1st round of the playoffs.  It takes work from the media and other information gathering Continue reading →

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NFL Concussion Litigation – The Science of Sport

18 Dec

That is the title given to the upcoming webinar/teleconference sponsored by Perrin Conferences.  These events are mainly geared toward attorneys/lawyers and offer continuing education credits (CLE) for attending.  Below is the press release;

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Experts in NFL Concussion Suits join together to tackle industry trends, litigation challenges, and the science in sports injuries on Jan. 8.

Berwyn, PA – Perrin Conferences‘ teleconference series presents “NFL Concussion Litigation – The Science of Sport,”  a program bringing together leading attorneys, doctors and other experts to discuss the issues dominating the headlines of the concussion cases against the NFL, NCAA and equipment manufacturers.  The teleconference will be hosted on Jan. 8 at 2:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. EST.

The program provides an overview of the current allegations and defenses in NFL concussion litigation, an update on the latest scientific studies, and tackles other issues including:

  • The potential legal and economic impact of concussion litigation for players, sports leagues and uniform equipment manufacturers
  • Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy – what is it and how does the science fit into the current litigation strategies?
  • The history of the dangers of head injuries and the timeline of NFL-sponsored studies/concussion rules
  • Medical monitoring and other potential damages
  • Duty to defend, trigger, occurrence and other insurance issues

Speakers include Continue reading →

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Post Week 14

14 Dec

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

It seems that concussion tracking has hit a “major market” finally with the launch of the PBSFrontline/ESPN Concussion Watch, which is another good source for information.  Their Concussion Watch includes all players that were listed on the NFL Official Injury reports, with either “concussion” or “head” injuries.  This gathers a vast majority of the concussions but they will miss some.

I had the opportunity to pseudo-collaborate with the entities that are compiling this information (via phone and email contact), and we discussed how their numbers would be different from ours here or a place like @NFLConcussions on Twitter.  Our discrepancies go to further the hot mess that is the NFL concussion issue summarized by the Fainaru brothers today.

I not only utilize the Official Injury Report but other methods; data mining and sources.  I had to go that route after Will Carroll explained to me that teams only have to list players that are/may be in a position to play that week or will be out.  In other words, if for some reason a player was concussed and was told he was concussed – even reported as concussed – but miraculously had no issues come Wednesday deadline for the OIR then they would not be listed.  Likewise if a player Continue reading →

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In Case You Missed It, the NFL/NFLPA Agree on Neuro Benefits

11 Dec

nflpaI caught this from Paul D. Anderson, apparently Darren Rovell had it as well; the NFL and the NFLPA finally agreed on neurocognitive benefits for NFL players as part of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement.  Obviously this was long overdue, but it is now a done deal.  You can read the nuts and bolts on Anderson’s blog HERE.

The gist of the agreement is that players who are fully vested and played one season after 1994 can get compensation for documented neurocognitive disabilities, something that has been missing from coverage since the beginning of time.  But, and its a HUGE BUT, there is a caveat (from Anderson’s blog);

In order to receive the benefits, the player must sign a release promising not to sue the NFL. In other words, if a player accepts the benefits he cannot join the NFL concussion lawsuits. Stated differently, if a player is currently a plaintiff in the concussion lawsuits, in order to receive the benefits, he will likely have to dismiss his lawsuit. The release will not waive any future workers’ compensation claim he may have against a team.

The plaintiffs in the concussion lawsuits, that played after 1994, have a decision to make: Continue reading →

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Post Week 13 – LATE

11 Dec

Guess the holiday season has many people behind on tasks, including yours truly.  Anyhow, here is the report from after 13 weeks in the NFL.  The report for week 14 should make it to this space by the end of the week (cross your fingers, ha).

During Week 13 we found 15 concussions, seems the weekly average is going up.  We now have 142 regular season concussions – 190 since camp opened.  NOTES: The offense continues to hold roughly a 10% advantage in concussions, which is weird it should be a 50/50 split…  Including preseason DB’s have more concussions (48) then the rest of the defense (38) – 36/28 split in regular season…  Interestingly RB, TE, OL, DL and LB all have similar occurrence; WR and DB’s are higher and QB’s way low…  I think we are going to see a new season “high water” mark, credit to Will Carroll for calling this before the season…  ()’s represent last week’s numbers…;

  • 142 Concussions/head injuries (127)
  • 10.92 Concussions/week (10.60)
  • 185 Projected Concussions (180)
  • 0.73 Concussions/game (0.70)
  • 12.90% InR (12.49)
  • 10.95% EInR (10.61)
  • 70 Offensive (78) – 57 Defense (64)
  • Positionally Speaking
    • QB – 7 (7), RB – 14 (16), TE – 13 (14), WR – 24 (27), OL – 12 (14), DL – 10 (13), LB – 15 (15), DB – 32 (36)
  • Team Breakdown
    • OAK – 12
    • DET, JAX – 8
    • CLE, IND, KC, WAS – 7
    • NE, NYJ, PIT – 5
    • CAR, CHI, DAL, MIN, NYG, SEA, SF STL, TB, TEN – 4
    • ARI, BUF, CIN, DEN, GB, MIA, NO, PHI – 3
    • BAL, HOU, SD – 2
    • ATL – 1
    • NONE – 0

Our definition of Incidence Rate (InR) is projected concussions/45 players taking the field per team per game, our definition of Epidemiological Incidence Rate (EInR) is projected concussions/53 man roster per team.

Comparing to past seasons the following has been found after Week 13: # (2011, 2010):

  • Regular Season Concussions – 127 (122, 119)

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Through 12 Weeks

29 Nov

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

I will save the “soap box” for another day as I will get right to the meat of it.

Numbers are rising, but naturally there are more games as all byes have taken place.  There are more players on the field and more plays so there will be, by logic alone, more concussions.  Our research over the past few years has shown that 55% of all concussions found happen after Week 9.  Both an indication of more games but also prolonged exposure to micro trauma.

This week we say another first, a new high water mark for a weekly find; 19 players were concussed last week, roughly 15% of all concussions to this point.  I have some reasons for this, the most poignant being that I believe the NFL is starting to get it right.  With so many eyeballs on the game now, especially looking at concussions and how it impacts the game they better start to get it right.  I have had multiple sources tell me – which is hard for me to believe but I have heard it more than once – the “crapstorm” that is the NFL medical in-game coverage is now just catching up to what we know.  One person told me that some (stresses some) athletic trainers are still learning about concussion detection, another told me (which I already knew) the doctors being on retainers for the teams are too conflicted.  My most trusted source tells me that players actually have a protocol of their own to evade detection, which they practice from time to time.

Regardless there was a perfect storm this past week to give us the 19 found.  Now onto the stats, 127 regular season concussions – 175 since camp opened.  Notes: due to my 20 month old son “rearranging” my database I rechecked numbers there may be some differences from last week (the #’s are sound)… DB’s and WR’s are now starting to rack up…  ()’s represent last week’s numbers…; Continue reading →

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Nick Mercer: The Education of Nick

26 Nov

When I try to think of an idea for a post, I look to sports, news, pop culture, and usually find something that gets my mind firing. Sometimes, actually more often than not for my most recent posts, my idea seemingly comes out of nowhere, but once I get a hold of it, off I go. So, while trying to think of the subject for this post, although there were a lot of stories of concussed athletes – not the least of whom is Alex Smith of my favourite team in any sport, the San Frncisco 49ers – I have decided to take another tack and look more at society. I’ve written a bunch in this vein, so you could simply call this tactic ‘going to the well’, but there is just so much fodder here. Plus, it gives me a wider audience than  1000 words on Colin Kaepernick would have (nonetheless, he played an awesome game on Monday!). There have been countless stories over the past 2 years about concussion in pro sports, youth sports, and recreational sports. Every time a new story comes around, a catalog of articles are written, a fury of interviews are given, and an exhaustive supply of statistics are produced. As I’m the only one working alone on this blog, the only resource at my disposal, or at least the only original resource I have, is my experience as someone who’s had a severe traumatic brain injury.

Starting my blog (concussiontalk.com) was one of my best ideas. It gives me a place where I can share my views and vent my frustrations, all under the guise of thoughtful, and dare I say, good, writing. I have, not so subtlety, been able to integrate some pop culture events into my posts. From the start, the point of my blog was to write about brain injury in sports, notably football and hockey, because in July or August of 2010, it seemed a bit different, and as such, it would be interesting to write about. If anything, I’ve deviated from this, Continue reading →

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Through Week 11

22 Nov

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

Getting hit in the head by a friend – not hard enough to cause concussion symptoms – say 15 times on a weekly basis is probably not something you would enjoy.  Eventually after about 10 or so weeks of that, theory suggests that there has been enough “micro” damage that the threshold for “macro” damage has been reduced.  Further, if your friend hit you with the same force he/she has been doing previously you may get concussion symptoms, thus a concussion.

If the force was at the same “low-level” as the previous hits – that did not cause a concussion – then why now do you have a concussion?

Looking at it from another angle; if you hit concrete with a hammer – not with so much force it actually cracks – say 15 times a week for 10 or so weeks, will the concrete finally crack and break at some point?  I would venture to guess, yes.

This is now some of the focus on the research in concussions, trying to identify the actual causation/pathology for such cases.  Speaking from a logical perspective; getting hit in the head over and over and over and over and…  Well, over seems to cause damage, no?

This is possibly why we are seeing greater numbers of concussions in the later part of the season; sure awareness is better, but players have been exposed to hundreds and thousands of hits late in the season.  There was a good white paper written on how to possibly abate this issue in Youth Sports, composed by The Sports Legacy Institute.  It is not practical in the NFL, nor do I think that professional adults need to have this in place, unless they choose to – in its place the NFLPA negotiated fewer “hitting” days outside of games in the recent CBA.

This again gives me a chance to wonder aloud why high schools will not adopt a reduction in exposure/hit days for football?  I have generated a proposal on this for the Illinois High School Association that has yet to be brought to a vote.

Back to the NFL and the concussions found this past week, SIXTEEN of them, nearly doubling the average up to this point; the numbers have tied a single week high for the past three years.  Perhaps its a reaction to the week 9 issues, especially the heightened attention after three starting quarterbacks were sent out with concussions.

Now on to the stats for the week – 108 regular season & 156 since camp opened.  Notes: DB’s now make up 25% of all the regular season concussions (8 last week)…  Offense continues to outpace the defense…  Current numbers/stats are getting close to being in line with last year…  The least concussed positions are QB and DL…  The ()’s represent last week’s figures; Continue reading →

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Tuesday Quick Thoughts

20 Nov

Ed Reed was suspended by the NFL for repeat offenses of the leagues mandate on blows to the head.  Some former players are taking serious umbrage with this decision by Ray Anderson, NFL Executive VP of Football Operations.  Fortunately I had the opportunity to listen to an interview with Anderson on Mike & Mike this morning.

The synopsis, in my opinion, was that the League is now looking at hits to the head and neck as an aggravating offense and will take serious steps to eliminate this type of hit from the game.  More striking was Mr. Anderson’s statement (paraphrased) that; we know now that hits to head are not only a problem we know now that they are life altering, he emphasized that the evidence was now clear to this.

Ray Anderson kept hammering home that “times have changed” and hits like Ronnie Lott made and that were common place years back have no place in today’s game.  He also mentioned that fines are not working as they had hoped, so other measures will need to be taken, including suspensions.

I really feel that the NFL is playing good lip service to this issue, and really are taking baby-steps to change the culture of football.  Now getting on to Continue reading →

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2012 NFL Concussion Report Through Week 10

16 Nov

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly (not so much this year) compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League.  Concussions are added to the list each week from multiple sources to give you the reader a picture of what is happening on the field.  Each week we will bring you the information along with relevant statistics.  If we have missed a concussion or put one on here erroneously, let us know (we will also be using Fink’s Rule to classify a concussion/head injury).

It seems that one time each season there is a “watershed” moment on concussions in the NFL.  Week 10 was that week for 2012 (so far) as three starting quarterbacks were sidelined with concussion – Alex Smith, Mike Vick, and Jay Cutler.

Perhaps unnoticed in the coverage of the QB’s were the 9 other concussions that occurred, including three players having their second concussion – Cliff Avril, Brandon Meyers and Ryan Clark.  It would be Amari Spievey second as well, if you are counting the preseason concussions.

Certainly noticed by me was an ABSOLUTE first in NFL concussion history, which really should be noted.  Again, with all my research on concussions this is the first time this has occurred in the NFL.  This is the very first time that Continue reading →

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NFL Makes Case For No Indpendent Neuro

15 Nov

Finding a true “independent” health care provider for concussions in the NFL is a sticky situation; the NFLPA says they want one and the League is saying no.  Of course there are various reasons as to why the League would not want an independent neuro there; cost being one issue, the other issue is that the players may actually be in greater peril – and I agree.  Dr. Richard Ellenbogen co-chair of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee explained this in an article in USAToday;

“No one knows the players as well as the athletic trainers, period.

“Having said that, some teams already have neurosurgeons on the sidelines. Having a doc show up just for a game takes away from the all-important baseline exam and continuity of care. It would be like getting operated upon by a surgeon who did not see you pre-operatively. Is that safer than having someone who saw you beforehand? The baseline is all important in making an assessment if a player is OK after a hit.”

Concussion are so subjective, most cases do not involve overt signs and it is incumbent upon the player to report what is going on.  Trust is a HUGE factor for players – of all ages – but more so in the NFL where they are making a living by playing football.  Although the tests are there and meant to be as objective as possible it is still a clinical diagnosis overall.  The only health care professional Continue reading →

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The Debate of When To Pull A Player

13 Nov

This past week there were some prime examples of concussions, including mechanism of injury and how they are currently handled – some say mishandled – in the National Football League.  Now the debate rages on about when exactly a player should be pulled for evaluation.

In many cases this is absolutely obvious, for example Johnathan Baldwin of the Kansas City Chiefs last night in Pittsburgh.  As he laid out for a catch his head bounced off the ground and he immediately showed a fencing response and was “limp” on the field in a semi-prone position.  He “came to” and tried to get to his feet, key word being “tried”, as he was wobbly and needed help from a teammate and the official to stand.  The official then summoned the athletic trainers to aid in getting him off the field; it was obvious that Baldwin needed to be evaluated for a concussion (side note: the Chiefs are calling his injury a “neck”, which he could have hurt on that play but once again its an attempt to muddy the water, IMO).

To the credit of the NFL medical staffs these types of situations are rarely missed anymore, especially with the observer in the press box helping with the identification of potential head injuries.  I would dare say that these type of situations are missed more often at college, high school and youth level football games than the professional level; which is way more disturbing.

However, the debate remains about those players that don’t show overt signs of Continue reading →

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