Month: December 2014

The World’s First Peer-Review Medical Journal with a Primary Focus on Concussion

Dustin Fink6 Comments

Concussion information is moving at a warp speed, it seems, compared to the long history of other medical issues that we face and hear about – cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc.  In fact, concussion is not an acknowledged speciality of the medical field, yet there are more and more monies and time being devoted to this current issue.

It was only a matter of time before some smart people figured out a way to create a journal dedicated to concussion.

Current Research: Concussion has been published and fits this bill, to a “t”.  This peer-reviewed journal is being published by Canadian publishing house Pulsus Group Inc., who has published other journals such as: Current Research: Internal Medicine, Current Research: Cardiology, Pain Research & Management, Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, and more.

Full disclosure, I have known about this journal for some time and have been chomping at the bit to let all of you know about this possible resource and place of publication for concussions.  Alas, since I have been included in the publishing (more on this later) I was not allowed to divulge this information until now.

What makes this publication so interesting is not only the emergence of a tailored journal for concussion but that the online content is open access.  Anyone and everyone can read this information; from the usual suspects of academia and research to the mom’s and dad’s who care to garner more evidence-based technical education.

Although the publishing and brain-child of the journal hail from Canada the editorial board is rife with very prominent figures, north and south of the border:  Continue reading →

Being From IL, People Want To Know What I Think of Law Suit Against IHSA

Dustin Fink6 Comments

Sq 300 JI have been asked by many people what my thoughts are on the first law suit filed against a state high school association in regards to concussion.  With this coming in my “home” state of Illinois, people figured I would have a strong statement or unique perspective.  I have struggled with coming up with exactly what I wanted to say and could not figure out why.  This is in my wheelhouse, commentary on recent and public events; one would think it would have been natural.

Then, I figured out why I couldn’t come up with something…  BECAUSE I ALREADY DID, 29 MONTHS AGO!!!

Almost like I could see into the future.  Below is what I wrote here and sent off to the Illinois High School Association in May of 2012.  Looking back on it I still feel strongly in the proposals and the rationale.  Take a quick look for yourself:

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I have been working on this letter for a little while but was really spurred to action by the parent in Maryland, Tom Hearn who discussed his concerns with the local school board.  I have tried and tried to use the “chain-of-command” with these thoughts and ideas, however at every step I got the feeling I would have to go alone on this, so I have.  This letter may or may not reflect the opinions of my employer, high school, athletic training sanctioning bodies, or others I am involved with.  This letter is from a concerned individual who feels I can spread the message effectively by these means.  I have emailed the letter, proposals and the Sports Legacy Institute Hit Count White Paper to all Executive Directors and Board of Directors of the Illinois High School Association.

OPEN LETTER

May 15, 2012

Illinois High School Association
c/o: Marty Hickman, Executive Director
2175 McGraw Drive
Bloomington, IL 61704-6011
(309) 663-7479 – fax

Dear IHSA – Executive Directors, Board of Directors and Sports Med Advisory Board:

I am writing this letter to address the growing concern of concussions in sports, mainly in football.  It should be noted that football is not the only sport with a concussion issue; however this sport combines the highest participation, highest risk, and highest visibility.  This letter should not be construed as an attack on the sport of football, but rather a way to keep the sport continuing to grow.

As a licensed and practicing Athletic Trainer, researcher, commenter, father, and survivor of too many concussions, I feel that in order to keep the sports we love, proactive steps must be taken.  Often being proactive is a painful process and easily dismissed because of the trouble it will cause.  I urge all involved to think about what the future of all sports will be if nothing is done.

The Illinois State Legislature with the IHSA took the initiative by creating a mechanism of concussion education and awareness in response to the mounting scientific evidence of potential long-term impairments resulting from mishandling of this injury.  However, this only represents a first step in the process; passing out a flyer or having parents and athletes initial that they have read the information is one small element of the issue.  Another crucial element of the issue is coaching. We must ensure that those we entrust with the care and leadership of our children understand Continue reading →

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Dustin Fink1 Comment

In a time when I truly feel strongly that we should collaborate rather than look down noses’ at other peoples work and words within the concussion realm there seems to be none of that with a recent report from TSN, Canada.  Although I did get a chance to read, I really didn’t have the perspective that, say, a Canadian would.  Insert Terry Ott, who has penned some very interesting articles here, in regards to concussion coverage and information — particularly in Canadian Football — from north of the border.

I believe Mr. Ott presented a very fair summation of the information provided — mainly the Tator quote — via TSN.  It has been very interesting to see how different places handle the concussion issue, from North America to Europe to Australia.  For the most part it mainly has to do with the “biggest #&^!” in the room.  Which is not always the best way to accomplish the same overall goal: tackling the concussion issue — head on!  (see what I did there?)

Remember, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” -Japanese Proverb

Now for Terry

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TSN CANADA REPORT DEMONSTRATES DIFFERENT NORTH/SOUTH CONCUSSION PERSPECTIVES

HAMILTON

Dec. 6. 2014

TERRY OTT

In Canada, The Concussion Blog has come an awfully long way in the past 18 months.

Prior to its ongoing addressing of the concussion crisis in the Canadian Football League the site was definitely for seekers of specificity of brain injury and prevention, but certainly not pertaining to the CFL. Canuck readers were limited.

All of that changed last July when The Concussion Blog broke the story of the first concussion related lawsuit filed in Canada by former CFL player Arland Bruce. The Concussion Blog is now required reading for many interested parties of Canadian football and the northern medical community researching brain injury.

And now, Canadian-based The Sports Network (TSN) which previously had cast a rather jaded TV and radio eye on the Arland Bruce concussion lawsuit now seems to be seriously pursuing the story with a Dec. 3 piece by Continue reading →

2014 NFL Concussion Report: Week 12

Dustin Fink1 Comment

The Concussion Blog Original, NFL Concussion Report, is a weekly compiling of the reported head injuries in the National Football League (posted when time allows).  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).  You can also view our white paper with original research about concussion reporting in the NFL from 2010-2012 HERE.

Where has this post been?

It has been 11 weeks since this report last was published, a long time.  For those that looked forward to this weekly post, I am sorry, time has not allowed me to be on the ball for weekly information.  However, that does not mean we have not been cataloging the concussions within the NFL.

Lets be honest, the constant concussion information has been almost to a point of overload for many, this includes me.  The weekly contribution on NFL concussions has been “lacking” due to where I have been, so please amuse me while I explain.  When the blog started it was for the dissemination of obscure, yet pertinent, information on concussions.  This included the founding of the NFL Concussion Report (first of its kind) which was, is and will be used for public research.  At times other media outlets have used this report for reference and in a naive manner I think that those that really care and can affect change look in on this from time to time.

With greater coverage from media, social media and the policy changers a lot of my “niche” has been filtered away from me.  I have been in the process of finding another angle/branch of this massive issue to keep people informed.  My biggest contribution going forward will be providing commentary about research and developments in the concussion realm.  I will be continuing to champion original research and testing products that come to the market for further opinion.

In reality I have gone no where, but I have published less.  So that is where this post and I have been.  Thanks for listening, now to the meat of this post.

82

Eighty-two is the number of concussions found in the NFL through 12 weeks of regular season football.  This number is significant.  Not significantly high, rather it continues the trend from last season of having overall lower numbers.  Depending on what color glasses you look through this can be a good thing or a strange thing.

Certainly we would all like to see lower numbers, it would mean some of the changes within the sport at the highest level have been working.  It would be tough to discern which exact method was doing this but less concussions would be a good thing.

However, if you were paying attention you would have noticed that it took 11 weeks (71) for the NFL to surpass the number of concussions found in the five weeks of the preseason (68).  It would be even more peculiar that through 10 weeks of regular season football there were five teams that had not reported a single concussion.

Following that tweet, I noticed something else;

So, two teams had reported a concussion following that first tweet.  And one week later, in week 12, Tampa Bay and New York Jets reported a concussion.  That only leaves Atlanta as the only team without a regular season concussion.

It’s because of these little nuggets of information and coincidence that one could possibly be jaded about the concussion reporting numbers.  There are other anecdotal tales of players being removed for concussion protocol and then returning to the field that also fuel this fire.  However, the later is not something that “bothers” me, in fact, it is a good thing, in my humble opinion.

The number “82” represents the lowest concussion total the past five years to this point in the season, by 20 or slightly over 25%.

Trends

Even with lower numbers there are trends that continue to hold, as seen in the past four years.  The most Continue reading →