Research

#pinkTBI Summit 2016: A recap

Dustin Fink4 Comments

pinktbiThe meeting at Georgetown University this past weekend was more than fruitful for this athletic trainer. I went in trying to get two things done: one, provide info to you the follower as best as possible and move along the discussion on female concussion and two, to learn something that is applicable to me as a “boot on the ground” athletic trainer.

The first was probably painfully obvious that I accomplished if you follow on Twitter and didn’t mute me and were not interested in this event (you should have been interested). The second objective I did meet by learning some techniques when working with females, not only at incident but with recovery, education and overall attitude.

Certainly I could write 4000 words on this event but that would be boring to you and I am still recovering from the weekend the the docs there asked that I “rest” my fingers. That being said I will give quick synopsis’s of each speaker, info that I took away as an athletic trainer and advocate for education about mTBI/concussion. It is entirely possible that I misrepresented some thoughts and missed some very valuable info for some out there; don’t worry speakers and audience this was done the best possible.

Lets begin, and this will be in chronological order of the event with presenters last name, in bullet form. My hope is that you will use this as furthering your info about the female sequale and in some cases change how you treat.

  • Kerr:
    • The concussion rate is higher in females in males in college and high school sports, particularly in basketball, soccer, and softball/baseball.
    • Research suggests differences in symptoms reported as well as RTP.
    • More research needed at the youth level.
  • Covassin:
    • Showed that neck strength is a confounding effect on possible injury.
    • MOI is different in the sexes: males contact with player while female is contact with ground/equipment.
  • Lincoln:
    • Exposed us to the lacrosse injury and problems that exist, which is important because this is an emerging sport.
    • No head gear in woman’s lacrosse.
  • Casswell:
    • Impact sensors and injury and how it may relate to injury.
    • Different types of injury for females vs. males (building on Covassin).
  • Colantonio:
    • Logitudial study showed about 24% of female pop has had mTBI.
    • Females seek and get less care overall.
    • Reproductive impact after a mTBI need to be understood.
  • Gioa:
    • Static and dynamic symptoms are different in female vs. males – needs research.
    • Academic performance shows no difference between sexes.  Continue reading →

International Summit on Female Concussions and TBI

Dustin Fink3 Comments

I am very excited to inform you and implore you to attend this first of its kind conference. Katherine Snedaker – a good friend and ally – along with her planning committee have done a wonderful job of creating a great place to discuss a subset of this head injury issue.

The International Summit on Female Concussions and TBI will be held a month from now at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. This summit is unique because this will only be about sex and gender-based research on females, from pediatrics to the elderly.

As much as we think we know about head injuries and concussions we don’t know squat, globally. Let alone in one gender over the other; females have been painfully overlooked/lack of attention because most of the noise and spotlight is on male dominated sports. Although, females choose to play many of the collision sports (rugby, hockey, lacrosse) there are other issues we know that impact females differently.

The summit is over two days and will eventually culminate in a consensus statement about female issues surrounding and within the concussion paradigm. This is also going to be a first of its kind, and appreciated at least from me.

The Topics (briefly summarized):

  • Menstrual Phase and its impact
  • Age and Sex and its impact on symptoms
  • Domestic Violence
  • Female Soldiers
  • Pediatrics
  • Female Sport Concussions
  • Concussion Recovery male vs. female
  • Female RIO Data
  • Clinical Spectroscopy of Female brain
  • Return to School
  • Social Interactions
  • Ice Skaters
  • Psychology of Concussoin
  • And more

Here are the presenters, moderators and planning committee members (as of this post):  Continue reading →

Thoughts on everything we are hearing and will see: An opinion

Dustin Fink9 Comments

Certainly we are nearing a “too much” point in terms of concussion for most of the country. For others this is just the continuation of what we have been doing for years. From a personal perspective I do like the attention that the discovery process is getting. I am all for people getting all the info possible to make informed decisions.

I want to take this particular space in this post to assert that I am not – nor have I ever – been against any sport including football. I am, transparently, supporting flag and non-tackle football until high school. Yes, no scientific evidence proves this helps/hurts, but in all my work and research I am of the opinion that less dosage of repetitive brain trauma is better for humans.

That is where we stand, the issue really is one of repetitive brain trauma (RBT), not of sports or accidents or leisure activities. As Dr. Omalu clearly stated in his interview with Matt Chaney in 2011 and again today with Mike & Mike (hour 4); the brain does not heal itself. Damaging it, even on the microscopic level can and will leave a lasting impact. This is not just assumption, it is noted in many different studies regarding brain health after activities (see Purdue).

I am confident that with proper healing time and avoidance of re-injury the brain will find a way to function at or even better (proper learning and congnitive functioning) as people get older. The management of not only the “gross” injury of concussion and TBI is one that is getting better and as we get more research the management of the subconcussive hits and exposure, that too will be satisfactory.

What we all must do is take off the “emotional pants” and wade through the muck to find out what is important for us to make decisions for those that are not capable or even legal. Part of this is discourse and discussion (civil would be best). Everyone will be challenged intellectually and morally with this – it’s OK.

I noticed an article written by Irv Muchnick yesterday Continue reading →

Call for Abstracts: National Summit on Female Concussion, TBI and Headache

Dustin Fink4 Comments

pink concIf there has ever been a tenacious and relentless person in the concussion space my observation is that it is this one person. Not a researcher, not a physician, not a policy maker…  A mom… Her name Katherine Snedaker.

She has been mentioned many times (Pink Concussions) here and has been a commentor on this blog as well, but what Katherine is pulling off this coming February is nothing short of monumental for the concussion space.

On Saturday February 27th she will be presenting the National Summit on Female Concussion, TBI and Headache, at the Georgetown School of Medicine.

Part of the program will include presentations of abstracts, which they are currently calling for. The Program Committee is accepting abstracts for presentation on “Sex/Gender-based Concussion Research” on concussion, TBI and headache from the areas such as:

  • Pediatrics to Geriatrics: Concussions and other TBIs across the female life cycle
  • Sports and Sports Medicine – Youth, High School, College, Olympics
  • Domestic Violence and Shaken Baby Syndrome
  • Military Service

As you probably can imagine these areas are so under-researched, mainly because head injuries are often associated with sport and male type activities. However, women are part of this issue to – a huge part. Females are also very different than males in many ways but we have recently have come to know that their response to head injury/concussion is not the same as males.

There will be more to follow on this summit – consider this post as a save the date – “ATs are one of our target groups we want,” Katherine said in an emial.

This post is directly aimed at the researchers in the community that want to share their info at this very important and unique event. Please spread the word about this to anyone you know that would be interested.

From the Call for Abstracts link at Pink Concussions:

Click the brain below to upload your abstract in a PDF form.

  • Abstracts submission portal closes 1/5/16 at 11.00pm EST Abstract acceptance letters will be sent 1/15/2016
  • Abstracts must include: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Background, Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion plus 2 tables or graphs may be included
  • Abstract character count, excluding spaces and the words “Background, Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion” is 350 words
  • Only reports of original research may be submitted
  • The data may have been published in a manuscript or e-publication

Address questions to either the Scientific Chair, Dr. Dave Milzman at milzmand@georgetown.edu or Executive DirectorKatherine Snedaker, LMSW at Katherine@PINKconcussions.com

You can also access the submission form HERE.

It is my pleasure to promote this event for someone that I call a friend and someone that has battled more than just stereotypes to bring awareness and education.

It Is Actually Happening, Impact Sensors At My School.

Dustin Fink1 Comment

Over the years I have researched many, tried a few and heard all about impact sensors, and for the time the blog has been going you have all known I have had a “standoffish” approach to them. That is not because I don’t think they may have a place but it is because of what they can actually do and how reliable they actually are.

I have made it well-known that the “most applicable” system I have seen is the HITs system that is exclusive to Riddell helmets. It is not the best because of factors that include: cost, helmet exclusivity, and it – like all other sensor systems – is not without scientific flaws.  However, what makes HITs near the top is the information that can be gained as well as the feedback/real-time information. There are other types of impact sensors you will see “certified this, certified that” but many of them attach to the helmet making the NOCSAE warranty invalid as well as some helmet manufacturer warranties. Most, if not all do not take center of mass into effect either, making some of the objective numbers askew. As you can see I have had issue trying to adapt to one or the other, enough so that I would be willing to try it out on our teams.

I and our school cannot afford the HITs system and we promote the use of any helmet that fits properly on each kid, because of that I have been looking for other sensors and complete systems that may actually be of help to me as an athletic trainer. I did remember that I have always been intrigued by a mouthguard sensor and when the Vector Mouthguard started making its debut in colleges I started doing more and more research about it. That led me to a conversation – a very honest and blunt one – with CEO Jesse Harper.

After that conversation I did even more dirt digging on what I could and asked many people about the system and what it purportedly could do and all the scientific and mechanical engineering stuff I could comprehend. I came away satisfied, satisfied enough to invest some time and resources to try to procure this system for use in the Fall. Basically, I am ready to dive into this sensor phenomena head-on (pun not intended), finally.

Key Support

Before getting this event set in motion, school administration needed to be apprised of the plan and they would ultimately have to say yes. That conversation occurred in May when I approached the Principal and Athletic Director about this.

It did not take long to explain the benefits of this, not only from a player safety issue but from a coaching aspect as well. They both liked the idea of us looking out for player safety and showing it by being innovative, if nothing else than in perception.

They only had one statement/question for me, “there are not any drawbacks to this, unless we are missing something?”

Hurdle cleared.

Fund Raising

With most any product, good ones, the biggest barrier for most is going to be cost; that was no different here. Starting in early May I started to ask around for donations and support for this system. Although I really only had to get enough for the Continue reading →

An Understudied Area of TBI

Dustin Fink1 Comment

Although this blog primarily focuses on mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) – concussion – and the ramifications on adolescents there are many segments of society that deal with brain injury. The most severe of this is traumatic brain injury (TBI); the difference at its basics is that there is actual physical findings of damage to the brain itself – a bleed, skull fracture, hematoma, etc. I am sure there may be a better way to put it but for the sake of being simple that is the difference.

The morbidity rate of TBI is extremely high and thusly we should be very cognizant of this.

A silent portion of the TBI problem comes from domestic abuse, silent because many of the suffers of the brain injury often don’t speak up. There are no actual numbers on this due to the many reasons one would not report incidents. Take car accident TBI’s for example, we have a very definitive number on them because most if not all are seen in emergency rooms but the silence in the domestic abuse realm makes us guess, at best.

This looks to change with a new study on this, below is the press release of a first-of-its-kind;

Sojourner Center Launches First-of-its-Kind Effort to Study Link Between Domestic Violence and Traumatic Brain Injury

Sojourner BRAIN Program to develop innovative screening, deliver treatment and share best practices

 

PHOENIX – Sojourner Center, one of the largest and longest running domestic violence shelters in the United States, announced plans to develop the first world-class program dedicated to the analysis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in women and children living with domestic violence, a largely unrecognized public health issue.

With its Phoenix-based Continue reading →

More Concussions in Practices or Games?

Dustin Fink3 Comments

There was a recent study released that has turned some heads in regards to where all the concussions come from in sports. In this JAMA Pediatrics study appearing at the beginning of the month the investigators have concluded that American football practices were “a major source of concussions” for all three levels of participation studied (youth, high school and collegiate).

Often when we see this type of information released there can be confusion due to the limitation of each individual study. The above data reflects a single sport, football, as compared to other data often cited that deals with all sports. Case in point this National Institute of Health study; which reports “athletes tend to have a higher risk of concussion in competition as compared to practice.”

The discussion topic of where concussion occurs more is not only often debated but it is an important set of data because we can control for one side of this equation, practice.

Reading the JAMA article one might be confused about the conclusions if you were to look only at the data and not have complete context of both the sport and participation. The rate of concussion was extremely higher in competition versus practice yet the majority of overall concussions came from practice. This can be explained by noting that there are far fewer games – thus exposure – and fewer participants in games – thus exposure. The sample set for the data (JAMA) was fairly robust: 118 youth football teams, 96 secondary school football programs and 24 collegiate programs. Ages of athletes exposed were 5 to 23, presenting a very good cross-section of the sport at all levels it is being played at. This information was collected in 2012 and 2013, and the researchers collected over 1,100 concussions over that time frame.

The NIH study breaks down the information for 13 different sports in high school and college only. Their findings Continue reading →

Fish Oil Revisited

Dustin FinkLeave a comment

This post originally appeared on the blog in 2011, not much has changed in this area, it is still not definitively known if this is good, bad or indifferent (probably the latter).  However, this is a supplement that is good for all athletes for a myriad of reasons. I have chosen to post this again because it is one of the most popular and commented on post in the blog history.

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After posting about the “7 Ways To Help With Concussion Management” I realized that I had not posted about the possible benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids/DHA supplements for concussion management.

In a July publication of The Journal of Neurosurgery, Dr. Julian Bailes (BIRI) and Dr. Barry Sears (leading authority on anti-inflammatory nutrition, creator of Zone-Diet) found that supplementing rats with O3/DHA after head injuries reduced the observed issues with a concussion; (SOURCE via weightlosingideas.com)

“Animals receiving the daily fish oil supplement for 30 days post concussion had a greater than 98 percent reduction in brain damage compared with the animals that did not receive the supplement,” Dr. Sears said. “It is hypothesized that the omega-3 fatty acids in the fish oil reduced the neural inflammation induced by the concussion injury.”

O3/DHA has been documented to help with the inflammatory response of the body, many people use this SAFE and AVAILABLE supplement when training to temper swelling.  It is also has shown great promise for the cardiovascular system, mainly heart health.  Further investigation is underway Continue reading →

The Fencing Response

Dustin Fink6 Comments

Originally posted January 7, 2011 this was one of the first places to examine and educate people about the Fencing Response, since that time this post has been viewed nearly 50,000 times. This is a great resource.

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The fencing response is an unnatural position of the arms following a concussion. Immediately after moderate forces have been applied to the brainstem, the forearms are held flexed or extended (typically into the air) for a period lasting up to several seconds after the impact. The Fencing Response is often observed during athletic competition involving contact, such as football, hockey, rugby, boxing and martial arts. It is used as an overt indicator of injury force magnitude and midbrain localization to aid in injury identification and classification for events including, but not limited to, on-field and/or bystander observations of sports-related head injuries.

Source: Hosseini, A. H., and J. Lifshitz. Brain Injury Forces of Moderate Magnitude Elicit the Fencing Response. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 41, No. 9, pp. 1687–1697, 2009.

Concussion by Sport (revisited five years later)

Dustin Fink1 Comment

This was another very early post of this blog back in 2010, September to be exact. As you can tell I was very green to the whole linking of articles and writing. However, this is an important article regarding concussion statistics by sport from five years ago. I would be interesting to do a follow-up to this with what we know now. Looking back at my observations have not changed much in the five years, I may move wrestling above cheerleading but that is about all.

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Concussions are not exclusive to American football, although it is the most covered sport as it relates to concussions.  This is a good time to note that in the United States the next most concussive sport, is soccer, the number one sport in the world.

A reasearch project by University of North Carolina reported concussion rates by 100,000 athlete-exposures Continue reading →

The Need for Sleep

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This post appeared in the infancy of this blog back in October of 2010, I have made some editorial changes since that time.

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It used to be that doctors would tell you to keep people awake with head injuries.  That has changed, quite a bit.  Keeping someone awake might be indicated for a possible brain bleed, but concussions need the sleep and recovery time.

Sleeping is first. If you’re not sleeping, forget it,” said Cara Camiolo Reddy, the co-director of the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute brain program and the medical adviser to the Sports Medicine concussion program. Sleep is vital in the recovery process because the injured brain needs rest to begin to heal itself. The concussion program and Camiolo prescribe medications, however, only to post-concussion syndrome sufferers who are three weeks or longer into their injury.

This quote was from and article by Chuck Finder of Scrips Howard News Services and appeared on NewsChief.com today.

In the article you will find that this prescription is not widely accepted by the community that deals with concussion management.  However in my experience it is vital to let the brain rest.  When I am debriefing with the athlete and their parents, the most often question I get is “can you sleep too much?”.  My answer is no. Parents often time are apprehensive if they subscribe to the old method of waking every hour, but I try to educate using the snow globe example. If the must wake their child I encourage it at infrequent and few times as possible.

With my experiences at the schools I’ve been an AT at, the kids and parents that abided by the recommendations of sleep and complete brain rest have recovered at a much quicker rate.  The kids and parents that did not listen often times have delayed recovery.

I know that is not a research study in its most proper form, but the observational evidence tells us, and those in the above article that sleep is indeed needed.

Mouth Guards (5/5/14) — How is this study not retracted?

Dustin Fink5 Comments

It has been nearly a year since I wrote this up, but it has been making the rounds again.  I honestly want to know why this “peer-reviewed” article has not been retracted.  This is one of the most blatant oversights I have witnessed in publications, and that is not hyperbole.  Read the following for yourself:

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Is it a bombshell or is it just a plain dud?  I say bombshell, but not in a good way for anyone involved with this “research”.

Last week I was inundated with emails regarding this “new” research about mouth guards and concussions.  There were roughly 16 emails in a one hour time span; some wanting comment, some telling me I have been wrong all along, some promoting the research.  This was a “huge” development in my area and my little corner in the blogosphere.  To fully understand perhaps some history is needed (“mouth gear” search on this blog) when it comes to my feelings on mouth gear and concussions.  Here are some selected comments attributed to me;

The basic fundamentals we should be cognizant of here are: concussion is a BRAIN injury, the BRAIN floats inside skull, Physics dictates that the BRAIN will move depending on the forces applied to the skull/head (not always from a blow to that area), mouth gear cannot stop the BRAIN from moving, mouth gear cannot attenuate any forces to the skull/head that are not in the oral region, mouth gear does nothing for the skull/head when forces are placed on it in rotational, angular, acceleration or deceleration fashion.

Now that we have that all out-of-the-way this is the General Dentistry article I was asked to comment on.  On face value and from a “peer-reviewed” angle itseems all good.  A significant finding between custom mouth gear (noted as LM MG in article) and over the counter “boil and bite” mouth gear (noted as OTC MG).  However once you take a deeper look there are some peculiar problems, in my humble opinion – that comes later.

First, we should look at the possible limitations of this study that seems well populated and well thought out (honestly these were my first concerns before finding the real issue):

  • Were the injuries controlled for by football position? (we have documented this issue here)
  • Were the injuries controlled for by size of players/school they were playing?
  • Were the injuries controlled for by playing time? (more exposure more risk)
  • Were the injuries controlled for by game vs. practice?
  • Were all the injuries seen and recorded by a single MD or was it the ATC at each school?
  • Did any of the players have a previous history of concussion?
  • Was the study controlled based on practice habits of the teams? (do some hit more than others)
  • How do we know that every player complied with the “no wedging or chewing” rule? (this plays a massive role later)
  • The study says that all 412 subjects wore the same exact helmet, I find that: A) hard to believe and B) was the fit on every player the relatively the same?
  • Who funded this research? (no disclosure)

As you can see there is a litany of reasons I would have dismissed this research, if I were peer reviewing because those limitations are extremely real and realistic Continue reading →

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 →

NFHS Develops Concussion Guidelines for Football

Dustin Fink7 Comments

In what has been a long time coming the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has released the long-awaited guidelines from their concussion summit in July.  The NFHS is basically the governing body that most, if not all, states look to when implementing rule changes in sports, policies for participation and for sports medicine advice/guidelines.  Many states do not act, even with good information, with out the NFHS “seal of approval”.

This has been evidenced in the past when it comes to concussion “mitigation”, in terms of undue risk – contact limitations.  There have been many states that have not waited for the NFHS (California, Arizona, Wisconsin come to mind) while there are others that sat on their hands regarding this topic.  Regardless of where your state is/was it now has some guidelines to follow when it comes to the controversial topic of impact exposure.

Before I post the full press release from the NFHS, I would like to highlight the recommendations from the 2014 NFHS Recommendations and Guidelines for Minimizing Head Impact;

  • “Live” and “Thud” are considered full-contact
    • I really like that there is a clear definition
  • Full-contact should be allowed in no more than 2-3 practices a week; 30 min a day and between 60-90 minutes a week.  Only glossed over was the fact that theNFHS strongly suggests that there should not be consecutive days of full-contact.
    • A great place to start, although there are a vast majority of programs, around here, that do not do more than 2-3 times a week.
    • The time limits are great.
    • Unaddressed is the specific back-to-back days of games to practice.  For example a Monday game and Tuesday full-contact practice.  Sure common sense should prevail, but there will be plenty of loophole finding on this issue.
  • Recognition of preseason practices needing more contact time to develop skills.
    • Obviously a sign that these guidelines are taking everything into consideration.
  • During 2-a-days only one session should be contact.
    • THANK YOU!
  • Review of total quarters played for each player
    • This has been one of my biggest points of contention with any concussion policy.  The risk for injury during a game is much higher and kids that play multiple levels have an exponentially higher risk.
    • Although nothing more was stated than above, this should get people talking and moving.  The issue, of course, will be monitoring this.  Regardless, the fact that this important point is included is a massive thumbs up!
  • Considerations for contact limits outside of traditional fall football season
    • Acknowledging the ever-growing practice of off-season practices.
  • Implementing a coach education program
    • Ideal for understanding all of this and the issues we face.
  • Education of current state laws and school policies (if schools don’t have one they should)
    • Putting pressure on the institutions to take some onus.
  • Emergency Action Plans (EAP) and Athletic Trainers should be utilized
    • AT’s should be at both games and practices.
    • EAP’s should be in place and the best person for taking care of an EAP is an AT.
    • The first “governing” body that has firmly suggested the use of athletic trainers for football at all levels in practice and games.  This is truly noteworthy, and appreciated.

Auspiciously omitted from this document was USA Football’s “Heads Up” tackling program.  They referenced the USA Football definitions of level of contact and coaching courses; but never mention the embattled “Heads Up” program.  I must say, my confidence in the NFHS has skyrocketed after reading this, and a lot has to do with the people on the task force.  I am looking squarely at: Mark Lahr, Tory Lindley, Steve McInerney and John Parsons.  Those gentleman are of the highest quality and character when it comes to athlete safety.

Here is the full press release…  Continue reading →

Terry Ott: Concussion Coverage from Canadian Media is Woefully Lacking

Dustin Fink1 Comment

The original purpose of The Concussion Blog was – and still is – to inform those that choose to look about concussions.  Part of this goal has been looking deeper into issues and “lip service” given to the brain injury we know as concussions.  In 2010, when the blog began, this was a novel idea and much of what was written here was “breaking news”.  Along with that, opinions that I shared on the issue were meant to be coming from someone with vast and dynamic experience in concussions.  The initial thought was this was to be a “clearinghouse” for concussion information – and it succeeded.  As years have passed and the media here in the United States has slowly caught on and passed along, mostly, the correct messages TCB has been slower.  However, that does not preclude us from posting information/opinion that we feel needs noticed.  Examples of this have been our white paper on NFL Concussions, the mouth gear controversy and general editorials on published research.

In the past year TCB has been lucky enough to have a journalist spend his own time investigating a part of the global concussion story, in Canada.  Terry Ott, as you may have noticed many of his articles here on the blog.  To be clear, this was all his work and I have become his one and only outlet for his sleuthing and writing.  As he can attest to I don’t always agree with his tact or his tone, but his information is important, especially because in Canada there seems to be a void in the information that would be important to most.  We here at TCB are glad to file his reports as long as he and others understand this is a conduit for discussion and discovery.  I have zero intention of “killing a sport” or “getting someone in trouble”, rather shedding light on some of the problems and issues we face when dealing with concussions.

All of that being said I present to you Ott’s latest (hopefully last here because someone in Canada needs to pick him up) on the concussion issue as it relates to the Great White North.

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WHEN IT COMES TO FOOTBALL CONCUSSIONS, CANADIAN MEDIA BADLY OFFSIDE

Recent New York Times Article Throws Flag

Hamilton, Ontario

October 22, 2014

For the past year readers of The Concussion Blog have learned about the nascent football concussion awareness movement going on in the Great White North, mostly pertaining to how the Canadian Football League, and the mainstream media, have handled-for lack of a better word-the issue.

Years behind the National Football League on the matter, the CFL nonetheless saw the first concussion-related lawsuit come its way last July, accompanied by media attention, much of which was a critical and sometimes downright hostile questioning and smack-down of former 2013  CFL’er Bruce’s groundbreaking statement of claim against the nine member teams of the CFL, neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Tator, Tator associate Leo Ezerins, and several other parties.

The lawsuit, among other things, alleges that the CFL member teams, and specifically some of Dr. Tator’s published research on TBI and CTE-partly funded by the CFL-mislead Mr. Bruce into believing he was not vulnerable to serious and long-term consequences from concussions he received while playing for the BC Lions. None of the allegations have been proven in court and Tator has filed a defense-covered here previously-that asks for the suit against him to be dismissed, with costs.

Yet other than one small article on former 80s era CFL player Phil Colwell, whose brief story and concussion-related problems appeared in his hometown KW Record paper in Ontario, last spring, your correspondent has been unable to place a single word in any other publication in Canada.

If it were not for Andrew Bucholtz of the Yahoo! Canada CFL 55 yard Line Blog sometimes linking to my stories here, few outside of the Concussion Blog’s sphere ever would have known about what did, and what continues to go on in Canada regarding football concussions and especially, their aftermath. Besides a small mention in the Vancouver Sun by journalist Mike Beamish when the Bruce story hit, no one in Canada besides Bucholtz saw the story as important enough to follow-up, and he has done fine work on his own regarding the concussion problem. As of now, I don’t believe Andrew is on many CFL General Manager or team PR weasel Christmas card lists.  (TSN, the CFL’s television carrier did do a piece on their website about the lawsuit in September that mentioned The Concussion Blog, but it was subsequently removed from their archive shortly after my last story for this site last month, and for reasons so far presumed, but actually unknown at this time to this writer. And I have not seen another story in the Canadian media on the lawsuit since.)

And a week ago, after reading in the Winnipeg Free Press a flattering tome on Dr. Tator from last July that appeared just before he was named as a defendant in the Bruce lawsuit, your correspondent reached out to the paper inquiring whether they would entertain a slightly different take on Tator’s research and related concussion issues via an Op-Ed.

However, after being ping-ponged back and forth between editors at the paper, I was told by an Op-Ed editor that the concussion issue was not “topical,” despite the Jevon Belcher CTE story breaking that week and despite the fact that Winnipeg is home to a CFL franchise. But rather, I was informed,  “Ebola” was of more import to their readers than what is essentially a real world and serious public health concern right now that surely can not be adequately explained by just one or two opinions, opinions which are even controversial within the medical and research community.

Likewise a kiss-off from my hometown CBC News website, whose editor, after some initial back and forth, just stopped responding to my e-mails and never published a piece I wrote on concussions in July even though it partly concerned the former Hamilton Tiger Cat, Phil Colwell.

TVO, the Canadian version of PBS, runs a show called The Agenda-and hell, the guy that hosts it has Hamilton roots!-that never met a contentious or important issue it did not glom on to and yet after receiving one return e-mail from a producer back in July commenting on my “unique” insights, I never heard another word.

Even the nice gal who runs TVO’s documentary film division, after initially offering to ask around if any of the filmmakers she had association with would be interested in the concussion story, none of my further e-mails were answered.

And, after being shut-out by nearly every institution purporting to be doing valid research into football concussions in Canada, I endured a recent 6 week runaround afforded me by the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. which is supposed to be “partnering” with the Canadian version of the Sports Legacy Institute, but certainly did not do much for their reputation for cooperation with journalists trying to ask valid questions.
So after over a month of BS and excuses, I got nadda from them. I actually felt bad for the PR lady who drew the short stick to deal with me, and then she just stopped responding altogether.
To say that some of my dealings with the Canadian media and medical academia would be a joke, would only serve to denigrate comedy.

So obviously, the question is, why?

A veteran of the sports medicine community in Canada speaking on condition of anonymity said that many in the medical community were “afraid” of upsetting Dr. Tator, who carries much weight in medical academia and research grants around these parts.

The source said that many in the closed community are “buzzing” about Tator  being named in the Bruce lawsuit but do not want to be featured in any story seeming to critique the doctor the TSN story described as “renown.”

However, the New York Times apparently does not have a problem featuring a different Canadian medical professional who, unlike Dr. Tator, does not believe CTE  from football concussions is still open for (serious) debate.  Continue reading →

The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics Issue Worth Bookmarking

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Twitter is such a wonderful thing!  You can get so much information is such a short time; sure there is a ton of unsolicited information that one may have to weed through, but the benefits outweigh the bad – at least for us here at The Concussion Blog.

Such an instance was getting a tweet at me about a journal and a particular issue.  The Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, Volume 42:3 to be exact.  In this volume all of the pages are filled with concussion related issues, after all it was titled: Concussion and Sports.

I cannot speak to the “prestige” or “reach” of this particular journal, however I can post the link here (above) for you to bookmark for some reading on where the tone of med-legal is going in relations to concussion and sport.

Topics include:

  • Youth Concussion Laws
  • Requiring receipt of concussion related materials (a study)
  • Coach Support
  • Informed Consent

At the link you can download, free, the journal and its articles.  It might be worth some time to investigate and look into what we may be facing.

Concussion Trends 2010-2012; TCB Original Research

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The National Football League is nine days away from the kickoff of its regular season.  If social media, fantasy sports, and hype are any indication 2014 is set up to one of the most watched seasons in history.  There are plenty of story lines abound: from each division, to playing time of newly drafted players, to veterans returning from injury, and of course concussions.

The league is doing its best to keep concussions from overriding the game itself, as they should be.  Concussion is but just one of a myriad of injuries sustained in the sport; plus it is not unique to just American Football.  However this issue continues to gain/keep traction because of the relatively late and “slow-footed” response to this topic.  Even though the settlement with the players has been all but signed-sealed-delivered (there are some interesting issues posed by Patrick Hruby that are worth noting), the youth arm of the league is promoting and teaching a “safer” way of tackling, and the talking points about this injury are becoming more evident from players and the league; there still is a shroud of secrecy.  In all the hand-wringing and court battles and public relations scuffles the leader of this glorious sport has yet to “rip the band-aid off” and assess the situation.

How can you assess the situation?  I think it is rather simple: gather data to find out the “true” value of actual concussions sustained in the NFL over a season.  Then and only then can you see if any changes brought forth are actually helping the cause.

Sure the league has its own data and is probably doing just that, but it is so far behind a curtain, tucked in a corner where light has no chance of hitting it.  I have always thought we should be transparent on this issue; or at least have a truly (Pollyannaish) independent data collection group for it.  At the very least an Ombudsman should be hawking this situation, for this is not going to go away over night.  It won’t go away until we can definitively say ‘X’ is the way to play this game with ‘Y’ & ‘Z’ at the professional level; then each subsequent level below the pro ranks need to modify based upon age and development.

The NFL probably doesn’t want this responsibility for it comes with some liability, not only on the medical front but in the public relations department…  SO WHAT!  When I chose to have a child I didn’t have the choice to be a role model and change the way I played life in order to make sure my children grew up safe and learned a better way to live.  The NFL is basically the “father figure” for the other levels of this great sport.  I have heard a great saying, it was applied to business in general: “the tree rots from the top”.  This is exactly the case in a family, in a business and in sport.

When the blog began in 2010 there was no way to find out how many concussions were occurring in the NFL without Continue reading →

#C4CT Concussion Awareness Summit Reconvenes Next Week

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Brewer Sports International and Amarantus Bio Science is continuing their efforts to collaborate and discuss the issue of traumatic brain injury, in particular concussion.  In this version the focus will be on Alzheimer’s;

The #C4CT Concussion Awareness Summit is being convened on July 31, 2014 to explore the potential link between TBI and Alzheimer’s disease.  A diverse working group of clinicians, medical researchers, policy makers, international diplomats, athletes, celebrities, and philanthropic organizations will be assembled to raise awareness, advance clinical research, and develop public policy in order to address this major unmet medical need and public health issue.

The #C4CT Summits have a stated goal to collaborate information and ideas to try and further both understanding and proper response to this issue at hand.  I described it as – using a Japanese proverb – “none of us is as smart as all of us.”  Which is definitely the case for just about anything in life.  However, with so many egos and generally smart people there seems to be a ton of hand-wringing and chest thumping without a lot of resolution.  Jack Brewer and Gerald Commissiong are trying to find a way to get everyone on the same page.  Evidence of this was asking me to be a panelist during the last UN visit in January.  You can see the recap below;

There is still time for you to attend this wonderful event, littered with some great minds and speakers.  If you cannot attend you should follow their twitter feed next Thursday (unfortunately I will be away on vacation so I will not be live blogging the event this time around).

DYK Helmets Do Not Stop Concussions: An article that must get traction

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I can tell you there is more coming on this issue – from here and other platforms – but this Regressing (part of Deadspin) article really needs to be highlighted here for those seeking accurate concussion information.  I would be remiss if I didn’t – virtually – give Kyle Wagner a “good game” for writing a beauty!

‘Hockey’s About To Get The Bullshit “Anti-Concussion Helmet” Treatment’ appeared 7/23/14, here are some great excerpts.

Lets begin with the opening salvo;

Virginia Tech thinks hockey helmets are bullshit, which is more or less true. In turn, it wants to look at the differences between hockey’s helmets and football’s recently evolved versions, and bring the concussion-stopping advances to hockey. This is pretty much bullshit.

Then the all-important – simplistic – overview of the concussion process (emphasis mine);

The brain floats suspended by fluids in the skull, and when it suffers concussion, it both smacks into the inside of your skull and incurs rotational force, irreparably damaging the brain stem.

Why we wear helmets;

Helmets, meanwhile, are there to protect your skull from fracturing in the impact of a collision. They provide this protection, and the best helmets have interior mechanisms that can offer some small aid in decelerating a collision.

A wonderful note in the article, that may be glossed over by most readers, but it very peculiar to many of ‘us’ in the know and actually understand/grasp both the concussion injury and the statistics that are thrown out about them;

If the above numbers seem low to you—a combined 64 concussions for eight college football teams over six seasons, or just about 1.3 per team per season—then you’ve likely read enough to have seen players talking about getting their “bell rung” often enough that those Virginia Tech numbers wouldn’t just represent a decrease in risk by half, but exponentially. If the available data say anything, it’s that they are hugely incomplete.

Further on the above excerpt, 1.3 concussions for AN ENTIRE TEAM for AN ENTIRE SEASON is just asinine, Continue reading →

Exclusive: First Law Suit Filed in Canada Over Concussions

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Terry Ott has filed this BREAKING NEWS in regards to Canadian Football and the Concussion Issue.  We here at The Concussion Blog are pleased to bring this information to you…  You can find the FILED CLAIM HERE.

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FORMER CANADIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYER SUES LEAGUE MEMBER TEAMS FOR CONCUSSION RELATED INJURY

Lawsuit on Behalf of Star Arland Bruce III Alleges “Fraudulent Concealment” and “Negligent Misrepresentation” By 9 CFL Teams, League Commissioner, CFL Alumni Association and Others

“Contrary to (popular) opinion, the sports press likes to fling incense, be part of the show, create stars, and to that end prints and televises a fraction of what it knows.” –Mark Kram, formerly of Sports Illustrated 

July 16, 2014
Hamilton, Ontario

The first lawsuit brought against the CFL member teams and others for concussion injury has been filed in Vancouver, British Columbia in the Supreme Court on behalf of Arland Bruce  III, a veteran of 12 seasons as a speedy wide receiver who last played for the Montreal Alouettes in 2013 and also starred on two different Grey Cup winning teams as well as spending the 2003 season with the San Fransisco 49rs.

Bruce, noted in the claim as an “unemployed football player,” is the holder of the record for most receptions in a CFL game (16) and is a three-time CFL All Star.

The claim, so far for unspecified monetary damages, asks for general damages, special damages, general and special damages “in trust” for the care and services provided by his family, and punitive and aggravated damages.

In the claim filed by the Vancouver law firm of  Slater Vecchio LLP and lawyer Robyn L. Wishart, it is alleged that Bruce suffered a concussion and was knocked unconscious in a game played in Regina, Saskatchewan on September 29, 2012 between the BC Lions — Bruce’s team at the time — and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Bruce subsequently returned to play for the Lions in a playoff game on November 18, 2012 and it is alleged that he was still suffering from his previous concussion and it is also alleged he suffered additional concussive and sub-concussive hits during the  Nov. 18 game.

From a copy of the claim, not proven in a court of law, it alleges in part:

  1.  The plaintiff reported concussion signs and symptoms to the BC Lions medical personnel and coaching staff including but not limited to the following:
    1. fogginess;
    2. headaches;
    3. sensitivity to light;
    4. sensitivity to sound;
    5. memory loss;
    6. confusion;
    7. dizziness;
    8. anxiety; and
    9. personality changes.

After the 2012 season, Bruce left the BC Lions and was signed for the 2013 season by the Montreal Alouettes.

Also from the claim: “Further, despite the fact that the plaintiff was displaying the ongoing effects of concussion to medical professionals  and coaching staff, he was permitted to return to play in the 2013 season for Montreal.”

In a 2011 Yahoo! Canada  Sports 55 Yard Line  article by Andrew Bucholtz,  and so noted in the claim, commissioner Mark Cohon said “I am convinced that every concussion is being reported and dealt with. I trust our  doctors. I trust our therapists. I trust our teams to report that.”

And in the 2011 Canadian Football League  concussion “Campaign” directive to the CFL clubs from Cohon advised to “err on the side of extreme caution” when dealing with suspected concussion injury.

Those familiar with my series “3rd Down, CTE To Go,” for the Concussion Blog in 2013 will recall former CFL player Leo Ezerins, now communications director for the Canadian Football League Alumni Association, and Dr. Charles Tator, of the University of Toronto, Krembil Neuroscience Centre, and the Canadian Sports Concussion Project. 

Both Tator and Ezerins believed there were “more questions than answers” between concussion and brain trauma and that “extreme caution” be used in any subsequent diagnosis of CTE.

Accordingly, Ezerins and Tator are named as defendants in the lawsuit and perhaps the most revelatory allegations — again not proven in a court of law — made in the claim are that Bruce continued to play CFL football after suffering concussion  and sub-concussive injuries because:  Continue reading →

General Dentistry Publishes a Bombshell About Mouth Guards (ADDENDUM)

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Is it a bombshell or is it just a plain dud?  I say bombshell, but not in a good way for anyone involved with this “research”.

Last week I was inundated with emails regarding this “new” research about mouth guards and concussions.  There were roughly 16 emails in a one hour time span; some wanting comment, some telling me I have been wrong all along, some promoting the research.  This was a “huge” development in my area and my little corner in the blogosphere.  To fully understand perhaps some history is needed (“mouth gear” search on this blog) when it comes to my feelings on mouth gear and concussions.  Here are some selected comments attributed to me;

The basic fundamentals we should be cognizant of here are: concussion is a BRAIN injury, the BRAIN floats inside skull, Physics dictates that the BRAIN will move depending on the forces applied to the skull/head (not always from a blow to that area), mouth gear cannot stop the BRAIN from moving, mouth gear cannot attenuate any forces to the skull/head that are not in the oral region, mouth gear does nothing for the skull/head when forces are placed on it in rotational, angular, acceleration or deceleration fashion.

Now that we have that all out-of-the-way this is the General Dentistry article I was asked to comment on.  On face value and from a “peer-reviewed” angle it Continue reading →

Where is Tech Going With Concussions

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Technology is ever-expanding in all areas of our life; in my short time we have gone from land line phones and massive desktop computers that could play “Lemonade Stand” to handheld personal computers that is also a phone.  The point being that technology is amazing.  In the previous post we discussed how MRI now can actually see damage to the white matter in the brain after concussion.  Until that information was presented the changes in the brain were only theorized about.

Yes, it is true that we are trying to find an objective measure, but people need to understand that this objective measure is not necessarily needed to find the concussion.  An athletic trainer with their years of education and experience are pretty dang good at finding concussions; with or without the help of “tools.”  The need for objective measures is for the TRUE PROBLEM of the “concussion crisis”; the mismanagement of the injury – mainly returning too early.

Conrad Wilson wrote up a good article on technology that is emerging, focusing on balance Continue reading →

Research That Should Stop You In Your Tracks

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OK, that title may be hyperbole, but the new research out of Canada should make you take a step back and realize what our fine researchers are now able to discover.  Considering the context of hockey it shouldn’t be shocking that this was found in Canada (since posting we have been informed that work was done on both sides of the border), but really for a long while now some of the best work on concussions is coming from the North, for whatever reason (no disrespect to the US scientists).

Now that I effectively pissed off a few readers with the last comment, here is what was found by Dr. Paul Echlin and team:

  • concussions alter the white matter of the brain
  • structural damage can now be seen
  • MRI was used
  • this is both males and females
  • brain vascular changes were noted in males only, but resolved at two months
  • comparison with control counterparts showed that concussed individuals had white mater changes at end of season (upon being fully resolved from injury)

From the CTV News article (video at jump);  Continue reading →

Hit Count® Has Come To Fruition

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Prevention of concussion is a bit of an oxymoron; nothing we know about concussions can stop them from occurring while in action.  HOWEVER, there is one way to prevent concussions – limiting exposure to the collisions that create a concussion.  Moreover, research suggests – as well as observations – that being exposed to subconcussive hits can have detrimental effects on brain function.  The subconcussive hits may even predispose someone to getting a concussion later on; this is obvious if you look at the data we have collected on NFL concussion over the past four years, (305 concussions in weeks 1-9 vs. 377 concussions in weeks 10-17) greater than a 20% increase as the season wears on.

Sports Legacy Institute has announced a certification program to further the Hit Count® initiative during a press release during Super Bowl week in New York City, today (along with the SLI Hit Count White Paper – see link below press release);

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Sports Legacy Institute Launches Hit Count® Certification Program in Collaboration with Leading Concussion Experts and Head Sensor Device Companies to Make Contact Sports Safer

Using Hit Count® Certified Products to Monitor and Minimize Brain Trauma Could Eliminate 500 Million Head Impacts in Football a Year, with the Goal of Reducing Risk of Concussion and Long-Term Brain Damage

New York City – January 27, 2014 – The non-profit Sports Legacy Institute (SLI) announced a major advance in the effort to prevent concussions and brain damage in contact sports today with the launch of the Hit Count® certification program after two years of development, which was unveiled at a press conference at the 2014 Super Bowl Media Center in New York City.

Hit Count® builds on the progress that head sensor device companies have made in developing devices that can measure acceleration of the head. Current products used on the field are focused on  alerting coaches, medical professionals, and parents when a potential concussive impact occurs.

Inspired by Pitch Counts baseball, which set limits to the number of times a player throws from the  mound to prevent arm injury, Hit Count® Certified Devices will have a second function that measures and “Counts” impacts that exceed the Hit Count® Threshold, set by a committee of  leading scientists, with the goal of minimizing brain injury.

“Research using sensor devices has revealed that each year in the United States, there are over 1.5 billion impacts to the heads of youth and high school football players,” said Chris Nowinski, Founding Executive Director of SLI who launched the Hit Count® initiative in 2012 with SLI Medical Director Dr. Robert Cantu. “Most hits are unnecessary and occur in practice. By utilizing  Hit Count® certified products as a teaching tool for coaches and a behavior modification tool for athletes, we can eliminate over 500 million head impacts next season.”

Committee member Gerry Gioia, PhD, of Children’s National Medical Center and Continue reading →

#C4CT Concussion Summit 2014

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In a little over three weeks, Brewer Sports International (BSI) along with #C4CT (Coalition for Concussion Treatment) founding partner Amarantus BioScience will be hosting their 2nd Concussion Summit in New York, at the United Nations.  There have been many press releases on this event, and I have mentioned it a time or two on Twitter (and will continue).

Sure, there are many “summits” around concussions and head trauma – which is great as it keeps the dialog going – but few are populated by people with ideas on going forward.  Often, we find ourselves sitting, listening to bright people talk about what was done and can’t be done; rarely do we find the same bright people addressing the issues going forward.  Whether that be with tactical changes or with management or even the possibility of intervention with traumatic brain injury.

This edition of the #C4CT Summit on January 29, 2014 will hear from some people in many fields – you can see the current line-up HERE – focusing on the burgeoning topics of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), general neuroscience, pharmacology among other topics.

Interestingly enough, yours truly, was invited to sit on a panel and discuss how all of this information has been translated to the high school level – as an athletic trainer.  I was not only surprised by the invitation but feel it is VERY OPPORTUNISTIC for a “boot on the ground” athletic trainer to provide input.  I feel that not only have athletic trainers seemed to be seen and not heard, the vast majority of us practice in the high school setting, where the adolescents are playing sports.  I can assure you I will do my very best to be a quality representative of not only athletic training (it appears I am on the only AT in a speaking role) but those of us working with the most kids/athletes.

Anyhow the cast of speakers/presenters is indeed “star-studded” and even has some opposing view points on where we should be headed; which should make for some quality discussion.  If I can get my technology working and to NYC I will attempt to live blog/tweet the event for those that cannot make it.

Speaking of that, I know that time is short but I encourage anyone who is going to be in NYC during Super Bowl Week try to attend this event.  If there are scribes out there I am sure the wonderful support staff at BSI can arrange for you to cover and meet the star of the show – me, of course – hahahahaha, I kid.  Seriously, you can register HERE and if you have questions feel free to contact them.

I hope to see you all there!