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High School Football's
Hidden Danger
The story of Kort Breckenridge.
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Keeping Quiet Can Keep You
Out of the Game
The story of a varsity basketball player: Tracy's story.
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Concussion Researchers
Study Impact on Teens
The News Hour with Jim Lehrer
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Concussions and Athletes
Outside the Lines: Teen Concussions
ESPN Sports
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Second Impact Syndrome
The dangers of not recognizing the first head injury.
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A Blow To The Brain
60 Minutes Interviews coaches, players of the past, and players that never could.
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NFL Acknowledges Head Injuries
The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing about the impact of Pro Football conucssions.
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Think Brain Injury.com's
Public Service Announcement for
Youth Athletes.
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| Concussions Extra Dangerous to Teen Brains |
While the outcome was not typical of most concussions suffered by high school athletes, this CNN report looks at the devastating impact a concussion had upon one teenage football player, Max Conradt. It provides a cautionary tale and waves the flag, calling for clearer rules for identifying and treating adolescent concussions.
By Stephanie Smith, CNN, February 4, 2010 4:38 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- Max Conradt was used to defensive linemen hurtling their 300-pound frames at him week after week. He was a high school quarterback, the team leader who took his licks and got back up.
That is, until the wrenching hit that changed everything.
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"It was a vicious hit," said Ralph Conradt, Max's father. "A really bad hit."
Afterward, the 17-year-old got up slowly, staggered for a few seconds, and continued to play. When the game ended, he limped toward the sideline.
"He looked at me and said 'My chin hurts,' " said Joy Conradt, Max's stepmother. "I started to respond and he collapsed. I was absolutely nauseatedly sick with fear."
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It was a concussion -- in fact, a handful of concussions over the course of two weeks -- that his doctors believe caused Conradt to sink to the ground, blood pooling dangerously in his brain.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 4 million sports and recreation-related concussions occur each year. Experts say the vast majority are suffered at the high school level, but few schools have rules governing how concussion is treated -- and few coaches are trained to identify it.
"It's the group we need to worry about most," said Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, chairman of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section, adding that fewer than half of high schools have access to athletic trainers.
"If there is any suggestion of a concussion, we need to take kids out of the game," said Dr. Stan Herring, team physician for the Seattle Seahawks. "The consequences [of not doing so] can be devastating or even fatal."
For more of this story and the video, click here |
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All clear? Head injuries get attention from states |
"Schools have claimed their athletes are suffering more concussions than last year, but the reality is that they aren't. You didn't know about them last year,"
By Noah Trister, AP Sports Writer - Thu Jan 28, 2:41 AM PST
At least a half-dozen states are considering measures that would toughen restrictions on young athletes returning to play after head injuries, inspired by individual cases and the attention the issue has received in the NFL.
Washington state led the way last year, passing what is considered the nation's strongest return-to-play statute. Athletes under 18 who show concussion symptoms can't take the field again without a licensed health care provider's written approval. Several other states, including California and Pennsylvania, have similar bills pending.
Elsewhere, the Maine legislature passed a law last year that creates a working group on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of concussions in young athletes. In New Jersey, there's no state law to regulate how head injuries should be handled for athletes, but the legislature has allowed a commission to look into brain injury research.
"There's no doubt that the majority of the people believed it was time and that it was extremely important to do something like this," said Mike Colbrese, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. "The mantra for the movement has been, 'When in doubt, sit them out.'"
For more of this story, click here. |
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| Legal Rights of Injured Student Athletes |
"A recent study released in the Journal of Athletic Training found that high school players are at greater risk than college players of suffering concussions and other brain injuries while playing football. The study showed that high school players experience greater acceleration forces to the head when they collide with other players and that these forces are inequitably distributed to the top of the players' helmets."
In Pennsylvania, students who are injured while playing sports may be able to seek recovery for their injuries.
February 17, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Legal Rights of Injured Student Athletes
Article provided by Silvers, Langsam & Weitzman, P.C
High School Football Injuries Can Be Life-Ending
Recently, a lot of media attention has focused on high school students who have been injured while playing football and other contact sports. Football players are particularly susceptible to suffering mild to severe brain injuries, as a result of the repeated hits they take during practice and games.
Across the country, several young athletes have died from these injuries. A 17-year-old football player from Spokane Valley, Washington died after he was hit in the head during a game this past September. In 2008, a New Jersey teen died from a brain hemorrhage he developed after receiving two concussions in the same month while playing football. His parents are currently suing the school and their son's physician.
High school football players also are at risk of suffering serious and permanent injury. In San Jose, California, a 16-year-old player received a hairline skull fracture during a football game that put him into intensive care.
It is estimated that one out of every 10 high school football players suffers a concussion each year. But currently, no one knows the long-term effects of repeated concussions and head injuries in high school football players.
Repeated hits to the head, regardless of whether a person actually receives a concussion or falls unconscious, can result in permanent brain damage that manifests later in life. Studies conducted on former NFL players have shown that they have higher rates of developing neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Spouses of former pro-football players have reported personality changes, depression, irritability and aggression - all symptoms of brain injury.
Legal Remedies for Sports Injuries
In Pennsylvania, students who are injured while playing sports may be able to seek recovery for their injuries. Historically, this was not the case. State courts largely followed a legal doctrine known as assumption of the risk. Under this theory, a person who voluntarily assumes the risk of participating in a dangerous activity is not allowed to hold someone else accountable if he or she is injured. Participation in sports was a classic example of one of the types of voluntary dangerous activities that would be barred recovery.
Today assumption of the risk has largely fallen out of favor in Pennsylvania. Instead, the courts apply the comparative negligence rule to determine whether an injured athlete is entitled to any recovery for his or her injuries.
Under comparative negligence, an injured person is only denied recovery if he or she is found to be at least 51% at-fault for the injury. The amount a plaintiff is entitled to recover is decreased in proportion to the plaintiff's percentage of fault. For example, if a plaintiff is found to be 30% at-fault for his injuries and the defendant is found to be 70% at-fault, then the amount of the plaintiff's recovery will be decreased by 30%.
Comparative negligence rules are considered more equitable than assumption of the risk rules because they do not completely ban a plaintiff's recovery. Instead the court considers each party's role in the injury and assigns a level of fault to each before determining the final amount of recovery.
Injury Prevention is Key
For more of this story, click here. |
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| Cheerleading Injuries Can Be Prevented |
Sport Need Not Be So Dangerous
By Doug Greene, First Published: Feb 8, 2010 10:40 AM EST, Updated 4:39 PM EST, Thu, Feb 11, 2010
Once based on smiles, skirts and saddleshoes, cheerleading has become a competitive sport and with that comes injuries.
Since 1982, cheerleading and its stunts have produced more than half the catastrophic injuries female athletes suffered in high school or college, according to a catastrophic injury report surveying injuries in American sports.
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The number one injury in cheerleading, other than musculo-skeletal injuries, is neurologic injury, concussions, as well as spinal injuries, said Dr. Anthony Alessi, a Norwich neurologist who's attended cheerleading competitions as event physician.
Parents should be careful about where they send their young cheerleaders to learn their sport, he said. The award-winning Central Valley Panthers in Plainville stand as an example of careful cheerleading. The girls still cartwheel and stack themselves into towers, but certified coaches are watching.
They're landing on a spring floor," Chris Gilbert, the program director, said. "So, if they do fall and they do get hurt, I would have to say that the injury is less than what it would be if you were just on a plain mat or a hardwood floor."
She and her coaches are credentialed through the U.S. All Star Federation. The girls, ages 7 to 18, have stacks of trophies from cheerleading competitions.
First of all," Gilbert said, "we're hands on. We teach the kids how to base and how to stunt and how to jump. Our coaches literally get in there at practices and say, 'This has to be done,' or 'You're not doing it right. This is the way it needs to be done. You need to do this.'"
The coaches know first aid, and they know what can go wrong.
"We don't really see a lot of concussions," said Gilbert, "but you will see a lot of concussion when you are in probably a level 5 or a 6, when you're literally throwing a flyer from one base to another set of bases. Obviously, a lot of things can happen."
Dr. Alessi says parents should keep three things in mind before they pay for cheerleading outfits and lessons. The gym should be certified and properly equipped, and the cheerleaders should be healthy.
"They're going to be stressed and they should have a preparticipation physical before you start for lessons," he said. "It's like any other sport." |
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| Bill would mandate head-injury training for coaches |
By Lenina Mortime February 16, 2010
Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn, is pushing for the passage of his legislation to better protect student athletes who suffer head injuries.
"Requiring proper training for coaches, assuring that injured kids don't return to play without the clearance of a medical professional and spreading the word about equipment safety are common sense ways to cut down on the most harmful traumatic brain injuries," Squadron said in a prepared statement.
Squadron and other supporters of the bill spoke at a press conference in Manhattan on Jan. 31.
Bill S.06297 would require mandatory training for coaches in recognizing head injuries and the symptoms of concussions. It would ensure student athletes who sustain concussions are not permitted to compete until they have been cleared by a medical professional.
The bill remained in the Senate Rules Committee at the end of the 2009 legislative session and was referred to the Education Committee at the beginning of 2010.
Senate Education Committee spokeswoman Debra Lagapa said a vote has yet to be scheduled, but Squadron's spokeswoman Leilah Mooney said she anticipates the bill will come to a vote in the Education Committee on Feb. 23. The bill has no same-as in the Assembly.
Lagapa said Education Committee Chairwoman Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, supports the bill.
If enacted into law, the legislation would go into effect in July 2010, in time for the start of the next school year.
For more of this story, click here. |
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| Knockout blow – what should athletes do when concussion strikes? |
By Dr John Bye, February 7th, 2010
Concussion is a common problem in sport; participate in a contact sport and it's estimated that on average you'll require injury treatment for concussed once for every 4,000 hours of sport you play at best and once every 200 hours at worst! John Bye explains what concussion is and answers some of the questions frequently asked by athletes who have suffered from concussion.
What is concussion?
In 2004, the Second International Symposium on Concussion in Sport (the most recent meeting of international experts in the field) defined concussion as 'a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces' (1). Put more simply, concussion is the way the brain responds to a 'bump'. A 'bump' is really any significant force that passes through the brain – an uppercut in boxing, a clash of heads in football or a cyclist going over the handlebars onto the ground are a few obvious examples of direct blows to the head or face.
Less obvious are indirect blows where the force is transmitted up to the head from another part of the body; a good example is that of a stationary rugby player tackled from behind, his neck flicking back and some of the force of the tackle passing through his brain. He may end up concussed without ever taking a direct blow to the head.
For more of this story, click here. |
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| Our mission: |
The Center's mission is to substantially reduce occurrences of Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) and Second Impact Syndrome (SIS), a condition that most often occurs in athletes under 21 years of age. Such injuries, which are all too common, can result in brain swelling, permanent brain damage and, even, death.
ASCC is an independent testing organization trained in the use of the computerized neuropsychological Impact™ Test for both baseline (pre-injury) and post-injury testing.
For information on becoming a member of The Center, a donor in support of our vital mission, or a sponsoring company that wants to put your product or service in front of up to 176,000 young Arizona athletes, click here or call 480-710-5508. |
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