Articles Posted in Concussions

Any debate about whether the head injuries suffered by football players often leading to serious brain injuries have been a taboo subject amongst sports fanatics, until now. It’s a manly sport, and grown men can take it, or so it seems. However, there is growing concern for these players, once the lights on their celebrity status goes dim, what happens next; where do they go and what happens to them.

As today’s superheroes on the gridiron become washed up disabled citizens in our neighborhoods trying to come to terms with the “hows” and “whys” of their disabilities emerge from the shadows, we are beginning to understand that the end of the game is literally the end of the game for many of our football superstars. But now it is time for them to come out of the shadows, to make themselves known to their fans that rooted for their triumphs, and to let their fans understand the price that was paid.
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WSLS News warned its local readers about what it deemed the “silent public health epidemic” of traumatic brain injuries. In so doing they shared they story of a local resident who fell in her basement a few years ago. The woman explained that she was on top of her dyer while trying to fix a problem with a squeaking sound when she fell backwards. She hit the concrete floor. There was a light pad on the concrete, but her head and shoulder still made very hard contact. At first the woman was stunned by the fall-unable to move or talk. Eventually she regained her senses and was able to get up. She went to the doctor and was told that she had a concussion. Our Illinois brain injury attorneys realize that there is a perception among many in society that concussions are “not a big deal.” In the past they were essentially assumed to be just a hard knock on the head that didn’t have any long term consequences.

However, more and more people are learning that not to be true.

For example, the woman in this case still feels the effect of the fall three years later. As one doctor explained, “Often what will happen after a period of time, one will start to see changes in behavior that will be directly related to TBI.” These effects are hard to notice at first and often explained away by victims as caused by something else. Rarely is the traumatic brain injury recognized as the actual cause of the harm. It is for this reason that the problem is often considered “silent”-its effects are still underappreciated by the society at large.

Those involved in all professional sports and high-risk activities have become more and more aware of traumatic brain injuries over the past few years. Medical research into the injury has suggested that head trauma leads to far more long-term damage than once thought. This new information must be taken into account by many different organizers, participants, and administrators of these activities to ensure that risks are minimized.

The Brattleboro Reformer posted a story this week on efforts by NASCAR-the most popular auto racing league in the country-to protect drivers. Of course, our Chicago brain injury lawyers appreciate that risk of head trauma is particularly high for these athletes, because auto accidents are the single most common way that community members suffer these injuries outside of the sports and entertainment context. However, the new findings into the long-term consequences of even minor head trauma suggests that officials in all sports, including NASCAR, need to pay close attention to the way that injuries can occur slowly over the course of a career.

In the Reformer story, well-known auto racer Michael Waltrip explains that in his over 30 year career in the sport he suffered well over ten concussions-perhaps many more. He discussed how sport officials assumed that things were safe in the past, even though they weren’t, noting “We thought we had it figured out. I raced all the way through 2001 when people were getting killed. And all through that time, I was hitting my head and knocking myself out and getting concussions and going to the hospital. And I don’t know what the means to me in ten years, but I know it’s a concern.” He also admitted that many drivers fail to receive the attention they need after a hard crash. This was particularly true in the past when mandatory medical check-ups did not exist.

Our Chicago traumatic brain injury lawyers have spent a lot of time recently discussing concerns about the prevalence of head injuries in sports. Many tragic, high-profile stories exist about football players, hockey players, and soccer players who have suffered serious injury-even death-because of contact on the field. One of the most common causes of this harm are second-impact injuries. These arise when a player suffers a concussion, the injury is not given time to properly heal, and then the player suffers a second impact.

Much attention has rightfully been paid to these issues because the harm is so great and the injuries are entirely preventable. In this context the most serious harm from traumatic brain injuries can be prevented in one of two ways-(1) prevent the contact from occurring at all, or (2) ensure that proper treatment is provided 100% of the time. More attention has been made to the second option, because it likely provides more long-term benefit to players. It is also easier. Conversely, trying to prevent all potentially damaging contact in many of these sports is very difficult, especially because most of these activities are based on contact of one form or another.

However, that is not to say that it is impossible for all such injuries to be prevented. For example, rule changes in certain games can be included which minimize the risk of harm. Prohibitions against certain kinds of head to head tackles, for example, is likely an important safety step in football. Also, some experts are also working on changes to safety equipment to help cushion certain blows and prevent sever trauma that otherwise might result in an actual sports head injury. These equipment changes are easier said than done. Football helmets have difficult preventing head trauma because the actual harm comes from the brain making, contact with the inside of the skull, not the skull making contact with a helmet. In other words, the actual internal contact which is at the root of these brain injuries is not easily remedied by adding equipment outside the body.