Posts Tagged ‘football and concussions’
By Paul Stone On February 23rd, 2018
When professional athletes are asked how many concussions they’ve had, they tend to lowball. Often, you’ll hear “four or five” or the athlete will shrug off the question with “I don’t know”. Almost never do you get told a number more than 10 – in even the most extreme cases. When former professional football player…
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By Paul Stone On January 29th, 2018
Two bills were proposed in state legislatures this week that would ban tackle football in youth football organizations before the age of 12, citing concerns about the risks for long-term brain trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The bill proposed in Illinois is named the “Dave Duerson Act to Prevent CTE” after the former Chicago Bears…
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By Paul Stone On January 23rd, 2018
The Super Bowl is still more than two weeks away, yet the NFL is already dealing with a concussion drama that could have significant effects on the big game. Rob Gronkowski, one of the New England Patriots’ star players is in the league’s concussion protocol after suffering a head injury during the AFC championship game…
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By Paul Stone On January 10th, 2018
Throughout his nearly 20 years in the NFL, Brett Favre suffered a number of injuries. However, few of those injuries have had anywhere near the lasting impact of Favre’s concussions. He can’t even guess exactly how many brain injuries he had before his career-ending concussion in 2010. Now, Favre is exploring his own history with…
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By Paul Stone On December 29th, 2017
In light of growing criticism of the league’s handling of concussions on the field this year, the NFL has made some last-minute changes to its concussion protocol – including placing a central unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant (UNC) in the league’s “command center” for all games. The new rules and changes were quietly approved December 11th by…
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By Paul Stone On November 15th, 2017
There is no denying that high school football players these days know much more about brain injuries than their predecessors. Between the new concussion-related rules they have to follow, required pre-season education classes, and the constant discussions in the media, teen athletes are given a wealth of information regarding how to identify concussions and their…
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By Paul Stone On November 6th, 2017
These days, just about everyone knows football is a dangerous sport for your brain. But, what they might not know is that some positions may be riskier than others. A recently published, NFL-funded study suggests that some players are more likely to experience more severe brain injuries more frequently than other positions. As lead researcher…
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By Paul Stone On October 20th, 2017
Throughout the past decade, every state in America has passed their own form of regulations aimed at protecting young athletes from concussions. Now, one of the first studies to examine these regulations says they are working. According to the report published in the American Journal of Public Health, these regulations have led to a…
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By Paul Stone On September 5th, 2017
You don’t have to look far to find people proclaiming the end of football right now. Vocal critics like Malcolm Gladwell and respected medical experts such as Bennett Omalu are quick to say they believe the NFL should be disbanded in light of the risks for repeated head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. But, you’d…
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By Paul Stone On June 26th, 2017
Concussions remain one of the most pressing issues for the world of football, with no easy answers in sight. To help protect their players, many leagues and teams of all levels have been turning to advanced technology like high-tech helmets, collision monitoring systems, and computerized concussion assessment tools designed to identify concussions when they happen.…
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