OT: History of Concussions in Sports

[msf22b]

New Yorker Story: Apparently, the dangers of sports concussions has been known for a while...

Extensive read:

The Forgotten History of Head Injuries in Sports

Stephen Casper, a medical historian, argues that the danger of C.T.E. used to be widely acknowledged. How did we unlearn what we once knew?

www.newyorker.com

 

[Bigboote]

Stuff like this is all too common. My best friend was a teacher for 35 years. She had to take some courses periodically and said about every 10 years the same ideas would be presented with a new name as revolutionary.

The most glaring in recent memory in my eyes: Early in the pandemic, when fatality rates were in the several percent range, I heard something about one hospital “discovering” that recovery rates were better if they didn’t put patients on their backs. Fatality rates dropped once they started putting patients on their sides or elevating their torsos. A couple of months later I saw something pointing out that this had been discovered in China in the tenth century and many times since. It had been published in journals in Europe and the US in the last 100 years or so, including during the flu epidemic in the teens.

 

[Bama fan]

 

[TCC Kid]

Stuff like this is all too common. My best friend was a teacher for 35 years. She had to take some courses periodically and said about every 10 years the same ideas would be presented with a new name as revolutionary.

The most glaring in recent memory in my eyes: Early in the pandemic, when fatality rates were in the several percent range, I heard something about one hospital “discovering” that recovery rates were better if they didn’t put patients on their backs. Fatality rates dropped once they started putting patients on their sides or elevating their torsos. A couple of months later I saw something pointing out that this had been discovered in China in the tenth century and many times since. It had been published in journals in Europe and the US in the last 100 years or so, including during the flu epidemic in the teens.

Concussions are more dangerous than we are led to believe. They are insidious, you think they are gone, and 30 years later you become mentally impaired. Football hero's become sad tales of banging heads.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

This research finding hit the news recently: Three or more concussions linked with worse brain function in later life: Experiencing three or more concussions is linked with worsened brain function in later life, according to major new research

"Published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, the paper found that people who reported three or more concussions had significantly worse cognitive function, which got successively worse with each subsequent concussion after that. Attention and completion of complex tasks were particularly affected...people who have had concussions should be warned of the dangers of continuing high-risk sport or work.

"Lead investigator Dr Vanessa Raymont, from the University of Oxford, said: 'We know that head injuries are a major risk factor for dementia, and this large-scale study gives the greatest detail to date on a stark finding -- the more times you injure your brain in life, the worse your brain function could be as you age.'"

How many concussions has CD suffered? She was out several weeks last year with what was later acknowledged was a concussion. And she's still suffering the effects of a concussion incurred at the beginning of January.

That's two. Should she continue to play basketball and risk another one? If your daughter were in this position, what would you do? What would you advise?

 

[Beemer]

So much depends on the individual athlete. Some can absorb more than one concussion without apparent obvious effects. Many cannot. I would really be hesitant to set up a one size fits all rule w/r/t to concussions. I think the important thing is to honestly inform the athletes of what could happen and then let them decide whether to continue playing or not.

 

[JellyBean]

This research finding hit the news recently: Three or more concussions linked with worse brain function in later life: Experiencing three or more concussions is linked with worsened brain function in later life, according to major new research

"Published in the Journal of Neurotrauma, the paper found that people who reported three or more concussions had significantly worse cognitive function, which got successively worse with each subsequent concussion after that. Attention and completion of complex tasks were particularly affected...people who have had concussions should be warned of the dangers of continuing high-risk sport or work.

"Lead investigator Dr Vanessa Raymont, from the University of Oxford, said: 'We know that head injuries are a major risk factor for dementia, and this large-scale study gives the greatest detail to date on a stark finding -- the more times you injure your brain in life, the worse your brain function could be as you age.'"

How many concussions has CD suffered? She was out several weeks last year with what was later acknowledged was a concussion. And she's still suffering the effects of a concussion incurred at the beginning of January.

That's two. Should she continue to play basketball and risk another one? If your daughter were in this position, what would you do? What would you advise?

Great question and @Beemer hit the nail on the head. So much depends on the individual athlete. There is a young lady that we know, who has a long history of concussions, still playing and taking a lot of contact but she still goes hard (Knock on wood that she continues to be safe out there).

But to answer your question, a lot depends on my daughter and her playing ability and situation. If she was a projected top 10-20 player in the nation and had dreams and goals of playing ball in the WNBA or going overseas to play and suffered two concussions each year and they were progressively worse each time. We would have a long talk about health and long-term consequences. Now if my daughter was a 9th-12th player off the bench and a member of the 20/20/20 club (up by 20, down by 20, or there were only 20 seconds left in the game), there really wouldn't be a need for a conversation. Time to focus on a different career path and hopefully she would have figured that out sooner rather than later.

 

[Blond D.]

A lot depends on what part of the brain slammed into the skull. Different parts, like frontal lobes or the sides or the back have different effects and can lead to different problems later on in life if "bruised" too may times. I know Im not a doctor but i stayed at a Holiday Inn.