Concussion Articles
The NFL’s stance on the health of players was under the spotlight on Friday after linebacker Ted Johnson, who helped the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl titles, said that a series of concussions had impaired him.
Concussion is nothing new – it was probably invented by cudgel-wielding cavemen. And until not so long ago, a wallop to the head was identified as concussion if it lead to brief loss of consciousness or amnesia.
Figures from SA Rugby indicate that 12-15 percent of boys playing rugby in any given season will be concussed and that there is a 50 percent chance of a player receiving a blow to the head, resulting in concussion, at some time in his school rugby career.
A study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting by Kevin Guskiewicz and others and about to be published in Med Sci Sports Exerc claims that the risk of depression later in life is three times higher in those American football players who have suffered three or more concussive episodes in their career..
Two of South African rugby’s most accomplished and well-known medical doctors have introduced a preventative concussion programme which should go a long way towards alleviating the dangers that led to the tragedy in Pretoria a few months ago.
A schoolboy died last week following a rugby match. Another boy was left paralysed by school rugby and scores of schoolboys continue to suffer severe injuries due to this game. But who’s to blame? Are school medical facilities up to scratch? Carte Blanche goes in search of the root of the problem.
Several parents and coaches of Pretoria high school rugby players have reacted with shock to the death of Hoërskool Gerrit Maritz pupil Tommie Watson, 18, but say the sport is dangerous only if rules are ignored.
Neither had Harry Carson or Pat LaFontaine or dozens of other former pro athletes. Then the symptoms started..
A concussion is an injury to the head caused by a direct or indirect blow to the head. It is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces.
BUMPS to the head on the football field can lead to lasting brain damage, according to a landmark international study that found just three concussions triples the risk of developing depression.
