Time Article on Football Dangers, Head Injuries etc
 

Chemar, Thanks for posting this article.

Great article. I have a collection of others like this.

The truth that stands out in this article is the permanence of concussion. There are many therapies to lessen the symptoms or help the patient work-around the symptoms, but there is no magic pill.

Those of us who are ten or twenty years Post Concussion can attest to the long term problems.

Preventing a subsequent concussion is of paramount importance. The 'sub-concussive' impact is just starting to get mentioned. Many of us know how minor this 'sub-concussive' impact can be. Like a quick head twist. Towel drying ones hair too vigorously. A simple head of a soccer ball. A head slap to a football helmet. A hockey puck to the face guard. A jarring bad step. Even a violent sneeze or cough.

There have been a number of news stories going on this past week about the new Washington state law (Zak's Law) that hopefully will lessen the number of athletes who return to play too soon after a concussion. California is working on two laws. Other states are in the same process.

Thanks Mark
 

You say things so well, often express what I think without me realising it - weird! Often I will be reading a response to something from you and I don't need to post as at the time I am thinking "exactly!"

I have just had crowns completed for me front teeth - during the procedure I was thinking that my head would drop off! Of course I ended up with the PCS headache and grottiness. But it was a decision I made knowing the consequences!

Lynlee

We live in Washington and Zak's law has definitely raised awareness to around concussions and the return to play. The risk of 2nd impact syndrome should be greatly decreased by this law. All of this is good and needed. Youth sports will be safer.

From my experience, I also think there is still lots of work to do around educating the doctors, parents, coaches, teachers, etc regarding the "return to school" piece of the equation. It is equally as important and the information is much more scarce. In all of my searching, I found only a handful of site with good information on this topic. Everything else was many a couple of sentences about gradually returning to school, reduced homework load and extra time on tests.

In the ideal world, I would love to see a team approach embraced for patient care - physician trained in TBI, neuropsychologist, psychologist, PT, OT and alternative medicine providers - all working together and treating the whole person.

I hope Zak's law and the others under consideration do not cause a false sense of security for coaches, players, and their parents.

One comment has been that 'all' the teams need are trainers to check out the players. This is a gross misunderstanding. Trainers have been a part of the problem because they do not have adequate training and tools for diagnosing concussion and when 'return to play' is safe.

The two systems currently available are the ImPACT system and the CNS Vital Signs system. Both measure reaction speed and cognitive abilities but neither can predict when the brain has healed structurally enough to reduce the risk of 'Second Impact Syndrome.'

Snowboarder Kevin Pearce was three weeks post concussion when he had his second concussion that nearly cost him his life. A situation similar to Zak's except Zak returned to play later in the same game.

The alternative medicine and other treatment systems only treat the observable symptoms. They do not treat the physical injury.

The return to studies is also not discussed except in reference to using the ImPACT system as a guide.

Read:
Self-Therapy for Head Injury
Teaching Yourself to Prevent Head-Injured Moments
by Dr. Larry Schutz
at: http://www.givebackorlando.com/hepusef/hepindex.html

His first statement is dead on:
1. Head injuries don’t heal up. The injury continues to cause problems in your life until you recognize that you have to fix it and get it done. Fixing means finding a better way to run your brain. The fix works only as long as you run it in the new way. So fixing your brain is not a job you finish doing--it’s a way of life.

I suggest that his book be downloaded and read. It is geared toward more severe head injuries but covers many of the ongoing symptoms of PCS/mTBI.

He has many excellent tips for overcoming or just learning to live with the ongoing symptoms. He can get a bit intense at times, but worth the effort.

His big effort is to Give Back to the head injured community by supporting others as they come to grips with their struggles. As he says, only the injured can make the changes to improve their life. The support of others who have been successful on this lifelong path of recovery is important.

thank you mark
 

thank you mark for the link please move it to the sticky posts on hope and healing with your thoughts I have not read it yet, info overload and all that, but what a great find, its what I have been looking for so , thanks bud . I would like to shake your hand and hope to put it to good use within my group, and for myself at this stage of my injury

bless