More concussions this year despite NFL’s crackdown on hits to the head
Nothings speaks ‘head injury’ louder than Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers leaving a game half way through it due to a hit to the head. Rodgers was a little ‘groggy’ but the decision to make him sit out the remainder
of the game didn’t come from his coach, but instead from the Medical Staff. This isn’t the first time Rodgers has suffered a concussion and he isn’t the only one with the concussions either. Pittsburgh Steelers Heath Miller and Arizona Cardinals quarterback
Derek Anderson did not play at all in week 13 because of head injuries.
If that sounds like too many players are losing playing time because of head injuries it’s because that’s true. Reports of concussions have been on the rise for the past two years. The number of concussions reported this season
is 21% more than the number reported in the 2009 season and 34% more than the number reported in 2008. That isn’t because more heads are being banged together. If the injury data is anything to go on than this season has been relatively mild. However the idea
of what a concussion is and what it means have changed.
A few years ago, a concussion would be considered if a player would be very obviously symptomatic of the injury. A loss of balance and orientations, blurry vision or vomiting, if not being knocked out unconscious would have been
called a concussion and would have still been largely ignored. The culture has changed. Players realize that a head injury is different than every other kind of injury in terms of its long term effects. Permanent brain damage is not the same as a dinged knee.
Players are taking concussions more seriously and hence more concussions are being diagnosed.
“Guys are more open to reporting them, and they know more about the effects and how dangerous they can be in the long term,” said Oakland Raiders tight-end Zach Miller while emphasizing that the cultural change was a key aspect.
“Guys are making smarter decisions.”
Indeed because continuing to play football while your head is dealing with trauma is pushing the boundary between dedication and insanity, ironic, considering that pushing that boundary could cause dementia and other neurological
problems. Medical science has revealed the serious consequences of concussions and it’s been getting quite a bit of attention in the press too. “We're trying to make sure that players have the message: Playing through pain is good; playing through pain is
what sports are about. But that's leg pain. That's arm pain. Not brain injury,” Dr. Hunt Batjer, co-chairman of NFL’s Head, neck and spine medical committee said. “Because a brain injury and spine injury can threaten their future.”
The NFL has not failed to take action.
More players are missing time because the NFL has put in place regulations that prohibit a player from returning to the field until he is asymptomatic and cleared to play after a battery of neurological tests. Players miss games
but don’t risk compounded head injuries. This is one of the few things the league and the Players Association can agree on. Both have made concerted efforts to increase awareness among players of the risks of concussions and the perils of hiding it and playing
through it.
More people are now talking about protecting the head than ever before. Players report not only their own symptoms but also that of teammates. In 2009, an estimated 20% of all NFL players said that they had tried to hide or down
play a concussion.
Research has revealed that NFL players could suffer from permanent brain damage even without sustaining concussions. The forces on the human brain from rapidly changing direction or suddenly coming to a stop, over the duration
of an NFL career can be enough to cause some level of permanent brain damage. Those risks amplify the need to avoid concussions and make the game safer for all involved. Researching the effects and prevalence of concussions is the first step to achieving that
goal.
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