Jim Nantz on Concussions

[sbark]

.......... CBS's Jim Nantz added such perspective on Face the Nation Sunday saying, "Research shows that at the college level, a women's soccer player is two and a half times more likely to suffer a concussion than a college football player"

 

[burmafrd]

did not know the ball was that hard

 

[Kristen82]

Serious stuff. Concussions might be a risk factor for Alzheimer's among other things via the pathogenic tau protein. There must be a way to fortify the structure of helmets.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-first-to-image-242445.aspx

 

[Aven8]

Cheerleading of all things is one of the most dangerous sports as well, if you can believe that.

Nebraska quit doing stunts a couple of years ago because of this.

Note: the only reason I know this is because I married a cheerleader.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

did not know the ball was that hard

Has nothing to do with the ball.

Soccer has a lot of body collisions and there is no protection.

Lot of knee injuries as well.

 

[FiveRings]

Has nothing to do with the ball.

Soccer has a lot of body collisions and there is no protection.

Lot of knee injuries as well.

You sure? Seems like headers would have a big impact on those numbers. That ball moves very fast and is harder than you think

 

[danielofthesaints]

The amount of concussions that go undisclosed or not even communicated from the player to the training staff tarnishes whatever credibility this so-called ratio has.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

You sure? Seems like headers would have a big impact on those numbers. That ball moves very fast and is harder than you think

Heading the ball isnt that big a part of the game. And if you head it properly you hardly even feel it.

The ball could injure the head for sure, but I doubt it plays any significant part in any injury numbers.

 

[sbark]

The amount of concussions that go undisclosed or not even communicated from the player to the training staff tarnishes whatever credibility this so-called ratio has.

Must be watched pretty close, from a site called Concussion Watch dot com
.....
The number of players with concussions listed on weekly NFL injury reports has swelled in recent years. According to Concussion Watch, 170 players were listed on injury reports for concussions during the 2012 season, nearly double the 92 reported in 2009.
Similar increases have been reported at lower levels of football. At the youth level, more than half a million concussions are reported every season.

 

[sbark]

From an Am Spec Article........... Hall of Fame former Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Troy Aikman has suggested that ditching helmets could cut down on head injuries, as have future Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Hines Ward and former 10-year NFL Quarterback Sean Salisbury.

 

[joseephuss]

Heading the ball isnt that big a part of the game. And if you head it properly you hardly even feel it.

The ball could injure the head for sure, but I doubt it plays any significant part in any injury numbers.

The soccer ball can hit the head with quite a bit of force. Even when hitting it properly, you can still feel it. Good technique protects the neck and spine much more than the head. In some cases such as shots, you don't have time to do much than just get in the way. Heading the ball is a big part of the game.

http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/...without-concussions-still-have-brain-changes/

Study: Soccer Players Without Concussions Still Have Brain Changes

A small study of professional soccer players found that even those who have never experienced a concussion still have changes in the white matter of their brains, likely from routine and unprotected headers.

The brain‘s white matter is made up of nerves and their myelin protective coating (similar to the insulation that blankets electrical wire) that play a significant role in connecting brain regions and establishing neural networks that are critical to cognition. Previous studies have investigated how concussions lead to changes in this white matter, but a new study lead by Dr. Inga K. Koerte of Harvard Medical School in Boston, is one of the first to look at how even blows to the head that aren’t considered concussions may lead to traumatic brain injury.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/11/...sions-still-have-brain-changes/#ixzz2K2ByYo8u

 

[Hoofbite]

Serious stuff. Concussions might be a risk factor for Alzheimer's among other things via the pathogenic tau protein. There must be a way to fortify the structure of helmets.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-first-to-image-242445.aspx

I read an article in Wired (I think) and the approach one guy is developing is sort of the opposite. Not in making the helmet weaker but he's wanting to basically add a slipping mechanism inside the helmet so when a player makes significant contact with his helmet the helmet kind of pivots around the head if that makes sense. I guess sort of like a ball and socket joint if you imagine the head as the ball and the helmet as the socket. Not to a great extent but enough to transfer some of that direct impact into rotational force around the head.

I thought it was kind of cool. If I can find the magazine laying around I'll see if I can scan it.

 

[Miller]

Heading the ball isnt that big a part of the game. And if you head it properly you hardly even feel it.

The ball could injure the head for sure, but I doubt it plays any significant part in any injury numbers.

Heading is a large part of the game. That is how a majority of scores of corner kicks happen and players direct the ball using it all game long. Proper technique doesn't mean something isn't smashing your head. Not only that but they go up in the air competing with other players to head it and knoch into them.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/14/science/la-sci-soccer-brain-injury-20121114

Soccer players who repeatedly strike the ball with their heads may be causing measurable damage to their brains, even if they never suffer a concussion, according to a study published Tuesday by the Journal of the American Medical Assn.
By examining brain scans of a dozen professional soccer players from Germany, researchers found a pattern of damage that strongly resembled that of patients with mild traumatic brain injury, said Dr. Inga Katharina Koerte, a neuroradiologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, who led the study

 

[erickb]

Both my son (16) and daughter (14) left racing motorcycles for playing soccer, lots of crashes in racing no big injuries. My daughter has had 2 concussions a broken nose and my son has had 1 that had syptoms lasting over a month playing soccer. My daughters have come from knees/feet to the head she is a keeper, my sons came from an elbow to the back of the head.

Scary stuff and sometimes I think about making them slow down and just be normal kids

 

[Blackspider214]

Whomever said heading is not a big part of soccer must not really watch. Heading the ball is a huge part of the game.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I don't think heading the ball gives them concussions. When you go up for a header, particularly on a corner kick, usually there are others trying to head the be ball as well and they can knock heads. Then you have to worry about falling down on your head. And women's skulls are not as strong and male skulls.





YR

 

[CashMan]

Serious stuff. Concussions might be a risk factor for Alzheimer's among other things via the pathogenic tau protein. There must be a way to fortify the structure of helmets.

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-researchers-first-to-image-242445.aspx

No amount of restructuring or redesigning is going to stop your brain from hitting the inside of your head. Helmet design is going to go so far. It is kinda like tanker trucks, if they drive at a high speed and stop, the liquid in the tanks still moves. Add a solid piece of matter inside those tanks, and it will hit the walls of the tanks.

 

[InmanRoshi]

I think that heading the ball could lead to brain damage over the long term for professional soccer players, as I think we're starting to find that it's repetitive hits to the head is the biggest factor for dementia pugilistica and the collective buildup of myloid plaque that causes Parkinsons and Alzheimers. I think they're finding that the most dangerous aspects of boxing are the hundreds of hours professional boxers spend sparring, even with protetective head gear, rather than the one devestating knockout blow in center ring in front of TV cameras. I remember reading one time that they put a radar gun on some Brazilian players and some of their kicks were flying at around 60-70 mph. I don't think velocity with a regulation ball weighing roughly 1.+ lbs. would be an insignificant impact to the head, especially if taken repeatedly in practice and games.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

did not know the ball was that hard

It's not the ball. It's those female soccer players.


[youtube]2E1fMx7jgxQ[/youtube]

 

[Hoofbite]

No amount of restructuring or redesigning is going to stop your brain from hitting the inside of your head. Helmet design is going to go so far. It is kinda like tanker trucks, if they drive at a high speed and stop, the liquid in the tanks still moves. Add a solid piece of matter inside those tanks, and it will hit the walls of the tanks.

I don't disagree with the movement of the brain being in play but I do think there has to be some influence on direct impact.

Certainly there are concussions that have occurred from high force impact where the head hasn't really moved at all. Brandon McCarthy of the As took that liner right off the side of his head and it did serious damage without his head moving that much at all. Granted it's a little different and the force applied on contact is condensed into a single spot. This hit was pretty substantial and fractured his skull but I don't think it's unreasonable to look at this and wonder if a lesser blow that didn't cause a fracture would result in a concussion.

Can you stop the concussions from the brain rattling around? I dunno, you'd have to find a way to decelerate the entire head I would think. Probably not.

But that doesn't mean that research should be stopped on looking at other ways. If you could reduce the frequency of concussions (even by a small amount) by lessening direct impact, that seems like a good start to me.