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Sports-Related Concussions & Subconcussive Injuries

"Wide-Eye'd Blind": A Must-See Football Video

If you are an athletic director, football coach, game official or parent concerned about reducing the number of concussions and catastrophic head, neck and spinal injuries in the sport and have 25 minutes to spare, my non-profit, Train 'Em Up Academy, has produced an enlightening, empowering and powerful video, called "Wide-Eye'd Blind."

Why do I call it that? Because as a nation, we are literally standing by, with our eyes wide open but blind to the fact that our greatest resource, our young people, are suffering needless injury in the name of sport.  

Concussions: Parents Need To Be Pro-Active, Says Guskiewicz

Parents play a vitally important role with respect to concussions, says Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC., Kenan Distinguished Professor and Director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, especially in detecting symptoms of concussion and signs of deteriorating mental status that suggests a more serious brain injury.

Chiropractic Neurology: A Possible Therapy for Post-Concussion Syndrome

One possible therapy for athletes with post-concussion syndrome is treatment by a chiropractic neurologist, who uses a deep toolbox of non-invasive sensory experiences to gently stimulate (or calm) targeted areas of the brain or nervous systems in order to reduce neurologic imbalance and improve function and productivity.

Extending Concussion Safety Laws To Cover All Youth Sports Programs Essential, Says Sharon van Kooten of Indiana

A concussion suffered by her 8-year-old son playing youth football, and the way it was managed - or, in his case, mismanaged - prompts a mother to write a lengthy letter urging her state legislators to extend her state's concussion safety laws to all sports programs using public facilities.

Post-Concussion Syndrome: Possible Therapies

While no medicine has been shown to effectively speed the recovery from concussive brain injury, some new and non-traditional therapies have been shown to help relieve the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, as well as the value of strict cognitive and physical rest.

Heading in Soccer: Long-Term Effect Remains Unclear

While it is possible that intentional heading in soccer represents a form of repetitive subconcussive mild brain injury which, over time,  could be a cause of chronic traumatic encephalpathy (CTE), the possible cause-and-effect relationship remains theoretical, says a 2012 study.

Football Safety: A Properly Fitted Helmet Is Critical

New guidelines have been issued for ensuring that a football helmet fits properly, which a 2012 unpublished research paper found was a simple but effective step in minimizing risk of concussion and catastrophic brain injury.

Athletic Trainer Or Team Doctor Should Make Return-to-Play Decision After Concussion

Many of the new youth sports concussion safety laws contain broad language allowing any "qualified health care professional" to make the all-important return-to-play decision after concussion, but, says Marjorie Albohm, MS, ATC, President of the National Athletic Trainer's Association, it is a certified athletic trainer (AT) or team doctor who are best qualified to make that call.

Focus On Concussion Prevention Seen

Lyle Micheli, M.D., Director, Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, says the focus in the hospital's concussion clinic going forward will be on concussion prevention.

Coach Bobby Hosea's GTS-Science: Advancing the Science of Tackling Safety & Performance

CROWN first impact while in the act of making a tackle is the PRIMARY cause of all catastrophic injuries on every level of football competition.  Remove the CROWN from the collision and eliminate avoidable injuries.

In 1997, my 12-year-old son Steven (my only son) told me that he was ready to play tackle football.  In that moment, I experienced several emotions.  The first was one of pride: my little man finally wanted to be like his Dad and play football.  I had shown him and his older sister, Ranae, my old tapes on the VCR since they were babies. 

The other emotion was one of fear.  A fear of seeing my little man not getting off of the ground due to a catastrophic injury to his head, neck or spine.

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