Thanks for this great article Ms. Davidson. The analogy with big tobacco is spot on. I, however, would have no issue with studies casting doubt or in studies that contain a conflict of interest footnote. Doubt is generally good.
What I do take issue with, however, is the direct filtering of raw data, peer review pressure to weaken conclusions, failure to disclose indirect relationships, etc. In the real world, funding of studies is not so binary; funded researchers have life-long relationships with the entire scientific community, so if some people are influenced in a direction it can pull other researchers in that same direction as well.
Jason Taylor, organizer of meetup.com/safersoccer .
It would be interesting to give the Wonderlic Test to retired players who should score higher in post playing days as pre-playing days. With life and game experiene, they scores should be higher…unless there is some cognitive damage.
How do you explain “low information voters”? How do you explain young people who have almost no knowledge of how the world works, pay no attention to world events, don’t know who their leaders are and the only interest seems to be on how to download the latest app on their iphone?
I explain the low information voters as ignorant rednecks who are brainwashed by their religious leaders to vote for anyone who says “Jesus-Jesus-Jesus”.
I explain the low information voters as dope heads who have a very low attention span, lazy entitlement seekers who will never be productive citizens. They are perfectly happy for government to take care of them at the expense of real taxpayers. This is the culture of Obama and Progressives.
May 14, 2015 at 1:01 pm
Don't Call Me Shirley says:
Hot debate. What do you think?
61
62
Most Progressives are well-educated people, who earn a living, as well as supporting causes that are beneficial to society. This has been the case all throughout history, including our Founding Fathers. They were well-educated liberal progressives who wanted change, including separation of church and state, while the conservatives wanted to stay loyal to the king of England, because being conservative means that you are against change.
Progressives want healthcare and education for all (or at least accessible), investment in our infrastructure, and an end to the excessive wealth redistribution to a wealthy few (that’s where the money is really going).
So, you’re against those things? Would Jesus be against healing a poor person? Did Jesus support the idea of giving more money to the rich?
May 15, 2015 at 2:37 pm
Shaking My Head says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
86
48
Agent, you are amazing…and not in a good way. The posts prior to you were actually about the article. For a brief moment, it appeared that a forum was actually going to stick to the article and an intelligent conversation was about to emerge. Then you have to throw in your ridiculous comment about ‘low information voters’, which has absolutely nothing to do with the article. You are so single-minded and short-sighted it is frightening. Get off your high-horse, Agent.
I guess you didn’t read Shirley’s comments Shaking. Shirley is so far out in “left” field, he/she is amazing in how dimwitted a person can be.
How about Jason saying that he wasn’t sure people get smarter with age and then says wisdom peaks at death while raw brain intelligence peaks in late teens. I have seen a lot of teenagers who think they are smarter than their parents. Unfortunately for them, they realize by their mid 20’s that the parents weren’t so dumb after all. By the way, there are a lot of college graduates who are still living at home with mom and dad, getting their three squares, laundry done and failing to launch and on their parents health insurance.
May 15, 2015 at 3:20 pm
Agent says:
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
31
10
Hey Jason, I saw a good sign appropriate to your comment.
Teenagers:
Tired of being harassed by your stupid parents?
Act Now!!!
Move out, Get a Job, Pay your own bills while you still know everything.
Go back to leather helmets and players will stop using their heads and helmets as weapons. But then the players will complain about cracked skulls. There is only one sure fire solution to this problem, stop playing football.
This problem will never go away. We will never completely know the impact of football on these types of injuries. Very little will conclusively be determined. One thing is certain however, the lawyers will get rich. And that will be reflected in pretty much anything we buy or any service we obtain.
How about implementing more of my recommendations Dr Rich Ellenbogen, co-chair of the NFL’s Head, Neck and Spine Injury Group asked me for in 2010.
Visger Rules – Recommended Changes to NFL Rules | The Sport Digest 12/16/10 … thesportdigest.com/…/visger-rules-recommended-changes-to-nfl-rules/
But what do I know? I only played on championship Pee Wee, Pop Warner, undefeated high school teams, in the 77 Orange Bowl, on the SF 49ers 81 Super Bowl championship team, survived 3 brain surgeries during and 4 months after the 81 Super Bowl season, earned a BS in Biological Conservation while surviving 5 additional emergency VP brain surgeries in a 9 month period in 86, worked as a wildlife biologist and environmental consultant for 22 years and have been a traumatic brain injury consultant since 2010.
If anyone is looking for help dealing with the repurcussions of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, please go to our website at:
If the NFL really cared about the safety of their players, they would mandate the use of mouth guards (the ones that are specifically molded to an individual’s mouth) and make sure everyone’s helmet was properly strapped in on both sides.
The NFL and the US Army long ago teamed up in “suicide prevention” videos to make it seem that dings and knocks to the head would take care of themselves. With no REAL injury, no problem. Be a man, suck it up, get back in there, be resilient. Little by little, vets from sports and war with brain injuries fall into the cycle told to us by a suicidal service member who had run from VA “treatments”: deny, delay, deceive, drugs, death. Despite all that has been learned in the last 30 years by Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) practitioners, the standard of care for concussions around the world remains “watchful waiting”. Whether in the military, professional sports, emergency rooms or sports in general, medicine generally takes a passive approach to concussions, with the exception that drugs are prescribed for a myriad of accompanying sequelae/afflictions. Most often, the patient recovers to a point where physical therapy is possible. The patient invariably regains some measure of movement though quality of life may never be regained.
In what follows, culled from numerous web sites for general and specific information, from some of the most prestigious organizations and International Conferences in the world, the accepted protocol for concussions is observation, sometimes aided by brain scans, interviews or questionnaires and/or mental-physical tests to aid in diagnosis. There is little to no mention of any intervention to treat and heal the underlying injury to the brain, unless it has caused brain bleeding and/or swelling, in which case emergency interventions and surgery may be called for. Patients are told that almost all concussions eventually resolve themselves after some time. Pain medication is recommended where warranted.
There is no mention of even basic nutrition or brain foods and supplements, much less any discussion of the one intervention that can have an immediate impact. In multiple peer-reviewed journals and articles worldwide, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can help in the healing of underlying brain injury typically suffered in mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries, of which concussion is a sub-set.
Current standard-of-care “Rehabilitation” after a significant brain injury can include such interventions as rest, physical and cognitive therapy, brain training, visual and auditory help, occupational therapy, talk therapy and preparation for return to a diminished lifestyle, typically on drugs to control pain, headaches and mood swings. It is common to hear that “70-80% or more fully recover before three months.”
Run your own test: ask a neurologist or the athletic trainer at your children’s school what their protocol is for a concussion. Read the Army and the NFL Guidelines below and notice the similarities across the board. The common standard of care is little more than bed rest and hoping for the best.
Preliminary Note:
Our work with brain-injured service members unavoidably puts us in contact with brain-injured civilians and victims of all kinds of head injuries. People with concussions approach us continually with requests for help with healing. They want an end to the headaches, the sleeplessness, depression and the myriad symptoms resulting from blows to the head. Plus, they want to get back to normal. They’re the unlucky ones whose concussions didn’t resolve themselves with time. Sadly, too many of them don’t ever hear about HBOT from their doctors, or they have heard negative comments from doctors who turn out to know next to nothing about HBOT: they weren’t taught it in medical school and they have never read the worldwide literature or assessed the evidence.
Time after time, in hundreds of cases where we’ve contacted Veteran Call Centers, Veteran Service Organizations, major orgs like VFW, IAVA, AL, VVA, DAV, Navy League, the NFL, the NHL, colleges and high schools, they all accede to the need to DO SOMETHING. Mostly the commentary focuses on academic theory, high level strategy, admonitions about “we don’t know enough about the brain”, and 19-point plans for cleaning up and focusing and measuring and demanding accountability. No one — not one — talks simply and directly about CLINICAL MEDICINE. All take the passive approach: rest and watchful waiting. Many talk about “evidence-based medicine” but ignore evidence that runs counter to what they “know.” And they don’t tackle the simple fact: an epidemic of ANY kind demands URGENCY and treatment. Think Ebola. The epidemics of concussions and military suicides demand no less intense focus on immediacy and proactive intervention.
Former Army Secretary Marty Hoffmann insisted on accountability and the need-for-speed. “Take a risk for the veteran” he would demand. Use battlefield medicine rules — whatever it takes, bar none, always within parameters set by the doctor. It still astonishes when people learn how many off-label drugs and treatments the Warrior Transition Units use for palliative care — symptom suppression, not healing. The NBIRR Coalition has 100s of testimonials from patients who have passed through Warrior Transition Units. To a person, they attest to the predilection toward: drugs, talk therapy, gadgets/apps, palliative care. Luckily, some benefit somewhat. BUT — the overwhelming majority lose hope, get mustered out, and go on to fight with the VA until they reach a “new normal”, with or without VA care, and always with an expanding list of prescription drugs. And they hunker down with a welfare check.
And “research” continues into “What is a concussion?” and “How can we tell if the patient has PTSD or TBI?” or “Is there a drug/biomarker/brain image that will tell us how hurt the patient is?” And always the search for a new magic drug that will “fix” the injury.
Imagine the following: all ballplayers after a game have a ritual about how they treat their injuries/pain/aches. Physical trainers and doctors prescribe protocols for different injuries: backs, necks, ankles, muscles, etc etc. Ice-baths, saunas, massages, electrical stimulation, analgesics, pain pills, diet, etc. And for a concussion? Never HBOT. Even cursory research could turn up what HBOT practitioners already know: expecting a severe brain injury to “heal” without treating the underlying swelling and damage to the brain tissue is a bit like throwing a dumbbell to an athlete with a broken arm — before setting the broken bone — and saying “let’s rehab that arm now!” An equivalent with concussions is all the cognitive- and neuro-psych — even language/job/physical-therapies — all while waiting for natural healing and the “tincture of time” and palliative care to somehow heal the brain.
Hyperbaric oxygen treatments, and high dose purified Omega fish oils have been a godsend for me. In 2009 I underwent a 3 day neuro cognitive evaluation at Dr Amen’s clinic and began both hyperbarics and Omega 3’s in Jan of 2010. (Dr Barry Sears OmegaRX – the highest grade Omega’s on the market).
I undergo a 6 hour neuro cognitive exam back at Amen’s after every 40 – 50 hyperbaric treatments. My microcognitive memory scores improved 14.3% after the 178th treatment (at age 53). I’m now on HBOT # 238 and my memory scores have improved over 16%, AND I quit all 4 dementia meds they had me on in 2010.
The jaw, mouth guards, boxers glass jaw, Pugilistica dementia, chin strap forces. Neuromuscular mouth guards have now been conntected in research to have an effect on nerve energy to the neck and upperbody. Yet, when experts presented this type of info to the NFL concussion committee ten years ago, they were laughed out of the place. Concussion committee members might have well spit on them also. Dr. Robert Cantu is now acting as a consulted with U.S. Army contractors to develop a neuromuscular mouth guard to address these very issues.
Who Knew?
A problem with all the new equipment, which can never be addressed, is the simple fact that the human brain was not meant to be used as a weapon to hit people with. Out think, yes. Strike a blow, no.
Simple physics; 1/2 mass x Velocity squared = Kinetic Engergy
Players are getting bigger, stronger and faster and the kinetic energy they generate is beyond what the human body can handle. I was 275 my rookie year at SF and we didn’t even have any 280 pounders. Now the average NFL lineman is 315 pounds, AND fast. A jet fighter pilot will pass out between 4 and 5 G’s when accelerating. Accelerometers placed in helmets have registered hits over 300 G’s.
George, it has to start early on how players are coached from grade school to the pro’s. Players get a false sense of security with the modern helmet and then they find out later, it doesn’t protect them from concussions or more serious injury. Add that with teaching the forearm shiver to the jaw only makes the problem worse.
I agree we need to teach the kids at an early age how to tackle properly, but it also needs to be a top-down solution as the kids look to the NFL players for “how to play the game.” It’s one reason why ESPN no longer has their NFL segment “Jacked Up” anymore.
George, we have also seen bounties placed by coaches to take out certain players ala Saintsgate. No place for that in the NFL. Back in the day when Buddy Ryan was coaching the Eagles, he was guilty of the same thing against Dallas. They had a bounty on the Dallas kicker and intentionally tried to hurt him. What a nasty piece of work Ryan was. I don’t think he even got fined for it. Then, you add the Philly fans throwing snowballs with batteries in them at the Dallas players leaving the field. Dallas learned real quick to leave their helmets on and get off the field fast.
Rosenblatt
You speak like an injured ex NFLer. I agree totally. The NFL needs to put their “Big Boy” pants on a lead by example.
Sorry, I forgot, in the $1 Billion brain injury lawsuit we just won (which little Ol me and my 9 NFL caused brain surgeries “may” qualify for $240,000 – I’ve lost more than that just in our house we lost in 2012 due to my cognitive impairment), part of the settlment includes the clause the NFL did not have to take responsibility for any injuries or deception, and they did NOT have to divulge results of studies they did in the 70’s and 80’s on brain injuries.
If we can get the NFL to do what’s right, they can litteraly save countless young lives and keep numberous families from facing a lifetime of hell like mine has endured.
Come on Rodger Goodell. Let go of some of that $44,000,000 a year you make. How about just a weeks paycheck ($846,153), or even a paltry hour of your wages ($21,153). Maybe you could help my old 49er room mate I found living under an overpass in 2012.
Thanks George (at least, I think calling me an ex NFLer is a compliment since you’re in that group :). I’m sorry you have first hand experience with this as most of the stories I hear about people in your situation are just plain tragic.
I can’t imagine having to deal with that for as long as you have with little to no help from the organization that keeps trying to turn a blind eye to what’s happened in their sport.
I used to really enjoy Gregg Easterbrook’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback’s articles (still do, to an extent) and one of things he kept saying is there’s no guarantee the NFL will always be profitable and one of the biggest sports in the country.
While they are rolling in the dough, to me, there is NO EXCUSE for basically telling ex-players to fly a kite and wish them good luck fighting issues like CTE or any other physical & mental ailments sustained while on the job.
Players are surrounded by physical therapists, doctors, trainers, etc., nearly every day they’re an active member of the league, but once the contract ends, I presume that support system ends too.
“If we can get the NFL to do what’s right” hahahaha, that’s funny considering the way Goodell has run the league (except if you’re an owner not named Kraft, then I’m sure they think he’s doing a great job raking in cash!)
Rosenblatt, Kraft accepted the team punishment on the fine and the loss of the two draft choices. The game suspensions for Brady are still being talked about.
George, you write awfully well for someone who had brain issues from playing NFL football. In fact, you write better than many on this blog who have never been on a football field.
Do you know if the fines the NFL metes out on head to head hits or late hits goes into the fund to pay for the injuries or is Goodell just hoarding all that fine money?
By the way, what is your take on this Brady fiasco? I know he has appealed, but it looks like Goodell is making an example out of him. As Rosenblatt has pointed out, Aaron Rogers was having balls over inflated by his ball boys. What is the difference between the two violations? Can you imagine the NFL suspending the top two quarterbacks in the league?
Thanks for this great article Ms. Davidson. The analogy with big tobacco is spot on. I, however, would have no issue with studies casting doubt or in studies that contain a conflict of interest footnote. Doubt is generally good.
What I do take issue with, however, is the direct filtering of raw data, peer review pressure to weaken conclusions, failure to disclose indirect relationships, etc. In the real world, funding of studies is not so binary; funded researchers have life-long relationships with the entire scientific community, so if some people are influenced in a direction it can pull other researchers in that same direction as well.
Jason Taylor, organizer of meetup.com/safersoccer .
It would be interesting to give the Wonderlic Test to retired players who should score higher in post playing days as pre-playing days. With life and game experiene, they scores should be higher…unless there is some cognitive damage.
I am not so sure we get smarter with age. I think wisdom peaks at death, while raw brain intelligence appears to peak in the late teens. https://books.google.co.nz/books?id=4K3Dfa14DuIC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=%22iq+peaks+at%22&source=bl&ots=My1UIpyH3p&sig=y7BwBahSwK9Y1G9Rhwz0966ENHc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ejtRVe7LDoaegwTh0oHgBQ&ved=0CCoQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22iq%20peaks%20at%22&f=false
How do you explain “low information voters”? How do you explain young people who have almost no knowledge of how the world works, pay no attention to world events, don’t know who their leaders are and the only interest seems to be on how to download the latest app on their iphone?
They must all play football
Not the girly guys, computer geeks who have no idea what is going on around them.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
I explain the low information voters as dope heads who have a very low attention span, lazy entitlement seekers who will never be productive citizens. They are perfectly happy for government to take care of them at the expense of real taxpayers. This is the culture of Obama and Progressives.
Most Progressives are well-educated people, who earn a living, as well as supporting causes that are beneficial to society. This has been the case all throughout history, including our Founding Fathers. They were well-educated liberal progressives who wanted change, including separation of church and state, while the conservatives wanted to stay loyal to the king of England, because being conservative means that you are against change.
Progressives want healthcare and education for all (or at least accessible), investment in our infrastructure, and an end to the excessive wealth redistribution to a wealthy few (that’s where the money is really going).
So, you’re against those things? Would Jesus be against healing a poor person? Did Jesus support the idea of giving more money to the rich?
Agent, you are amazing…and not in a good way. The posts prior to you were actually about the article. For a brief moment, it appeared that a forum was actually going to stick to the article and an intelligent conversation was about to emerge. Then you have to throw in your ridiculous comment about ‘low information voters’, which has absolutely nothing to do with the article. You are so single-minded and short-sighted it is frightening. Get off your high-horse, Agent.
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Hey Jason, I saw a good sign appropriate to your comment.
Teenagers:
Tired of being harassed by your stupid parents?
Act Now!!!
Move out, Get a Job, Pay your own bills while you still know everything.
Why blame NFL for a failed design of headgear, Hard plastic items hitting together causes quick directional change to the skulls.
This needs to change… Softer surfaced helmets with internal frames would reduce TBI s and save lives.
Thanks for your work,
G. Malcolm Brown
Go back to leather helmets and players will stop using their heads and helmets as weapons. But then the players will complain about cracked skulls. There is only one sure fire solution to this problem, stop playing football.
Further validation of my Rule of Research #2: “You don’t know what a research study means until you know who paid for it.”
This problem will never go away. We will never completely know the impact of football on these types of injuries. Very little will conclusively be determined. One thing is certain however, the lawyers will get rich. And that will be reflected in pretty much anything we buy or any service we obtain.
How about implementing more of my recommendations Dr Rich Ellenbogen, co-chair of the NFL’s Head, Neck and Spine Injury Group asked me for in 2010.
Visger Rules – Recommended Changes to NFL Rules | The Sport Digest 12/16/10 … thesportdigest.com/…/visger-rules-recommended-changes-to-nfl-rules/
But what do I know? I only played on championship Pee Wee, Pop Warner, undefeated high school teams, in the 77 Orange Bowl, on the SF 49ers 81 Super Bowl championship team, survived 3 brain surgeries during and 4 months after the 81 Super Bowl season, earned a BS in Biological Conservation while surviving 5 additional emergency VP brain surgeries in a 9 month period in 86, worked as a wildlife biologist and environmental consultant for 22 years and have been a traumatic brain injury consultant since 2010.
If anyone is looking for help dealing with the repurcussions of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, please go to our website at:
http://www.thevisgergroup.org
We are dedicated to helping others avoid the hell my family has faced these last 34 years.
Well, just to be balanced some of those rules are in play now, thanks in part to your work. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sports/concussion-watch/with-eye-on-concussions-nfl-adopts-new-rule-on-helmet-hits/ I am happy some changes have been made. I don’t think they have hurt the game viewing quality much, so it is a good change.
If the NFL really cared about the safety of their players, they would mandate the use of mouth guards (the ones that are specifically molded to an individual’s mouth) and make sure everyone’s helmet was properly strapped in on both sides.
The NFL and the US Army long ago teamed up in “suicide prevention” videos to make it seem that dings and knocks to the head would take care of themselves. With no REAL injury, no problem. Be a man, suck it up, get back in there, be resilient. Little by little, vets from sports and war with brain injuries fall into the cycle told to us by a suicidal service member who had run from VA “treatments”: deny, delay, deceive, drugs, death. Despite all that has been learned in the last 30 years by Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT) practitioners, the standard of care for concussions around the world remains “watchful waiting”. Whether in the military, professional sports, emergency rooms or sports in general, medicine generally takes a passive approach to concussions, with the exception that drugs are prescribed for a myriad of accompanying sequelae/afflictions. Most often, the patient recovers to a point where physical therapy is possible. The patient invariably regains some measure of movement though quality of life may never be regained.
In what follows, culled from numerous web sites for general and specific information, from some of the most prestigious organizations and International Conferences in the world, the accepted protocol for concussions is observation, sometimes aided by brain scans, interviews or questionnaires and/or mental-physical tests to aid in diagnosis. There is little to no mention of any intervention to treat and heal the underlying injury to the brain, unless it has caused brain bleeding and/or swelling, in which case emergency interventions and surgery may be called for. Patients are told that almost all concussions eventually resolve themselves after some time. Pain medication is recommended where warranted.
There is no mention of even basic nutrition or brain foods and supplements, much less any discussion of the one intervention that can have an immediate impact. In multiple peer-reviewed journals and articles worldwide, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can help in the healing of underlying brain injury typically suffered in mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries, of which concussion is a sub-set.
Current standard-of-care “Rehabilitation” after a significant brain injury can include such interventions as rest, physical and cognitive therapy, brain training, visual and auditory help, occupational therapy, talk therapy and preparation for return to a diminished lifestyle, typically on drugs to control pain, headaches and mood swings. It is common to hear that “70-80% or more fully recover before three months.”
Run your own test: ask a neurologist or the athletic trainer at your children’s school what their protocol is for a concussion. Read the Army and the NFL Guidelines below and notice the similarities across the board. The common standard of care is little more than bed rest and hoping for the best.
Preliminary Note:
Our work with brain-injured service members unavoidably puts us in contact with brain-injured civilians and victims of all kinds of head injuries. People with concussions approach us continually with requests for help with healing. They want an end to the headaches, the sleeplessness, depression and the myriad symptoms resulting from blows to the head. Plus, they want to get back to normal. They’re the unlucky ones whose concussions didn’t resolve themselves with time. Sadly, too many of them don’t ever hear about HBOT from their doctors, or they have heard negative comments from doctors who turn out to know next to nothing about HBOT: they weren’t taught it in medical school and they have never read the worldwide literature or assessed the evidence.
Time after time, in hundreds of cases where we’ve contacted Veteran Call Centers, Veteran Service Organizations, major orgs like VFW, IAVA, AL, VVA, DAV, Navy League, the NFL, the NHL, colleges and high schools, they all accede to the need to DO SOMETHING. Mostly the commentary focuses on academic theory, high level strategy, admonitions about “we don’t know enough about the brain”, and 19-point plans for cleaning up and focusing and measuring and demanding accountability. No one — not one — talks simply and directly about CLINICAL MEDICINE. All take the passive approach: rest and watchful waiting. Many talk about “evidence-based medicine” but ignore evidence that runs counter to what they “know.” And they don’t tackle the simple fact: an epidemic of ANY kind demands URGENCY and treatment. Think Ebola. The epidemics of concussions and military suicides demand no less intense focus on immediacy and proactive intervention.
Former Army Secretary Marty Hoffmann insisted on accountability and the need-for-speed. “Take a risk for the veteran” he would demand. Use battlefield medicine rules — whatever it takes, bar none, always within parameters set by the doctor. It still astonishes when people learn how many off-label drugs and treatments the Warrior Transition Units use for palliative care — symptom suppression, not healing. The NBIRR Coalition has 100s of testimonials from patients who have passed through Warrior Transition Units. To a person, they attest to the predilection toward: drugs, talk therapy, gadgets/apps, palliative care. Luckily, some benefit somewhat. BUT — the overwhelming majority lose hope, get mustered out, and go on to fight with the VA until they reach a “new normal”, with or without VA care, and always with an expanding list of prescription drugs. And they hunker down with a welfare check.
And “research” continues into “What is a concussion?” and “How can we tell if the patient has PTSD or TBI?” or “Is there a drug/biomarker/brain image that will tell us how hurt the patient is?” And always the search for a new magic drug that will “fix” the injury.
Imagine the following: all ballplayers after a game have a ritual about how they treat their injuries/pain/aches. Physical trainers and doctors prescribe protocols for different injuries: backs, necks, ankles, muscles, etc etc. Ice-baths, saunas, massages, electrical stimulation, analgesics, pain pills, diet, etc. And for a concussion? Never HBOT. Even cursory research could turn up what HBOT practitioners already know: expecting a severe brain injury to “heal” without treating the underlying swelling and damage to the brain tissue is a bit like throwing a dumbbell to an athlete with a broken arm — before setting the broken bone — and saying “let’s rehab that arm now!” An equivalent with concussions is all the cognitive- and neuro-psych — even language/job/physical-therapies — all while waiting for natural healing and the “tincture of time” and palliative care to somehow heal the brain.
Couldn’t agree with Robert more.
Hyperbaric oxygen treatments, and high dose purified Omega fish oils have been a godsend for me. In 2009 I underwent a 3 day neuro cognitive evaluation at Dr Amen’s clinic and began both hyperbarics and Omega 3’s in Jan of 2010. (Dr Barry Sears OmegaRX – the highest grade Omega’s on the market).
I undergo a 6 hour neuro cognitive exam back at Amen’s after every 40 – 50 hyperbaric treatments. My microcognitive memory scores improved 14.3% after the 178th treatment (at age 53). I’m now on HBOT # 238 and my memory scores have improved over 16%, AND I quit all 4 dementia meds they had me on in 2010.
George Visger
Wildlife Biologist/TBI consultant
The Visger Group
http://www.thevisgergroup.org
The jaw, mouth guards, boxers glass jaw, Pugilistica dementia, chin strap forces. Neuromuscular mouth guards have now been conntected in research to have an effect on nerve energy to the neck and upperbody. Yet, when experts presented this type of info to the NFL concussion committee ten years ago, they were laughed out of the place. Concussion committee members might have well spit on them also. Dr. Robert Cantu is now acting as a consulted with U.S. Army contractors to develop a neuromuscular mouth guard to address these very issues.
Who Knew?
A problem with all the new equipment, which can never be addressed, is the simple fact that the human brain was not meant to be used as a weapon to hit people with. Out think, yes. Strike a blow, no.
Simple physics; 1/2 mass x Velocity squared = Kinetic Engergy
Players are getting bigger, stronger and faster and the kinetic energy they generate is beyond what the human body can handle. I was 275 my rookie year at SF and we didn’t even have any 280 pounders. Now the average NFL lineman is 315 pounds, AND fast. A jet fighter pilot will pass out between 4 and 5 G’s when accelerating. Accelerometers placed in helmets have registered hits over 300 G’s.
As we say at The Visger Group;
Use Your Head: DON”T Use Your Head
We’ve got to take the head out of the game.
George, it has to start early on how players are coached from grade school to the pro’s. Players get a false sense of security with the modern helmet and then they find out later, it doesn’t protect them from concussions or more serious injury. Add that with teaching the forearm shiver to the jaw only makes the problem worse.
I agree we need to teach the kids at an early age how to tackle properly, but it also needs to be a top-down solution as the kids look to the NFL players for “how to play the game.” It’s one reason why ESPN no longer has their NFL segment “Jacked Up” anymore.
Actually Rosenblatt, the best segment they show is “Common Man” to show all the goofy plays that happen each week.
George, we have also seen bounties placed by coaches to take out certain players ala Saintsgate. No place for that in the NFL. Back in the day when Buddy Ryan was coaching the Eagles, he was guilty of the same thing against Dallas. They had a bounty on the Dallas kicker and intentionally tried to hurt him. What a nasty piece of work Ryan was. I don’t think he even got fined for it. Then, you add the Philly fans throwing snowballs with batteries in them at the Dallas players leaving the field. Dallas learned real quick to leave their helmets on and get off the field fast.
Rosenblatt
You speak like an injured ex NFLer. I agree totally. The NFL needs to put their “Big Boy” pants on a lead by example.
Sorry, I forgot, in the $1 Billion brain injury lawsuit we just won (which little Ol me and my 9 NFL caused brain surgeries “may” qualify for $240,000 – I’ve lost more than that just in our house we lost in 2012 due to my cognitive impairment), part of the settlment includes the clause the NFL did not have to take responsibility for any injuries or deception, and they did NOT have to divulge results of studies they did in the 70’s and 80’s on brain injuries.
If we can get the NFL to do what’s right, they can litteraly save countless young lives and keep numberous families from facing a lifetime of hell like mine has endured.
Come on Rodger Goodell. Let go of some of that $44,000,000 a year you make. How about just a weeks paycheck ($846,153), or even a paltry hour of your wages ($21,153). Maybe you could help my old 49er room mate I found living under an overpass in 2012.
102912 Channel 13 News Sacramento – Terry Tuatolo interview
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/video/7898539-former-nfl-linebacker-falls-into-homelessness/
Thanks George (at least, I think calling me an ex NFLer is a compliment since you’re in that group :). I’m sorry you have first hand experience with this as most of the stories I hear about people in your situation are just plain tragic.
I can’t imagine having to deal with that for as long as you have with little to no help from the organization that keeps trying to turn a blind eye to what’s happened in their sport.
I used to really enjoy Gregg Easterbrook’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback’s articles (still do, to an extent) and one of things he kept saying is there’s no guarantee the NFL will always be profitable and one of the biggest sports in the country.
While they are rolling in the dough, to me, there is NO EXCUSE for basically telling ex-players to fly a kite and wish them good luck fighting issues like CTE or any other physical & mental ailments sustained while on the job.
Players are surrounded by physical therapists, doctors, trainers, etc., nearly every day they’re an active member of the league, but once the contract ends, I presume that support system ends too.
“If we can get the NFL to do what’s right” hahahaha, that’s funny considering the way Goodell has run the league (except if you’re an owner not named Kraft, then I’m sure they think he’s doing a great job raking in cash!)
Rosenblatt, Kraft accepted the team punishment on the fine and the loss of the two draft choices. The game suspensions for Brady are still being talked about.
I know
George, you write awfully well for someone who had brain issues from playing NFL football. In fact, you write better than many on this blog who have never been on a football field.
Do you know if the fines the NFL metes out on head to head hits or late hits goes into the fund to pay for the injuries or is Goodell just hoarding all that fine money?
By the way, what is your take on this Brady fiasco? I know he has appealed, but it looks like Goodell is making an example out of him. As Rosenblatt has pointed out, Aaron Rogers was having balls over inflated by his ball boys. What is the difference between the two violations? Can you imagine the NFL suspending the top two quarterbacks in the league?