like the football lawsuit, this should have been dismissed.
these guys have played the game since they were children and knew full well how physical it was. they could have quit anytime.
Anyone notice the baby helmets these players have been using for years? They are like the helmets bicycle riders use. They aren’t much good if the player is taken into the boards on a hard check.
Agent – if they have a concern about the long term effect, then they should wear a different helmet or get out of the league.
My kid plays pee-wee hockey now, you should see the helmets they wear – full blown cages. The only reason they wear such small helmets is because the larger helmets degrade performance on the ice. They made the choice to sacrifice performance over safety.
CONCUSSION can happen to anyone, any time, anywhere.
What is a concussion?
“Concussion is a serious brain injury that can occur in both non-contact and contact sports. This injury results from the rapid translational (linear front-to-back, side-to-side) or rotational (angular) movement of the multi-lobular brain within the skull. Such rapid movement can result in damage or disruption of the brain cell structure and metabolism.
Altered brain function may result from this trauma and be expressed in a variety of physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound), physical signs (e.g., loss of balance and coordination), cognitive deficits (e.g., memory and concentration losses) or emotional changes (e.g., depression and irritability). These signs or symptoms may occur immediately after the injury, or onset may be delayed.
The majority of concussions do not result in a loss of consciousness. If a player is suspected of having a concussion, he/she must be removed from the field of play and properly evaluated by a medical professional experienced in concussion diagnosis and treatment.”
“The NHL’s concussion committee doesn’t have a single neurologist on it,” says Neurologist Dr. Frank Conidi, chief of the Florida Centre for Headache and Sports Neurology.
“Think about that. It (TBI) might be a problem in hockey as well. Hockey has the highest incidence of concussion per participant, at any level.
Look at the physics: force equals mass times acceleration. You’ve got higher mass now, higher acceleration in modern hockey.”
Is there such a thing as a concussion helmet? The answer is a resounding NO! Helmets are important and very effective against localized head injuries such as skull fractures but they have limited effectiveness against concussions.
Suffice it to say that regardless of what you hear or read, concussion helmets do not yet exist. Reducing the concussion risk will require behavioural adjustments on many fronts.
Do Mouthguards Prevent Concussions?
Although the facemask does prevent dental injuries, it is still recommended that all players who play hockey wear an internal mouthguard. Dental injuries still occur despite the use of a facemask. Properly fitted mouthguards have been shown to significantly reduce dental and oral injuries in hockey. However, their role in preventing or reducing the severity of concussions has not been scientifically proven.”
The Sport Concussion Library was initiated by Dr. Paul Echlin (ON, Canada) who knows hockey both as a team physician and researcher. He is a capable and reasonable voice for safety in sport. His credentials:
1) Board-certified sports medicine specialist (US & Canada),
2) Junior Hockey team physician (10 years US & Canada),
3) Past chair of the London (ON, Canada) Hockey Concussion Summit, and
4) Past co-chair of the HNCI Stakeholders Meeting (January 2009)
5) Chair, Hockey Neurotrauma and Concussion Initiative Research Committee
6) Primary Investigator of the Hockey Concussion Education Project
Evidence has demonstrated that the brain’s microstructural white matter is altered with both concussive and sub-concussive injury. Children’s brains taken longer to heal.
“We want our children to keep playing hockey and other sports for the fun, health benefits and heightened self-esteem they derive from it. But we have to look seriously at the structure of the games our children play. We have to protect our children’s brains.”
The chair of the international collaborative who contributed to the white paper below, “Solving the Concussion Crisis: Practical Solutions”, is Board-certified neurosurgeon and Fellowship-trained spine surgeon, Neilank K Jha MD, who was born in Edmonton, AB, Canada and grew up playing hockey in Regina, SK. The collaborators make the following recommendation to Professional Sports Leagues:
“It is incumbent upon the medical and scientific community to work with the leagues to protect past, current and future players while maintaining the value of athletic participation. The following 5-point plan is a first step in solving the concussion crisis in sports:
1) Education and prevention surrounding concussions at the grassroots level amongst children as a joint project between the medical community, league and the players association as a measure to prevent declining
enrolment at all levels of sport.
2) Multi-Disciplinary Care (MDC) for all athletes suffering from Post-Concussive Syndrome (persistent symptoms of traumatic brain injury)
3) Ensure athletes are managed with the most up-to-date concussion protocols.
4) Include the current known risks of concussion in the existing education process for athletes, parents, coaches, and other stakeholders.
5) Continue to invest in concussion research and development beneficial to athletes in all sports, specifically in the areas of education, prevention, diagnostics, management and treatments.
Improving sportsmanship by eliminating violence in sports at all levels, focusing on skill and team development, and implementing sound concussion policies will help to improve sports overall. Fans fueled by alcohol are poor decision makers.
like the football lawsuit, this should have been dismissed.
these guys have played the game since they were children and knew full well how physical it was. they could have quit anytime.
Anyone notice the baby helmets these players have been using for years? They are like the helmets bicycle riders use. They aren’t much good if the player is taken into the boards on a hard check.
Agent – if they have a concern about the long term effect, then they should wear a different helmet or get out of the league.
My kid plays pee-wee hockey now, you should see the helmets they wear – full blown cages. The only reason they wear such small helmets is because the larger helmets degrade performance on the ice. They made the choice to sacrifice performance over safety.
They also signed a contract acknowledging hockey is a violent sport and did it willingly.
CONCUSSION can happen to anyone, any time, anywhere.
What is a concussion?
“Concussion is a serious brain injury that can occur in both non-contact and contact sports. This injury results from the rapid translational (linear front-to-back, side-to-side) or rotational (angular) movement of the multi-lobular brain within the skull. Such rapid movement can result in damage or disruption of the brain cell structure and metabolism.
Altered brain function may result from this trauma and be expressed in a variety of physical symptoms (e.g., headaches, dizziness, sensitivity to light and sound), physical signs (e.g., loss of balance and coordination), cognitive deficits (e.g., memory and concentration losses) or emotional changes (e.g., depression and irritability). These signs or symptoms may occur immediately after the injury, or onset may be delayed.
The majority of concussions do not result in a loss of consciousness. If a player is suspected of having a concussion, he/she must be removed from the field of play and properly evaluated by a medical professional experienced in concussion diagnosis and treatment.”
SOURCE: http://sportconcussionlibrary.com/definition-concussion/
Physics of hockey concussion:
“The NHL’s concussion committee doesn’t have a single neurologist on it,” says Neurologist Dr. Frank Conidi, chief of the Florida Centre for Headache and Sports Neurology.
“Think about that. It (TBI) might be a problem in hockey as well. Hockey has the highest incidence of concussion per participant, at any level.
Look at the physics: force equals mass times acceleration. You’ve got higher mass now, higher acceleration in modern hockey.”
SOURCE: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/hockey+highest+incidence+concussion+participant+level/11866283/story.html
“Do Hockey Helmets Prevent Concussions?
Is there such a thing as a concussion helmet? The answer is a resounding NO! Helmets are important and very effective against localized head injuries such as skull fractures but they have limited effectiveness against concussions.
Suffice it to say that regardless of what you hear or read, concussion helmets do not yet exist. Reducing the concussion risk will require behavioural adjustments on many fronts.
Do Mouthguards Prevent Concussions?
Although the facemask does prevent dental injuries, it is still recommended that all players who play hockey wear an internal mouthguard. Dental injuries still occur despite the use of a facemask. Properly fitted mouthguards have been shown to significantly reduce dental and oral injuries in hockey. However, their role in preventing or reducing the severity of concussions has not been scientifically proven.”
SOURCE: http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/Hockey-Programs/Safety/Concussions/Facts-and-Prevention.aspx
http://globalnews.ca/news/407569/panel-finds-helmets-mouth-guards-dont-prevent-concussions/, http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/250.full
The Sport Concussion Library was initiated by Dr. Paul Echlin (ON, Canada) who knows hockey both as a team physician and researcher. He is a capable and reasonable voice for safety in sport. His credentials:
1) Board-certified sports medicine specialist (US & Canada),
2) Junior Hockey team physician (10 years US & Canada),
3) Past chair of the London (ON, Canada) Hockey Concussion Summit, and
4) Past co-chair of the HNCI Stakeholders Meeting (January 2009)
5) Chair, Hockey Neurotrauma and Concussion Initiative Research Committee
6) Primary Investigator of the Hockey Concussion Education Project
Video: http://sportconcussionlibrary.com/press-box/concussion-management-and-return-to-learn/
Evidence has demonstrated that the brain’s microstructural white matter is altered with both concussive and sub-concussive injury. Children’s brains taken longer to heal.
“We want our children to keep playing hockey and other sports for the fun, health benefits and heightened self-esteem they derive from it. But we have to look seriously at the structure of the games our children play. We have to protect our children’s brains.”
SOURCE: http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net/hockey-players-who-suffer-concussions-show-microscopic-brain-changes/
International White Paper:
The chair of the international collaborative who contributed to the white paper below, “Solving the Concussion Crisis: Practical Solutions”, is Board-certified neurosurgeon and Fellowship-trained spine surgeon, Neilank K Jha MD, who was born in Edmonton, AB, Canada and grew up playing hockey in Regina, SK. The collaborators make the following recommendation to Professional Sports Leagues:
“It is incumbent upon the medical and scientific community to work with the leagues to protect past, current and future players while maintaining the value of athletic participation. The following 5-point plan is a first step in solving the concussion crisis in sports:
1) Education and prevention surrounding concussions at the grassroots level amongst children as a joint project between the medical community, league and the players association as a measure to prevent declining
enrolment at all levels of sport.
2) Multi-Disciplinary Care (MDC) for all athletes suffering from Post-Concussive Syndrome (persistent symptoms of traumatic brain injury)
3) Ensure athletes are managed with the most up-to-date concussion protocols.
4) Include the current known risks of concussion in the existing education process for athletes, parents, coaches, and other stakeholders.
5) Continue to invest in concussion research and development beneficial to athletes in all sports, specifically in the areas of education, prevention, diagnostics, management and treatments.
SOURCE: https://konkstatic.com/pdfs/WhitePaperEditorial-Sep2015.pdf
Improving sportsmanship by eliminating violence in sports at all levels, focusing on skill and team development, and implementing sound concussion policies will help to improve sports overall. Fans fueled by alcohol are poor decision makers.