A tough stand on head injuries by the N-F-L December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: concussion, football, sports
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The old N-F-L standard, put in place in 2007, said that players should not be allowed to return to the same game if they lose consciousness.
But now things are changing to better protect players.
The new guidelines, put in place this week by N-F-L commissioner Roger Goodell, say that players who suffer a concussion cannot return on the same day if he shows certain symptoms. Also teams were told this month they have to have an outside neurologist who can be consulted on concussions.
Kerri Remmel, a neurologist at UofL, she says this is a big step in the right direction.
“The awareness is here, we recognize that a concussion can change the life on an individual. Repeated concussions and cause people to have long term memory loss learning problems. So the recognition of the significance of this on the athlete is very important and thats where we are going with this.” Says Kerri Remmel
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New head-injury guidelines December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: football, sports, tbi, TBI Info
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NFL teams have new, stricter instructions for when players should be allowed to return to games or practices after head injuries, guidelines that go into effect this week.
In the latest step by the league to address a hot-button issue, commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the 32 clubs Wednesday saying that a player who gets a concussion should not return to action on the same day if he shows certain symptoms. Those include an inability to remember assignments or plays, a gap in memory, persistent dizziness and persistent headaches.
Nearly one-fifth of 160 NFL players surveyed by The Associated Press from Nov. 2-15 replied that they have hidden or played down the effects of a concussion.
Ward apologizes to fellow Steelers
Hines Ward’s apology to Ben Roethlisberger was extended to the rest of the team. Ward said at a team meeting that he regretted creating a distraction when he questioned why a concussion had kept Roethlisberger from playing against Baltimore on Sunday night. Roethlisberger hasn’t reported any headaches since Friday and practiced Wednesday for Sunday’s game against Oakland (3-8). …
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NFL needs help in policy to deal with dangerous concussions December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: football, sports, tbi, TBI Info
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The NFL took a small step forward from its customary stance of denial and obfuscation on the issue of brain injuries.
Yet, just as Commissioner Roger Goodell announced a new policy requiring teams to consult with independent neurologists it was still — troublingly — business as usual around the league.
Take the cases of the two quarterbacks who played in last year’s Super Bowl. The Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger left Sunday’s game after taking a blow to the head and suffering concussion-like syndromes. But by Monday reports out of Pittsburgh described the Super Bowl winning quarterback as “fine” and capable of playing this week. Arizona’s Kurt Warner also left his game against St. Louis after his head slammed into the turf. But the Cardinals are “optimistic” Warner will play this week.
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Setting the retirement bar on concussions December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: football, research, sports, tbi
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PITTSBURGH STEELERS quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered his fourth concussion this week. His teammate and defensive star Troy Polamalu has had seven documented concussions going back to high school. Both players have already achieved the ultimate in team sports – two Super Bowl rings. Now the National Football League needs to tell them that their brains are more important than another ring and they need to retire.
Yet, as of midweek, no Steeler official and certainly not NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was calling for Roethlisberger to sit out tomorrow’s game as a precaution. They ignored the emerging data connecting repeated concussions to premature degenerative brain disease. They seemed to forget the scolding Goodell received last month from the House Judiciary Committee for the league’s efforts to shout down the data.
The only thing that mattered was the Steelers propping up enough gladiators to stay alive for the playoffs. On Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Roethlisberger, “He felt normal. He felt fine. The battery of tests that he took showed that he had no symptoms.’’ This was as blissful as last season when Roethlisberger suffered his third concussion. Tomlin said, “We feel comfortable with where he is . . . and where he’s capable of being next week in preparation for our game.’’
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Capito Introduces Bill to Help Veterans Suffering from Brain Injuries December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: ptsd, recovery, research, soldiers, tbi, TBI Info, veteran healthcare, veterans, veterans healthcare, walter reed medical center
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As the nation honors America’s military men and women, Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., announced Wednesday she has re-introduced legislation designed to improve access to care for rural veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury.
Capito’s bill, the Veterans Traumatic Brain Injury Access to Care Act, would establish state-level pilot programs with partnerships between local medical professionals and the Department of Veterans Affairs, enabling local providers to support treatment efforts for geographically-isolated veterans.
Currently there are only four Veterans Affairs facilities equipped to undertake TBI treatment, which necessitates lengthy travel for those in need of treatment. The Richmond, Virginia medical facility is the nearest treatment center for West Virginia veterans.
“Traumatic brain injury is one of the most challenging afflictions facing our military men and women,” says Capito. “Treatment is extensive and specialized, placing an incredibly difficult burden on military families who must often travel great distances for treatment. My legislation is geared towards easing that burden by creating avenues for treatment closer to home.”
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Brain-Injured Athletes May Benefit from Hypothermia Research December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: ice, recovery, sports, tbi, TBI Info, treatment
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NFL players and other athletes who suffer serious or multiple concussions may benefit from ground-breaking research being conducted by scientists at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. The scientists are developing a surgical technique that involves hypothermia in specific regions of the brain.
Therapeutic hypothermia is a medical treatment that lowers a patient’s temperature in order to help reduce the risk of injury to tissue. The endovascular intra-arterial cooling method being studied at Barrow rapidly preserves the injured portion of the brain and minimizes damage.
Results from the studies, which are being led by Barrow’s director of Neurosurgery Research Mark Preul, MD, have been published in academic journals such as Neurological Research.
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DARPA Wants Cryogenic Technology on the Battlefield to Freeze Traumatic Brain Injury in its Tracks December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: ptsd, recovery, research, soldier, soldiers, veteran healthcare
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Blasts from improvised explosives and RPGs can cause traumatic brain injuries among soldiers, which can leave permanent damage. Sounds like a challenge for the Pentagon’s mad science lab DARPA, which has issued a call for a brain freeze device that could stop the after-effects of brain trauma in its tracks, Wired’s Danger Room reports.
DARPA’s proposal describes traumatic brain injury as the “signature wound of the War on Terror,” and notes the significant boost in the injuries due to the common danger of roadside bombs. A blast inflicts a double whammy on the brain: first from the initial moment of trauma when tissues and blood vessels become stretched or torn, and second from the slower secondary damage as cellular processes and biochemical cascades ripple outward and result in more brain cell death. Such secondary damage can become irreversible in as little as 90 minutes, and accounts for the most chronic trauma damage cases and deaths.
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Research shows peak times for brain injuries December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: research, soldiers, tbi, TBI Info
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Construction in Ontario is rampant — but research into brain injuries in the construction industry isn’t.
U of T currently has 55 capital projects in construction across all three campuses. That means dozens of construction workers are on campus.
Scholars exercising their brains aren’t usually thinking about the brains of the workers putting those planks in place, but one U of T researcher is.
Over the last 15 years, Angela Colantonio, a professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, has studied the effects of aging and injury on the human brain.
“My larger body of research has multiple components,” she said. “One of those components is looking at acquired brain injury in the population from an epidemiological perspective, where we have done work particularly focusing on vulnerable populations. Now we are looking at high-risk workers.”
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Number of wounded troops in Afghanistan increasing December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: ptsd, soldiers, TBI Info, veteran healthcare, veterans
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Far from winding down, the numbers of U.S. soldiers coming home wounded have continued to swell. The problem is especially acute among those fighting in Afghanistan, where nearly four times as many troops were injured in October as a year ago.
Amputations, burns, brain injuries and shrapnel wounds proliferate in Afghanistan, due mostly to increasingly potent improvised bombs targeting U.S. forces. Snipers’ bullets and mortar rounds also are to blame.
Of particular concern are the so-called hidden wounds, traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder that can have long-term side effects such as depression.
Since 2007, more than 70,000 service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury — more than 20,000 of them this year, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center.
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New brain injury group serves area residents December 7, 2009
Posted by intebic in TBI Info.Tags: recovery, support, TBI Info
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Those with brain injuries looking for resources or support now have a place to turn.
This summer a group of professionals — including a rehabilitation therapist, speech-language pathologist and rehabilitation consultant — started a local association aimed at meeting the needs of area residents with acquired brain injuries (ABI), as well as their family members.
“It’s really exciting because the need has been here for a long time,” said Wendy Cook, a member of the association’s steering committee. “A lot of people have fallen through the cracks. … This is really going to be helpful to a lot of people.”
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