Slashdot Mirror
Athletes' Brains Reveal Concussion Damage
jamie found a story on research about what concussions do to athletes, with the insights coming mostly from the study of the donated brains of dead athletes. The NFL has the biggest profile in the piece, but other sports make an appearance too. Turns out that repeated concussions can result in depression, insomnia, and the beginnings of something that looks a lot like Alzheimer's. "The idea that you can whack your head hundreds of times in your life and knock yourself out and get up and be fine is gone," said [retired wrestler] Nowinski. "We know we can't do that anymore. This causes long-term damage."
"The idea that you can whack your head hundreds of times in your life and knock yourself out and get up and be fine is gone," said [retired wrestler] Nowinski.
This was a legitimate idea that people actually believed?
If this is true, then why do schools insist on giving money to sports programs while starving arts and sciences budgets? Not only do they not do their job, they're effectively making kids dumber by causing brain damage.
Just out of curiosity, I just googeled for Muhammad Ali to find about his Parkinson condition.
It looks like his career choice was at least partly responsible for his brain damage: Article.
This isn't mentioned in the Wikipedia, by the way.
Makes you wonder if it is smart to glorify professional boxing.
To be honest even considering the money they make I don't think it'd worth it to have a body and mind that will be worthless well before it should be.
These are grown men playing children's games. It's quite sad how worked up people can get over something so insignificant as sports while at the same time they're typically not into keeping themselves fit.
It's not surprising, but it's also a bit of a slight to the way concussions are being handled today. These artciles give the impression that concussions are treated today the same way they were 30 years ago.
Ten years ago was the point where things really started to "click" when it came to concussions. Jim Everett's case in particular. He was an NFL quarterback who spent several years as a veritable punching bag for some god-awful teams, including the St. Louis Rams. Everett had actually taken to keeping his phone number in his wallet, since he frequently got lost on the way home (a 15 minute drive) from the stadium, and couldn't remember his address or phone number. At that point, a lot of NFL teams began taking notice. The tissue samples we're seeing are from guys who, for the most part, played in the 70's and 80's, back when "shut up and play you pussy, you just 'got your bell rung'" was a way of life. Now, concussions are handled with considerably more care. Is it enough? I don't know that anyone is sure yet. But at least they're being treated like the legitimate, serious injury they are.
But what's really waking up pro sports teams? Money. With teams investing over 100 million dollars over ten years in some players, the risk is losing not only what you've invested in development, but what you stand to earn in terms of marketing and merchandise revenues. What do you think a Peyton Manning-level players is worth to his franchise over his career? a quarter of a billion dollars? Half a billion? Do you think it's any different in the NHL? Or EPL?
It's interesting that Chris Nowinski is mentioned in the article. As a former pro-wrestler, hearing him talk about concussions is like hearing about gang violence from someone who lives in Compton. The WWE has an absolutely abysmal record of handling athlete injuries, especially concussions.
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.
I know you're being funny, but seriously, there's a huge difference between mild trauma and huge, 300+ pound men smashing into each other. (Mass * Velocity)^2 = your brain is mush. There has not been nearly enough research into this subject; the actual effects of the trauma, both over long and short-term periods of time. This information will help everyone, not just athletes. It just so happens athletes experience massive numbers of concussions; hopefully their sacrifices will help benefit anyone experiencing head-trauma issues.
For once I am thanking the fact that I have no atheletic skill and turned to a life of technology and computers.
Personally I balance that by enjoying the outdoors. It does not take very much effort to be able to easily handle a five-mile hike in relatively rough (i.e. difficult, but no special equipment needed) terrain and it's quite enjoyable. There is something magic about the forest that puts your mind at ease and gives you a sense of peace, especially when you find a harmony there that is often missing in the "rat race" life. Depending on where you like to go, it also can involve a lot of different movements like jumping and climbing which is why I consider it superior to simply walking around the block.
Now, I am not a doctor so this is just my personal opinion, but I also think this is a healthy sort of exercise that, assuming you are not careless or clumsy, does not carry anything like the risks of injury that most sports like American football include. That's not to say that no one ever gets hurt in the wilderness, because that certainly does happen to some people and it's not for everybody, but I've yet to hear such a story that was not the direct result of negligence on the part of the person involved. I also think that a lean, agile body is healthier than a "beefcake" body like those that American football players are often encouraged to have, for the latter is often built on what I would call a burnout lifestyle.
It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
Who EVER had "The idea that you can whack your head hundreds of times in your life and knock yourself out and get up and be fine" ?!
Obviously somebody that whacked their head thousands of times in their life!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Risks can be good. But the risks from playing high school football? Unacceptable. There's absolutely no reason to raise a generation of brain-damaged kids with no decent work alternative other than going into the army - were further concussions are currently the most prevalent combat injury. Okay, might as well get them partly brain-dead before sending them into combat ... except, this being /., we need to consider that we're not too many years short of having an all-robot army. Anticipating that, we should shut football down, now.
As Richard Florida's research shows, public investment in sports arenas negatively correlates with economic growth. So it's time to go for zero tolerance for activities which demonstrably produce brain-damaged kids, and in their professional forms are bad for our civic economies. Let's make football illegal by 2010!
"with their freedom lost all virtue lose" - Milton
The NHL has taken special attention to 'head shots' this year and the injuries that go with. There's a handful of guys - Eric Lindros being the most prominent - who lost a great deal of playing time from getting their bell rung.
Rough story about Everett. I just read about some of the stuff he's done since, including completing his MBA. He actually never played with St. Louis, though - the Rams didn't move there until 1995.
As far as franchise players and their value, I imagine a guy like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, or starting MLB pitchers are probably worth close to $800M-1B now given the TV, merchandise, ticket, etc. revenue generated. It's reflected in the contracts they're getting; $25M isn't unprecedented for a season in the MLB, and over 15 years would get you up to $375M in their career. So, yeah - there's a huge benefit in further research.
-m.
Some of Lindros' problems were his own doing. He rose through the junior ranks so quickly that he never developed any on-ice vision. Be it either due to his meteoric rise or a simple lack of skill, he never had a decent sense of what was going on around him. Igor Larionov was generously listed as 5'8" 185 lbs, yet never once took the hits that I saw Lindros take.
And of course, Lindros had a habit of taking the puck up through center ice with his head down. That may have worked back in the OHL when he was 50lbs heavier than everyone and could muscle his way through just about any check, but that same move is just like ringing the dinner bell when you had guys like Scott Stevens patrolling the blue line.
There are some people that if they don't know, you can't tell 'em.