The Pop Warner youth football group issued new practice guidelines this week in an attempt to reduce concussions and head injuries among the more than 400,000 children who participate in youth football leagues in the United States. Pop Warner is a major source and feeder system for high school, college, and professional football – more… Read More »
Baseline Concussion Testing for Sports Teams and School Athletic Departments. A Guide for Coaches, Athletic Trainers, Physicians, and Parents. A number of high profile cases involving long term risks of concussions in contact sports has spurred sports concussion legislation in many states. State legislation will typically require mandatory concussion management policies that school administrators and… Read More »
A recent research article by Dr. Bennet Omalu in the journal Neurosurgical Focus highlights a probable connection between blast-related brain injuries common in Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, and a brain disease usually associated with certain sports like boxing, American football, and hockey. This connection was first reported in the New York Times by Nicholas Kristof.… Read More »
Several health and science news stories have reported on research studies that looked at soccer headers and possible brain damage. Current research isn’t conclusive on the short term effects of multiple headers off a soccer ball, at least when it comes to cognitive performance. What did jump out at me from one study was that… Read More »
At the beginning of January the NFL expanded concussion guidelines to include the ability to “allow the (team) medical staff to review the network video of any play during which a player was injured.” This change was prompted by the December 8 concussion received by Browns quarterback Colt McCoy in a game against Pittsburgh. McCoy… Read More »
Best Practices for Sports Teams and School Athletic Departments. A Guide for Coaches, Athletic Trainers, Physicians, and Parents. A number of high profile cases involving long term risks of concussions in contact sports has spurred sports concussion legislation in many states. State legislation will typically require mandatory concussion management policies that school administrators and athletic… Read More »