UPDATE: Stefanie Loh, sports reporter for the Patriot-News, joins us tonight at 8. Talks about new NFL, NHL and youth rules this season.
Just last week, the Philadelphia Eagles' brass took heat for how they handled two players' concussions. Quarterback Kevin Kolb and middle linebacker Stewart Bradley sustained blows in the season opener that left them confused, and in Bradley's case, temporarily stumbling. At first, the team's trainers determined they were fit enough to play and sent them back on the field. However, by halftime, it was clear that both players were suffering the effects of concussions. They were removed from play and sat out last Sunday's game, as well. How could the Eagles have missed such obvious signs of impairment especially given the league's heightened focus on head-injury safety? Good question. We'll ask the experts Thursday night. Our guests include Dr. Robert Harbaugh, Chair of Neurosurgery at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Director of the Penn State Hershey Neuroscience Institute, Dr. Michael Cordas, director of Primarycare Sportsmedicine and Fellowship Program at PinnacleHealth System in Harrisburg, and Joe Spogli, a certified athletic trainer for Steelton High School. Dr. Cordas aslo chairs the Sportsmedicine Advisory Committee of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Association. Former Philadlephia Eagle Vince Papale will also join the conversation via phone. Check out an interview with Vince Papale about his "invincible" journey here.
Concussions happen without a player being "knocked out." A lot of time, folks will joke after a big hit that someone got their bell rung. But the symptoms of a concussion and the potential long-term effects of repeated concussive injuries absolutely are not a laughing matter. Symptoms include headaches, memory loss, confusion and feeling more emotional. Older pro football players with early on-set dementia have tried to prove to the NFL's disability board, without success, that their football career-related concussions caused their cognitive impairments. If new studies help them make that case, it could mean millions of dollars in higher disability payments to the retired players.
There was more startling news this week that's causing quite a stir in the field of sports medicine and school athletics. A brain autopsy of Owen Thomas, the University of Pennsylvania football player who killed himself in April, showed evidence of the same brain disease found in deceased NFL players. The finding poses questions about the risks to young football players. Doctors at Boston University examined Thomas' brain tissue and found early stages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE. It's a disease linked to depression and impulsive behavior. Doctors cannot say that CTE solely caused Thomas'suicide but they say there's a possibility it played a role in his death. CTE also was found in the brain of the Cincinnati Bengals' young star receiver Chris Henry who died last December after apparently jumping from a moving vehicle during a domestic dispute.
The New York Times quotes Dr. Daniel Perl, a professor of pathology at the medical school for the United States military, who reviewed the Thomas case. "This is a call for a broader range of research into this problem that extends beyond the heavy duty N.F.L. level of athletics," he said.
State Representative Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery County) wants Pennsylvania to pass a law requiring a physician trained in concussion management to clear a child before he or she could return to play after a head injury. His bill passed the House Education Committee in June but that's as far as it has gone. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association governs most public and many private junior/middle school- and high school-level sports competitions. The PIAA adopted a new rule this school year that only an M.D. or D.O. can decide whether a child is cleared to resume a sports activity after suffering a concussion. The PIAA follows the guidelines and recommendations of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The PIAA leaves the decision of whether to perform a baseline mental assessment of athletes prior to the start of a season to each district.
Some school districts have chosen to be aggressive in their pursuit of safety. Cumberland Valley School District, for example, requires its student-athletes in grades 7-12 to undergo Impact Testing, a computer-based, neurophysiological assessment conducted by WellSpan Health professionals. According to the CV Athletics Department's website, "The test provides an objective measurement of attention span, working memory, sustained attention, reaction time, response variability, visual and verbal memory, selective and non-verbal program (sic) solving." (My 8th grade son attends CV and underwent the testing this fall before his participation on the 9th grade soccer team.)
CV's communications specialist Tracy Panzer wrote in an email, "Impact testing was started in the Fall of 2008 as a way of taking the guesswork out of return-to-play decisions. Impact testing provides us a baseline test for each student athlete, and following a sports-related head injury, the student would have to reach his/her baseline prior to a return to play. It's another measure we take to ensure the health and safety of our students, and it is a test fully supported by our team physician."
The PIAA website also offers an online course about concussions that is free to the public. Melissa Mertz, assistant executive director of the PIAA, said a fatal incident involving a young student-athlete in the Midwest about a year ago sparked the renewed commitment to head-trauma safety. "A young high school kid was put back into a game too early after a concussion. He died and it really became the spark nationwide for schools to take a look at what they could do better," Mertz noted. You can check out Radio Smart Talk's program on concussions last winter here.
Every sport, particularly those that involve body contact, has an element of risk. We'd like to hear your thoughts on sports concussions and how to safeguard America's athletes. Join the conversation Thursday night at 8 by calling 1-800-729-7532 or send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .'; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text86138 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
