Scientists & Geeks Join in on Concussions
Here are more of the latest stories on concussions. While the sports media has led much of the charge on the short- and long-term damage from concussions, we’ve been noticing more of the geek media like WIRED Magazine have recently been providing fresh coverage from a coldly scientific angle – and in plain English.
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Making Headway in the Fight Against Concussions
- By Erik Malinowski
- October 5, 2010
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So far, so good.
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With a 3-0 record, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s season was going just fine until he strutted into New Meadowlands Stadium Sunday night for a prime-time matchup against the New York Giants. Instead of tossing touchdowns before 80,000 screaming fans, Cutler was battered like a doll, pummeled for nine sacks by an unrelenting New York defense. When he didn’t emerge from the locker room after halftime, team officials said he was out of the game with a concussion.
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Some used the word “apparent” to describe Cutler’s concussion, although there was nothing apparent about it. There was no single first-half moment where Cutler appeared to have suffered the knockout blow, no delay for him to be carted off the field. Instead, it was reported after halftime that upon examination, Cutler displayed signs of having experienced a concussion at some point and that his night was done.
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In the past, the move to pull Cutler would’ve left football lifers aghast: Was he showing weakness? Shouldn’t he put the team before himself? Are we paying him millions of dollars to ride the bench? If he walked into the locker room at halftime, he certainly can walk out of it!
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Read the rest of the WIRED article by clicking HERE.
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This article just came out of CNN Health this morning about Fred McNeil’s personal struggles from concussion damage years later – Dr. Bennet Omalu discusses some of his latest findings (and CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be doing a full report on his show titled, “Head Games: The Truth about Concussions“ this Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 am ET):
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Ex-NFL stars after concussion: Lives unraveled
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By Stephanie Smith, CNN medical producer
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(CNN) — Today is a rare day. Fred McNeill is animated, beaming. Sunlight glances over his face as he relives the glory days 30 years ago when he was a professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings.
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McNeill is talking about the 1977 Super Bowl, the time he flung himself across the field, blocked a punt, then scrambled to recover the ball near his team’s own end zone.
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“I remember it, I remember it,” says McNeill, smiling and gesturing excitedly.
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And yet, details about where he was just yesterday, the people he may have met, frequently elude him.
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“It’s harder, yeah, it’s, it’s hard to remember things, yeah,” said McNeill, stammering and struggling to piece together his thoughts.
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Not long after his glory days ended, in the mid-’80s, McNeill’s memory (he is only 58 years old) virtually vanished. He became prone to fits of rage and depression.
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McNeill is one of several former NFL players whose life began spiraling out of control years after leaving the playing field. Recent studies suggest the reason may be blows to the brain they suffered on the football field.
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Read the rest of the article – click HERE.
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And at a recent TEDx conference held in Dallas, neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens did a short presentation titled Mind Your Matter–What You Need to Know About Concussions.
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Here’s her short bio from the TEDx site: As a neuropsychologist working in the field of brain injuries, Kim Gorgens has seen firsthand the damage sports-related impacts can do. And as chair of the State of Colorado Traumatic Brain Injury Trust Fund Board and a member of the Brain Injury Legislative Collaborative, she’s working to shape Colorado law around youth sports injuries. Kim, an assistant clinical professor in the University of Denver Graduate School of Professional Psychology, also is the president-elect of the Colorado Neuropsychological Society and has an appointment to the American Psychological Association’s Council on Disability in Psychology.
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Related Posts
September 23, 2011 -- Some Weekend Reading Sept 23rd (3)
April 25, 2011 -- Matt Chaney: Football’s So-Called ‘Concussion Testing’ (2)
May 17, 2013 -- Patrick Hruby: The Wrong Man For The Job (1)
May 10, 2013 -- IFV 2013: Life Inside the Real NFL Family (2)
March 1, 2011 -- Evan Weiner: Is Dave Duerson’s Death Just Another Football Casualty? (6)
Bob Avellini
November 24th, 2010 at 9:10 pm #
Dave,
Thank you for updating us about some of the most highly respected players such as Fred McNeil, whom we played with and against. We’re all on the same team now and the best offense is knowledge and not apathy.
Bob Avellini
Chicago Bears
1975 – 1984