Concussion awareness makes major strides

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, March 13, 2010

Active players were represented at the two-day symposium called: “Is Football Bad for the Brain?”, which concludes today at Duquesne University.

But today’s players have done much to advance concussion awareness during the past couple of years, a handful of experts said Friday.

That players are more forthcoming than ever about brain injuries has helped change the culture that has long prevailed in football and aided experts as they tackle the issue of managing concussions.

“We’re much farther along than where we were five years ago,” Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz, who chairs the department of exercise and sports science at the University of North Carolina, said of players’ attitudes toward concussions.

“It’s been a complete reversal,” said Dr. Joseph Maroon, a UPMC neurosurgeon and Steelers team doctor.

Reflecting such drastic change were two developments that occurred last season and involved high-profile quarterbacks.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told head trainer John Norwig about post-concussion symptoms that had been induced by exercise two days before a key game against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers held Roethlisberger out of the game as a precaution.

Around the same time, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner spoke candidly about the dangers of returning too early from a concussion.

“I’ve been with the Steelers for 20 years-plus, and, initially, in the ’80s and early ’90s, it was a badge of honor to play with a concussion,” Maroon said.

As recently as 10 years ago, Maroon said, players frequently stayed in games despite concussions, treating them as if they were nothing more serious than ankle injuries.

Now, there is more awareness about the long-term effects of concussions and how players may be more susceptible to depression and dementia later in life.

The NFL has taken significant steps to ensure that the concussion issue is not ignored.

Last season, it instituted a rule in which concussed players have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before they are allowed to return to the field.

Players also are encouraged to report to a team doctor or trainer if one of their teammates exhibits concussion-like symptoms during a game.

Guskiewicz said he supports such measures. But, he added, if too many regulations are imposed on concussed players, it may compel some of them to hide their symptoms since football is their livelihood.

“I’m just concerned a little bit that we may take a step back,” said Guskiewicz, a Latrobe native who has done extensive research on sports concussions. “This is an injury that’s not a one-size fits-all approach.”

All aspects of the injury are seemingly being covered in the symposium that is believed to be the first of its kind in Pittsburgh. While some of the speakers have had differing opinions on concussions, all seem to share the goal of making football safer by reducing brain injuries.

“Nobody, including me, has ever said, let’s abolish the sport,” said Dr. Julian Bailes, head of the department of neurosurgery at West Virginia University. “There are so many advantages to playing. But we think there’s new information that if considered and acted upon is going to help preserve the sport.”

Safety proposals

In a presentation Friday at Duquesne University, Dr. Julian Bailes outlined six measures that could reduce the number of concussions in football:

• Eliminating any hitting with the top of one’s head.
• Increase level of protection by continuing to make helmets safer.
• Reduce exposure to head contact in practice.
• Long-term rule changes such as the elimination of the three-point stance.
• Continued testing of dietary supplements such as Omega 3, which may provide neurological protection.
• Genetic testing to determine whether some players are more prone to concussions than others.