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Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

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Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#121

Post by merrvk »

Havoc wrote: post #99
outsideoflife wrote: post #89

For my American cousins I thought I would mention a little more about Rugby Union. Concussion is less of a problem in Rugby than in American football, and this is not an accident. Rugby is addressing this in several ways. 1) Years of rule changes, and stricter enforcement. Now a top level player who tackles someone above the shoulder, or tackles without attempting to hold on (so no clothes-linse or body checks) will…

While the efforts made certainly help there is no getting around the fact that it is an impact sport. That combined with a culture of being tough means that few ‘good’ players escape completely injury free. Short of touch rugby there will still be head impacts and that will have an effect of varying degrees - just maybe not noticeable. Personally I find it difficult to understand how parents can let their kids play r…

> Personally I find it difficult to understand how parents can let their kids play rugby when there is such overwhelming evidence that it’s risky at best.

Frankly every time a child gets in a car they are much more likely to get injured than in a game of rugby. I guess it's time to start wrapping our children in bubblewrap every time they go out, just in case...

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#122

Post by lbotos »

golergka wrote: post #70
mobilefriendly wrote: post #68

There's a lot of hate towards the NFL but the NCAA is an even worse actor on CTE. 70,000 college players every year, and they aren't paid professionals like the NFL. But NCAA programs make billions of dollars off of the players (and their coaches millions). Destroying brains for profit, in the context of the education system, is truly evil.

I don't understand these arguments. Are they forcing players to do it? If the players are well aware of health risks and still make decision to play the game, how is the sports organization to blame?

Let us also remember that to a large swath of Americans youth, sport is seen as an avenue out of poverty. You better believe that if it was your "one shot" to change social class, you might take it at 16 without thinking about the literal brain impact.

It's literally the closest thing you can get to modern day gladiators.

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#123

Post by merrvk »

outsideoflife wrote: post #114
Havoc wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the efforts made certainly help there is no getting around the fact that it is an impact sport. That combined with a culture of being tough means that few ‘good’ players escape completely injury free. Short of touch rugby there will still be head impacts and that will have an effect of varying degrees - just maybe not noticeable. Personally I find it difficult to understand how parents can let their kids play r…

I stopped playing Rugby when before I was 18, and the final year of that was where it became serious. I have mild lasting damage to my spine which is painful rather than incapacitating and suffered one serious concussion. I also suffered some muscle strains. The spinal damage was from playing against people in my college year group who were clearly much older than me, and should not have been playing against 16 year…

> The spinal damage was from playing against people in my college year group who were clearly much older than me, and should not have been playing against 16 year olds.

School rugby in NZ had a great solution to this that I wish was implemented elsewhere. The teams were categorised by weight rather than age, which makes a lot more sense for school / college Rugby.

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#124

Post by FLUX-YOU »

azernik wrote: post #115
FLUX-YOU wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The players are not really aware of the health risks, furthermore they are young and foolish and impressionable and are following the path of glamour which has been sold to them as youngsters. I think a great deal of them would still choose to play despite knowing the risks. There are likely neighborhoods where people raise families that are less safe than playing in the NFL. And I'm sorry, but 25 year olds are not…

This particular thread was about the NCAA, which does recruit players at 17-18 (just entering college).

Oh. I should read more.

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#125

Post by ritchiea »

outsideoflife wrote: post #89

For my American cousins I thought I would mention a little more about Rugby Union. Concussion is less of a problem in Rugby than in American football, and this is not an accident. Rugby is addressing this in several ways. 1) Years of rule changes, and stricter enforcement. Now a top level player who tackles someone above the shoulder, or tackles without attempting to hold on (so no clothes-linse or body checks) will…

The rolling substitutions are a big thing people fail to bring up when talking about the danger of the game. Between the platoons and rolling substitutions the game is designed to be a string of never ending high impact hits. There's little worry about stamina over long stretches because you can be substituted out and if you succeed your side gets a break. Players train their bodies to be explosive instead of having high endurance.

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#126

Post by clort »

FLUX-YOU wrote: post #100
clort wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your premise is wrong. It sounds as if it should be right, but the framing is awry The players are not really aware of the health risks, furthermore they are young and foolish and impressionable and are following the path of glamour which has been sold to them as youngsters. The sports organization is aware of the risks and are using the players to make vast sums for themselves, they are pushing the glamourous path a…

>The players are not really aware of the health risks, furthermore they are young and foolish and impressionable and are following the path of glamour which has been sold to them as youngsters. I think a great deal of them would still choose to play despite knowing the risks. There are likely neighborhoods where people raise families that are less safe than playing in the NFL. And I'm sorry, but 25 year olds are not…

I see what you are saying but its framed wrongly, again. That is the average age of the team players. Do you know the average age of player entering the team? (average career length might be helpful?) Also, what is the average age of the people who dream of playing on the team, or who are making decisions that would lead to them being on such a team?

I might agree that 25 is an adult but lets be realistic here.. if you can find somebody who at that age made the decision to join the sport and actually got into a pro team, well I'll be amazed!

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#128

Post by smt88 »

merrvk wrote: post #121
Havoc wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the efforts made certainly help there is no getting around the fact that it is an impact sport. That combined with a culture of being tough means that few ‘good’ players escape completely injury free. Short of touch rugby there will still be head impacts and that will have an effect of varying degrees - just maybe not noticeable. Personally I find it difficult to understand how parents can let their kids play r…

> Personally I find it difficult to understand how parents can let their kids play rugby when there is such overwhelming evidence that it’s risky at best. Frankly every time a child gets in a car they are much more likely to get injured than in a game of rugby. I guess it's time to start wrapping our children in bubblewrap every time they go out, just in case...

1) I find that hard to believe. Where did you read this? Injuries-per-minute playing rugby are surely higher than when riding a car.

2) Rugby is recreation. Riding in a car is a necessary part of daily life. Regardless of risk, one can be given up much more easily.

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#129

Post by joekrill »

It's not conclusive:

> But the scan also identifies protein found in Alzheimer’s patients, making it difficult for a definitive conclusion. That’s one reason Omalu performed a postmortem exam of McNeill to confirm the results.

So it indicates you've either got CTE or early signs of Alzheimer’s -- bad news either way.

Re: Concussion doctor says he found CTE in living NFL player

#130

Post by tartuffe78 »

snomad wrote: post #111

Their is some measurable chance the NFL and football disappear w/in 30 years. Sooner or later a college / high school will lose a lawsuit for a player w/CTE, and schools will have no choice but to stop participation. Once that happens, talent level and interest in the sport will die off. Kinda silly cities are in such a rush to continue building new stadiums. The unspoken elephant whenever these studies come up is sk…

The NFL has a minimum salary of $450,000. 3-4 years in NFL at that will earn you more than the average American earns in a lifetime. That's probably a rational economic trade-off for the risk of CTE.
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