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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

#131

Post by code_duck »

tzahola wrote: post #105
code_duck wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's true that smoking was promoted as healthful by parties with a financial interest. By clearly harmful, I mean that the indicators I listed should inform one's common sense that it is likely to be harmful, because physical senses perceive many things about tobacco smoke as unpleasant. For example, lore is replete with stories of young people's initial experiences with smoking involving coughing, choking, turning g…

The same can be said for exercising: you’re out of breath, your heart is racing, you can get dizzy and nauseous, you’re covered in sweat, and the next day all your muscles are aching. Surely, such an activity can’t be healthy! Of course after the first few sessions you’ll start to get used to it, and actually feel better after exercising. Just like how you feel better after smoking once you’re addicted.

It seems like a stretch to compare the most normal activity ever, moving your body, to intentionally ingesting poison.

For one, if exercise makes you dizzy, nauseous, sweaty, and all your muscles ache, you are either severely out of shape are overdoing it.

I smoked for a fair portion of my life. The main motivation for addicts is to relieve the craving for tobacco. It’s pleasurable in some ways other than that, but cigarettes did not leave me feeling well most of the time.

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

#132

Post by nol13 »

whyleyc wrote: post #94
code_duck wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is that both activities were always clearly likely to be harmful, if you took a step back from the cultural perspective that accepted them so thoroughly. Smoking tobacco is inhaling an acrid a mix of chemicals that makes you cough, kind of feel sick and lightheaded, smells awful and leaves a tan stain - it’s not hard to guess that it’s not healthy. Remember that half of people who die from tobacco die from…

"Both activities were always clearly likely to be harmful". With the benefit of 70 years of medical research this is an easy statement to make, but at the time this was far less clear - smoking was for a long time actively promoted as having health benefits [1][2] It's easy from a modern perspective to look back and apply our accumulated wisdom, but it was not self-evident that smoking was necessarily bad. Otherwise…

And yet the stereotype of the dumb football jock who's had his head knocked a few too many times has been prevalent as long as I can remember. It's just that previously it was used as a punchline in sitcoms rather than seen as a serious health risk to our children.

Except for 'Varsity Blues' (1999) I guess, and I'm sure other examples, where the evil coach telling the kid to play when another head injury could kill him was a main plot line.

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

#133

Post by dyeje »

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 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.

Yes, some of these athletes are choosing between sports and poverty. That's another reason why it's messed up, not why it's okay.

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

#135

Post by outsideoflife »

kasey_junk wrote: post #120
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…

One of the problems with CTE is we still aren’t positive what is causing it. There is at least some evidence that low level repetitive hits to the head are as bad or worse than concussions in this regard. If that is true Rugby is going to have its day of reckoning in CTE (as is soccer). Concussions are bad in any case, so it’s great that we are trying to prevent them, but I’d be very careful assuming any contact spor…

> Especially not one with a scrum.

Interesting as the scrum is not a concern to me for head injuries (just spinal compression!). It is on the whole a pushing movement, not an impact.

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

#136

Post by logicchains »

smt88 wrote: post #128
merrvk wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

>Riding in a car is a necessary part of daily life.

That's a very America-centric point of view, and completely not true if you live in a city designed to accommodate high-density living (or at the very least one without terrible public transport).

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

#137

Post by outsideoflife »

smt88 wrote: post #128
merrvk wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

> 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.

Exercise is a necessary part of a healthy life. If Rugby motivates you to stay fit, then maybe it improves your chances of a healthy life

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

#138

Post by brians »

smt88 wrote: post #128
merrvk wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Indeed, it’s not per minute. But measure the injuries from a year of car riding vs a year of rugby, and our collective decision to make autos part of daily life looks more interesting

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

#139

Post by darkerside »

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 think a great deal of them would still choose to play despite knowing the risks

Nice guess, but that's not your decision to make. I'm not sure what movie you watched that gave you such a deep understanding of the trade offs, but is it possible you don't fully understand them?

> 25 year olds are not "young and impressionable" any more

They're not? News to me. Maybe I'm just getting old.

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