The Heads-up on Sport Concussion
The Heads-up on Sport Concussion

Author: Gary S. Solomon

Publisher: Human Kinetics

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 9780736060080

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Concussions happen at all levels of sport, from the earliest levels through the professional ranks. Potentially catastrophic if not detected early, concussions have ended the careers of many notable professional players--and it's estimated that in high school football alone, about 1 in 5 players suffers a concussion. The Heads-Up on Sport Concussion is a concise introductory book on sport concussion for professionals who work with athletes. It provides a comprehensive review of current literature on sport concussion, and it guides professionals in communicating with athletes, parents, and coaches regarding assessment, treatment, and other issues surrounding sport concussion. In The Heads-Up on Sport Concussion, the authors detail -what happens when the brain is injured; -appropriate assessment and evaluation tools; -sport-specific issues; -how medical organizations are addressing the issue of sport concussion; -medical and nonmedical treatment and rehabilitation strategies; -recent research on a variety of topics in sport concussion; and -essential information for coaches, athletes, and parents. This book is focused and authoritative in its treatment of a poorly understood medical problem. Providing clear clinical management strategies for sport concussion injuries, the text compiles the best available information from different resources and synthesizes the information with summaries and conclusions for easy comprehension. The material is enhanced further with photos and illustrations depicting MRI scans and brain images showing chemical reactions in the brain after an injury. In addition, the text identifies particular sports and sport activities that have the greatest incidence of sport-related concussions, and it reports on and critiques those strategies that are currently in place to combat sport concussion across different sport groups. In The Heads-Up on Sport Concussion, professionals in sports medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, and neuropsychology offer strategies for recognizing and treating sport concussion. The text provides appropriate research resources without getting bogged down by lengthy research critiques. Many chapters include a Research Digest section that identifies critical research data used in developing recommendations and conclusions. Additionally, an educational poster is available for download via the Internet for trainers, physicians, coaches, and sports medicine professionals to use to educate athletes and their families about the signs, symptoms, and treatment of concussion. The poster is available at HumanKinetics.com. The Heads-Up on Sport Concussion provides a current understanding of terminology, assessment, treatment, and criteria for return to play for a range of readers. Researchers, medical professionals, and health care specialists will have a more thorough grasp of the various aspects of sport concussion and thus be able to provide better care and education to athletes who sustain concussions. Its complete treatment of a critical topic makes this a must-read for anyone involved in the care and training of athletes.

Sports-Related Concussions in Youth
Sports-Related Concussions in Youth

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2014-02-04

Total Pages: 215

ISBN-13: 0309288037

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In the past decade, few subjects at the intersection of medicine and sports have generated as much public interest as sports-related concussions - especially among youth. Despite growing awareness of sports-related concussions and campaigns to educate athletes, coaches, physicians, and parents of young athletes about concussion recognition and management, confusion and controversy persist in many areas. Currently, diagnosis is based primarily on the symptoms reported by the individual rather than on objective diagnostic markers, and there is little empirical evidence for the optimal degree and duration of physical rest needed to promote recovery or the best timing and approach for returning to full physical activity. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth: Improving the Science, Changing the Culture reviews the science of sports-related concussions in youth from elementary school through young adulthood, as well as in military personnel and their dependents. This report recommends actions that can be taken by a range of audiences - including research funding agencies, legislatures, state and school superintendents and athletic directors, military organizations, and equipment manufacturers, as well as youth who participate in sports and their parents - to improve what is known about concussions and to reduce their occurrence. Sports-Related Concussions in Youth finds that while some studies provide useful information, much remains unknown about the extent of concussions in youth; how to diagnose, manage, and prevent concussions; and the short- and long-term consequences of concussions as well as repetitive head impacts that do not result in concussion symptoms. The culture of sports negatively influences athletes' self-reporting of concussion symptoms and their adherence to return-to-play guidance. Athletes, their teammates, and, in some cases, coaches and parents may not fully appreciate the health threats posed by concussions. Similarly, military recruits are immersed in a culture that includes devotion to duty and service before self, and the critical nature of concussions may often go unheeded. According to Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, if the youth sports community can adopt the belief that concussions are serious injuries and emphasize care for players with concussions until they are fully recovered, then the culture in which these athletes perform and compete will become much safer. Improving understanding of the extent, causes, effects, and prevention of sports-related concussions is vitally important for the health and well-being of youth athletes. The findings and recommendations in this report set a direction for research to reach this goal.

League of Denial
League of Denial

Author: Mark Fainaru-Wada

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2014-08-26

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 0770437567

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The story of how the NFL, over a period of nearly two decades, denied and sought to cover up mounting evidence of the connection between football and brain damage “League of Denial may turn out to be the most influential sports-related book of our time.”—The Boston Globe “Professional football players do not sustain frequent repetitive blows to the brain on a regular basis.” So concluded the National Football League in a December 2005 scientific paper on concussions in America’s most popular sport. That judgment, implausible even to a casual fan, also contradicted the opinion of a growing cadre of neuroscientists who worked in vain to convince the NFL that it was facing a deadly new scourge: a chronic brain disease that was driving an alarming number of players—including some of the all-time greats—to madness. In League of Denial, award-winning ESPN investigative reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru tell the story of a public health crisis that emerged from the playing fields of our twenty-first-century pastime. Everyone knows that football is violent and dangerous. But what the players who built the NFL into a $10 billion industry didn’t know—and what the league sought to shield from them—is that no amount of padding could protect the human brain from the force generated by modern football, that the very essence of the game could be exposing these players to brain damage. In a fast-paced narrative that moves between the NFL trenches, America’s research labs, and the boardrooms where the NFL went to war against science, League of Denial examines how the league used its power and resources to attack independent scientists and elevate its own flawed research—a campaign with echoes of Big Tobacco’s fight to deny the connection between smoking and lung cancer. It chronicles the tragic fates of players like Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, who was so disturbed at the time of his death he fantasized about shooting NFL executives, and former San Diego Chargers great Junior Seau, whose diseased brain became the target of an unseemly scientific battle between researchers and the NFL. Based on exclusive interviews, previously undisclosed documents, and private emails, this is the story of what the NFL knew and when it knew it—questions at the heart of a crisis that threatens football, from the highest levels all the way down to Pop Warner.

Back in the Game
Back in the Game

Author: Jeffrey S. Kutcher

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0190226609

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The word concussion was unheard of in youth sports a decade ago. The injury was indeed occurring, but youth athletes were often told to "shake it off" after "getting their bell rung". Science and increased awareness about concussion and brain health have transformed the way youth parents, coaches, and players pursue athletics. Fear of incurring concussions, as well as incomplete or incorrect information, is leading some parents to keep their children out of contact sports, such as football and soccer, where concussion is more prevalent. Back in the Game: Why Concussion Doesn't Have to End Your Athletic Career does not dwell on perpetuating fears but, rather, provides the most up-to-date understanding of the condition. This is a real-world discussion of what science and medicine know, what parents and coaches need to understand about concussion, evaluation and treatment, and what possible post-concussive issues exist. The expertise and experiences of noted sports neurologist Jeffrey S. Kutcher, MD, along with reporting and interviews by award-winning sports journalist Joanne C. Gerstner, make this book a timely, relevant, and real discussion about concussions in youth sports. Athletes and professional coaches who have participated in the formation of this book include two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Kate Markgraf, former NHL/Team Canada head coach Andy Murray, champion X-Games snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth, along with an array of youth parents, coaches, and athletes from across the country.

Head Games
Head Games

Author: Christopher Nowinski

Publisher: Chris Nowinski

Published: 2006-09

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1597630136

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From youth football to the NFL, almost no one understands concussions. Children are dying, and NFL players are retiring early and with impairments. Why? The NFL suppresses the true information about head injuries. Nowinski shows how to recognize them, how long to stay out of action, and how to educate teams and players.

Concussed!
Concussed!

Author: Keith Primeau

Publisher: Overtime Books

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781897277744

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"NHL star Keith Primeau and Kerry Goulet, a former star player in the German Hockey League, have made it their lifelong journey to educate parents, coaches and players about how even one concussion can have serious physical and mental effects. They have great advice on how to cope with sports-related head injuries in children and youth, with tips on symptoms to look for, what to do when you suspect a concussion, guidelines for return to play and the possible long-term effects. Read Keith's story about "Living with a Concussion" as well as the true stories of athletes and families who are living daily with the effects of being concussed."--Publisher.

Shaken Brain
Shaken Brain

Author: Elizabeth Sandel

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2020-02-11

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 0674987411

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A physician with thirty-five years of experience treating people with brain injuries shares the latest research on concussions and best practices for care. The explosion of attention to sports concussions has many of us thinking about the addled brains of our football and hockey heroes. But concussions happen to everyone, not just elite athletes. Children fall from high chairs, drivers and cyclists get into accidents, and workers encounter unexpected obstacles on the job. Concussions are prevalent, occurring even during everyday activities. In fact, in less time than it takes to read this sentence, three Americans will experience a concussion. The global statistics are no less staggering. Shaken Brain offers expert advice and urgently needed answers. Elizabeth Sandel, MD, is a board-certified physician who has spent more than three decades treating patients with traumatic brain injuries, training clinicians, and conducting research. Here she explains the scientific evidence for what happens to the brain and body after a concussion. And she shares stories from a diverse group of patients, educating readers on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Few people understand that what they do in the aftermath of their injury will make a dramatic difference to their future well-being; patient experiences testify to the best practices for concussion sufferers and their caregivers. Dr. Sandel also shows how to evaluate risks before participating in activities and how to use proven safety strategies to mitigate these risks. Today concussions aren’t just injuries—they’re big news. And, like anything in the news, they’re the subject of much misinformation. Shaken Brain is the resource patients and their families, friends, and caregivers need to understand how concussions occur, what to expect from healthcare providers, and what the long-term consequences may be.

Slow Getting Up
Slow Getting Up

Author: Nate Jackson

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2014-09-02

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 0062383213

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One man's odyssey into the brutal hive of the National Football League As an unsigned free agent who rose through the practice squad to the starting lineup of the Denver Broncos, Nate Jackson took the path of thousands of unknowns before him to carve out a professional football career twice as long as the average player. Through his story recounted here—from scouting combines to preseason cuts to byzantine film studies to glorious touchdown catches—even knowledgeable football fans will glean a new, starkly humanized understanding of the NFL's workweek. Fast-paced, lyrical, dirty, and hilariously unvarnished, Slow Getting Up is an unforgettable look at the real lives of America's best athletes putting their bodies and minds through hell.