Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

If my understanding is correct an increase of 50% would be from going from 0.5% to 0.75% or using the higher number 0.9% to 1.45%.

(04-21-2018 09:20 PM)Steve1981 Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

If my understanding is correct an increase of 50% would be from going from 0.5% to 0.75% or using the higher number 0.9% to 1.45%.

1.35% on the higher estimated figure, not 1.45%

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

(04-21-2018 09:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

I have no doubt that concussions lead to late life brain drain. But if anything has led to more head trauma in football its oddly been the helmet. People just didn't tackle with their heads before the advent of the hard plastic helmet. As the athletes got larger and the game got faster the incorporation of hard plastic pads and helmets transformed the body into an weapon.

It's an inherently violent game because it is a combat sport. I'm glad I played. You learn about yourself when faced with physical, stressful, and endurance sapping competition. I'll be sad to see the game go away and right now all of the rules tampering is well intentioned but largely either ineffective, or counterproductive.

When they wanted to make the kicking game more exciting so they moved the kickoff back to the 35. It created more returns. Now they want the ball spotted at the 25 if it is caught anywhere inside the 25. But they've left the kickoff at the 35. Move it back to the 40 and the ball gets spotted on the 25 now anyway, only there won't be many returns. Buy leaving it at the 35 you still get returns. It's a stupid gesture to change a rule when returning to the old one would have solved more problems.

But lost in all of this is the fact that we are human, we all will die of something, and there are a plethora of other activities which generate concussions above, at, or near the % of those suffered playing football. I do think limiting the full contact football to high school and college years is a good idea. But really, Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer, Skiing, Skateboarding, Biking, are just a few of the many activities where head injuries are a risk.

Are we to live in a nerf room and never to venture beyond virtual reality? If so inactivity leads to blood clots and stroke.

At some point we need to embrace our temporary status here and just enjoy life. If we are going to limit all things by risk then get ready for the comeback of baseball. It's really fairly injury free short of Tommy John's surgery.

(04-21-2018 09:55 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

I have no doubt that concussions lead to late life brain drain. But if anything has led to more head trauma in football its oddly been the helmet. People just didn't tackle with their heads before the advent of the hard plastic helmet. As the athletes got larger and the game got faster the incorporation of hard plastic pads and helmets transformed the body into an weapon.

It's an inherently violent game because it is a combat sport. I'm glad I played. You learn about yourself when faced with physical, stressful, and endurance sapping competition. I'll be sad to see the game go away and right now all of the rules tampering is well intentioned but largely either ineffective, or counterproductive.

When they wanted to make the kicking game more exciting so they moved the kickoff back to the 35. It created more returns. Now they want the ball spotted at the 25 if it is caught anywhere inside the 25. But they've left the kickoff at the 35. Move it back to the 40 and the ball gets spotted on the 25 now anyway, only there won't be many returns. Buy leaving it at the 35 you still get returns. It's a stupid gesture to change a rule when returning to the old one would have solved more problems.

But lost in all of this is the fact that we are human, we all will die of something, and there are a plethora of other activities which generate concussions above, at, or near the % of those suffered playing football. I do think limiting the full contact football to high school and college years is a good idea. But really, Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer, Skiing, Skateboarding, Biking, are just a few of the many activities where head injuries are a risk.

Are we to live in a nerf room and never to venture beyond virtual reality? If so inactivity leads to blood clots and stroke.

At some point we need to embrace our temporary status here and just enjoy life. If we are going to limit all things by risk then get ready for the comeback of baseball. It's really fairly injury free short of Tommy John's surgery.

Hard plastic shoulder pads and the helmet have "weaponized" players - I agree with your take on that. Add to the equation the improved PED's that have resulted in B-F-S athletes who can transfer more KE in their hits vs players from 10, 20 30, etc years ago. It's a bad combination for brain health. We have two types of brain trauma to consider: 1) the predominantly acute cases of brain trauma from concussions (though there is a chronic component due to repeat concussions) and 2) the chronic damage brought about by repeated jarring hits/blocks that result in CTE from the brain colliding with the inner skull.

You can alleviate the concussions via redesigning equipment. However, you cannot fix the CTE issue until humans can be physically and/or genetically altered to prevent the brain from rocking inside the brain case. The game would have to be altered significantly to address the latter issue.

(04-21-2018 09:55 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

I have no doubt that concussions lead to late life brain drain. But if anything has led to more head trauma in football its oddly been the helmet. People just didn't tackle with their heads before the advent of the hard plastic helmet. As the athletes got larger and the game got faster the incorporation of hard plastic pads and helmets transformed the body into an weapon.

It's an inherently violent game because it is a combat sport. I'm glad I played. You learn about yourself when faced with physical, stressful, and endurance sapping competition. I'll be sad to see the game go away and right now all of the rules tampering is well intentioned but largely either ineffective, or counterproductive.

When they wanted to make the kicking game more exciting so they moved the kickoff back to the 35. It created more returns. Now they want the ball spotted at the 25 if it is caught anywhere inside the 25. But they've left the kickoff at the 35. Move it back to the 40 and the ball gets spotted on the 25 now anyway, only there won't be many returns. Buy leaving it at the 35 you still get returns. It's a stupid gesture to change a rule when returning to the old one would have solved more problems.

But lost in all of this is the fact that we are human, we all will die of something, and there are a plethora of other activities which generate concussions above, at, or near the % of those suffered playing football. I do think limiting the full contact football to high school and college years is a good idea. But really, Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer, Skiing, Skateboarding, Biking, are just a few of the many activities where head injuries are a risk.

Are we to live in a nerf room and never to venture beyond virtual reality? If so inactivity leads to blood clots and stroke.

At some point we need to embrace our temporary status here and just enjoy life. If we are going to limit all things by risk then get ready for the comeback of baseball. It's really fairly injury free short of Tommy John's surgery.

While Paterno was and remains the most quoted on the idea, a number of older coaches and players have said the mistake was the facemask. When players didn't have facemasks or had one bar masks they had to keep their head up and couldn't lead with the helmet because they would break their nose.

Perhaps the face mask should go, but if that happens it should go in combination with all athletes receiving dental insurance.

There are a lot of issues with this study. I wouldn't say it's even reliable to draw the conclusions that they're drawing, but irregardless of that its certainly not transitive to football.

(04-21-2018 09:55 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

I have no doubt that concussions lead to late life brain drain. But if anything has led to more head trauma in football its oddly been the helmet. People just didn't tackle with their heads before the advent of the hard plastic helmet. As the athletes got larger and the game got faster the incorporation of hard plastic pads and helmets transformed the body into an weapon.

It's an inherently violent game because it is a combat sport. I'm glad I played. You learn about yourself when faced with physical, stressful, and endurance sapping competition. I'll be sad to see the game go away and right now all of the rules tampering is well intentioned but largely either ineffective, or counterproductive.

When they wanted to make the kicking game more exciting so they moved the kickoff back to the 35. It created more returns. Now they want the ball spotted at the 25 if it is caught anywhere inside the 25. But they've left the kickoff at the 35. Move it back to the 40 and the ball gets spotted on the 25 now anyway, only there won't be many returns. Buy leaving it at the 35 you still get returns. It's a stupid gesture to change a rule when returning to the old one would have solved more problems.

But lost in all of this is the fact that we are human, we all will die of something, and there are a plethora of other activities which generate concussions above, at, or near the % of those suffered playing football. I do think limiting the full contact football to high school and college years is a good idea. But really, Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer, Skiing, Skateboarding, Biking, are just a few of the many activities where head injuries are a risk.

Are we to live in a nerf room and never to venture beyond virtual reality? If so inactivity leads to blood clots and stroke.

At some point we need to embrace our temporary status here and just enjoy life. If we are going to limit all things by risk then get ready for the comeback of baseball. It's really fairly injury free short of Tommy John's surgery.

Agree with you on the kickoffs. Does nobody there remember the kickoff was once on the 40? Kickers have gotten good enough, many deliberately kick it short from the 35 to try to force a return. NCAA rule book is like a bureaucrat, twisting itself in knots to get to the same place. They need to be thinking about high schools too where the kickers aren't as uniformly good, but they follow NCAA rules.

(04-22-2018 09:52 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:55 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

I have no doubt that concussions lead to late life brain drain. But if anything has led to more head trauma in football its oddly been the helmet. People just didn't tackle with their heads before the advent of the hard plastic helmet. As the athletes got larger and the game got faster the incorporation of hard plastic pads and helmets transformed the body into an weapon.

It's an inherently violent game because it is a combat sport. I'm glad I played. You learn about yourself when faced with physical, stressful, and endurance sapping competition. I'll be sad to see the game go away and right now all of the rules tampering is well intentioned but largely either ineffective, or counterproductive.

When they wanted to make the kicking game more exciting so they moved the kickoff back to the 35. It created more returns. Now they want the ball spotted at the 25 if it is caught anywhere inside the 25. But they've left the kickoff at the 35. Move it back to the 40 and the ball gets spotted on the 25 now anyway, only there won't be many returns. Buy leaving it at the 35 you still get returns. It's a stupid gesture to change a rule when returning to the old one would have solved more problems.

But lost in all of this is the fact that we are human, we all will die of something, and there are a plethora of other activities which generate concussions above, at, or near the % of those suffered playing football. I do think limiting the full contact football to high school and college years is a good idea. But really, Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer, Skiing, Skateboarding, Biking, are just a few of the many activities where head injuries are a risk.

Are we to live in a nerf room and never to venture beyond virtual reality? If so inactivity leads to blood clots and stroke.

At some point we need to embrace our temporary status here and just enjoy life. If we are going to limit all things by risk then get ready for the comeback of baseball. It's really fairly injury free short of Tommy John's surgery.

Agree with you on the kickoffs. Does nobody there remember the kickoff was once on the 40? Kickers have gotten good enough, many deliberately kick it short from the 35 to try to force a return. NCAA rule book is like a bureaucrat, twisting itself in knots to get to the same place. They need to be thinking about high schools too where the kickers aren't as uniformly good, but they follow NCAA rules.

I remember the great era of long place kicks. It was not unusual for one of those guys who could hit 50+ to use kicking off from the 40 as a chance to work on his accuracy. It was actually fun when your kicker would put the kickoff between the uprights.

(04-22-2018 01:19 AM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:55 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:34 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 09:14 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(04-21-2018 06:29 PM)arkstfan Wrote:  Study finds that one concussion can increase the risk of Parkinsons by more than 50%.

Roughly 0.5% of people get Parkinsons and generally accepted that the actual percentage is closer to 0.9%. So if everyone in the US suffered a concussion we could expect 4.4 million cases (using the high end figure).
https://www.popsci.com/parkinsons-diseas...concussion

Let's face it: I've been a football fan for almost 50 years, but it's becoming pretty clear that football is "unsafe at any speed". I didn't play much football at all, only high school, but i do recall getting knocked out once while playing. Got hit going over the middle and next thing i know was being helped up, the guys said i was out cold for about 20 seconds. No apparent after-effects, I recall within a few minutes i felt "fine". But I'm sure I lost brain cells then and may very well pay the price in a few years when I'm truly old.

I wouldn't encourage any loved-one to play football.

I got a concussion from a car wreck. I was pretty lucid initially, didn't have to go the hospital but after I went back to work once the cop was done, I had to leave work because I didn't feel well and was absolutely convinced it was Thursday even though it was Friday. I was a bit messed up on Saturday (the real Saturday) and woke up clear as bell on Sunday.

I have no doubt that concussions lead to late life brain drain. But if anything has led to more head trauma in football its oddly been the helmet. People just didn't tackle with their heads before the advent of the hard plastic helmet. As the athletes got larger and the game got faster the incorporation of hard plastic pads and helmets transformed the body into an weapon.

It's an inherently violent game because it is a combat sport. I'm glad I played. You learn about yourself when faced with physical, stressful, and endurance sapping competition. I'll be sad to see the game go away and right now all of the rules tampering is well intentioned but largely either ineffective, or counterproductive.

When they wanted to make the kicking game more exciting so they moved the kickoff back to the 35. It created more returns. Now they want the ball spotted at the 25 if it is caught anywhere inside the 25. But they've left the kickoff at the 35. Move it back to the 40 and the ball gets spotted on the 25 now anyway, only there won't be many returns. Buy leaving it at the 35 you still get returns. It's a stupid gesture to change a rule when returning to the old one would have solved more problems.

But lost in all of this is the fact that we are human, we all will die of something, and there are a plethora of other activities which generate concussions above, at, or near the % of those suffered playing football. I do think limiting the full contact football to high school and college years is a good idea. But really, Ice Hockey, Gymnastics, Soccer, Skiing, Skateboarding, Biking, are just a few of the many activities where head injuries are a risk.

Are we to live in a nerf room and never to venture beyond virtual reality? If so inactivity leads to blood clots and stroke.

At some point we need to embrace our temporary status here and just enjoy life. If we are going to limit all things by risk then get ready for the comeback of baseball. It's really fairly injury free short of Tommy John's surgery.

While Paterno was and remains the most quoted on the idea, a number of older coaches and players have said the mistake was the facemask. When players didn't have facemasks or had one bar masks they had to keep their head up and couldn't lead with the helmet because they would break their nose.

Where most players got nose breaks were in open field tackling. If they went for the waist of the ball carrier and came up short they could get a knee cap in the face. That's where teeth and noses were particularly susceptible. Other than that the pile was where eye gouging, elbows to nose, or punches to the privates occurred. Cups and padding have helped there, as well as the bird cage face mask.

The evidence is piling up: concussions are really bad.

But football is NOT the worst sport for concussions in college athletes. Studies at the collegiate level generally say that that wrestling is the worst, followed by hockey. Football, women's soccer, women's lacrosse, and women's basketball are all about equal.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1941297/
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...6515599634


However, studies at the high school level generally find that football is the worst.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...6511435626
http://achieves.gmu.edu/assets/docs/achi...rstudy.pdf

My guess would be most people have had 1 or 2 concussions. I Don't remember any bad hits from sports, But picked oranges a couple of years to make extra cash, got hit by a heavy boom used to pick up 4x4x3 bins of oranges. Was hit 2x, once by the boom and 2nd time in bottom of truck bed. Was pretty loopy for a day or 2.
Other time was on a mini bike racing friends did a header into a 1950's buick.. fenders were heavy metal back then...

A concussion from a soccer ball header has completely debilitated a friend's daughter to the point that they are asking for help on social media for rides to the doctors and meals to re-heat at home after hours at physical therapy. It's been very eye-opening.

One soccer ball header. Just one.

(04-24-2018 07:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  A concussion from a soccer ball header has completely debilitated a friend's daughter to the point that they are asking for help on social media for rides to the doctors and meals to re-heat at home after hours at physical therapy. It's been very eye-opening.

One soccer ball header. Just one.

The only time I ever saw stars in a sporting event was a header in a soccer game at PE. And back in the same era headers in volleyball were allowed. While I never saw stars heading a volleyball it would be a couple of hours after playing before I felt right. But the worst sports related injury that I never suspected I had until years later when I was reading the symptoms was heat stroke. I'm pretty sure that on a high 90's degree August afternoon that I probably suffered a mild form of heat stroke during preseason football practice. My mouth was like cotton, I quit sweating so I know I was dehydrated, and I had a splitting headache and didn't feel right for days afterward.

We were in full pads, had been practicing for 3 hours and it was back in the day when the coach pumped you full of salt tablets but denied you water because you were "supposed to be able to take it". By the way the practice ended as it always did with 10 50 yard sprints.

That's one thing I do give credit for today. The ignorance over what was healthy conditioning back in the 60's & early 70's was appalling. I'm surprised more of us didn't drop dead or pass out.

Heading soccer balls and getting checked into boards in hockey.... It just seems like there is a vendetta out there against football.... not to say it is without merit that concussions are serious and you get them in football but where are the cries about heading balls in Soccer?, getting checked into the boards or right on the ice in Hockey?, to say nothing of wrestling, MMA, boxing, ect.... I mean, I feel it is just awfully convenient that so many head injury sports get left out of the discussion when football is one of many.

(04-24-2018 01:43 PM)PirateTreasureNC Wrote:  Heading soccer balls and getting checked into boards in hockey.... It just seems like there is a vendetta out there against football.... not to say it is without merit that concussions are serious and you get them in football but where are the cries about heading balls in Soccer?, getting checked into the boards or right on the ice in Hockey?, to say nothing of wrestling, MMA, boxing, ect.... I mean, I feel it is just awfully convenient that so many head injury sports get left out of the discussion when football is one of many.

There have been talks within soccer organizations about whether to ban heading below 12 or 13 years old. Not sure how much traction that has gotten, or what organization was looking into (i.e. US Soccer vs FIFA). Again, not sure that anything will happen there. I now see that referees in the professional leagues pause the game when there is a suspected head injury regardless of advantage or if a foul was committed. Hockey has been trying to legislate out head injuries with the boarding calls, and I feel like you don't see as much fighting as in the 90's and early 00's.

But if I was writing an article, and I need clicks and eyeballs reading my article, I am focusing on football, especially in the title of the piece.

(04-24-2018 01:10 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(04-24-2018 07:46 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  A concussion from a soccer ball header has completely debilitated a friend's daughter to the point that they are asking for help on social media for rides to the doctors and meals to re-heat at home after hours at physical therapy. It's been very eye-opening.

One soccer ball header. Just one.

The only time I ever saw stars in a sporting event was a header in a soccer game at PE. And back in the same era headers in volleyball were allowed. While I never saw stars heading a volleyball it would be a couple of hours after playing before I felt right. But the worst sports related injury that I never suspected I had until years later when I was reading the symptoms was heat stroke. I'm pretty sure that on a high 90's degree August afternoon that I probably suffered a mild form of heat stroke during preseason football practice. My mouth was like cotton, I quit sweating so I know I was dehydrated, and I had a splitting headache and didn't feel right for days afterward.

We were in full pads, had been practicing for 3 hours and it was back in the day when the coach pumped you full of salt tablets but denied you water because you were "supposed to be able to take it". By the way the practice ended as it always did with 10 50 yard sprints.

That's one thing I do give credit for today. The ignorance over what was healthy conditioning back in the 60's & early 70's was appalling. I'm surprised more of us didn't drop dead or pass out.

It wasn't much improved in the early 80's. Had a track coach who thought us weight guys should run 100 yard sprints on a surprisingly warm and windy day in the spring. Because of the breeze we didn't realize how much we were sweating or that we had stopped. Of the five of us three started complaining about feeling funny. Eventually Jim and I did as well, we were the two best shot and discus guys so we felt entitled to loaf a bit and hadn't run as hard. Jim ended up being state champion so he earned his loafing more than I did. Don't remember leaving practice. Next thing I knew I was at home and Mom was telling me to get off the couch for supper. Head was killing me and I didn't take a leak until the next morning.