Concussion Inc

Inside the most controversial issue in sports Traumatic brain injury in football is not incidental, but an inevitable and central aspect of the sport. Starting in high school, through college, and into the NFL, young players face repeated head trauma, and those sustained injuries create lifelong cognitive and functional difficulties. Muchnick's Concussion Inc. blog exposed the decades-long cover-up of scientific research into sports concussions and the ongoing denial to radically reform football in North America. This compilation from Muchnick's no-holds-barred investigative website reveals the complete head injury story as it developed, from the doctor who played fast and loose with the facts about the efficacy of the state-mandated concussion management system for high school football players, to highly touted solutions that are more self-serving cottage industry than of any genuine benefit. Known for extensive reporting on the tragic story of the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, Muchnick turns his investigative analysis to traumatic brain injury and probes deep into the corporate, government, and media corruption that has enabled the $10-billion-a-year National Football League to trigger a public health crisis.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Dr. Bennet Omalu discovered something he could not ignore. The NFL tried to silence him. His courage would change everything. “A gripping medical mystery and a dazzling portrait of the young scientist no one wanted to listen to . . . a fabulous, essential read.”—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Jeanne Marie Laskas first met the young forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu in 2009, while reporting a story for GQ that would go on to inspire the movie Concussion. Omalu told her about a day in September 2002, when, in a dingy morgue in downtown Pittsburgh, he picked up a scalpel and made a discovery that would rattle America in ways he’d never intended. Omalu was new to America, chasing the dream, a deeply spiritual man escaping the wounds of civil war in Nigeria. The body on the slab in front of him belonged to a fifty-year-old named Mike Webster, aka “Iron Mike,” a Hall of Fame center for the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the greatest ever to play the game. After retiring in 1990, Webster had suffered a dizzyingly steep decline. Toward the end of his life, he was living out of his van, tasering himself to relieve his chronic pain, and fixing his rotting teeth with Super Glue. How did this happen?, Omalu asked himself. How did a young man like Mike Webster end up like this? The search for answers would change Omalu’s life forever and put him in the crosshairs of one of the most powerful corporations in America: the National Football League. What Omalu discovered in Webster’s brain—proof that Iron Mike’s mental deterioration was no accident but a disease caused by blows to the head that could affect everyone playing the game—was the one truth the NFL wanted to ignore. Taut, gripping, and gorgeously told, Concussion is the stirring story of one unlikely man’s decision to stand up to a multibillion-dollar colossus, and to tell the world the truth.

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.

Eric E. Hall, PhD has expertise in the area of exercise psychology focusing on how physical activity affects mental health (e.g., affect and cognition) and the underlying neuroscientific mechanisms. Dr. Hall has been forming collaborations around concussion work since 2009 and has been co-principal investigator on two grants from American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. He has served on the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and is currently on the NCAA Concussion Protocol Committee. He is also on the editorial board for the journals: Psychology of Sport and Exercise as well as Sports. His excellence in research and mentorship has been recognized at Elon. Caroline J. Ketcham, PhD has expertise in the area of motor control and focuses on how movements are controlled, organized and coordinated. Her work includes assessing movement and developing therapeutic interventions for neurodiverse populations to improve coordination and integration. Caroline''s expertise in balance assessment and sensorimotor integration were incorporated into Elon''s concussion work 4 years ago and she has continued to lead on investigations between neurocognitive and motor function in brain injury and recovery. Together Drs. Hall and Ketcham established and Co-Direct Elon BrainCARE Research Institute with a mission to 1) help create a supportive environment for students and student-athletes to become educated concerning the potential impact of concussions through evidence based practices and research; and 2) to create health promoting environments that support resilience and positive mental wellness. Since 2012, Elon BrainCARE has resulted in over 40 presentations at regional, national and international conferences, published over 10 papers and mentored or co-mentored over 25 undergraduate students engaged in Elon BrainCARE research. In addition, Hall and Ketcham have organized and hosted annual symposia for 4 years inviting the Elon and surrounding community. The goal is to provide concussions education for parents and youth sport leaders in the area along with Elon and surrounding university concussion researchers and practitioners. Some of the seminal work from Elon BrainCARE includes an evidence informed return to learn protocol for collegiate student-athletes and understanding modifiers that affect baseline performance and recovery from a concussive injury in neurocognition, balance, gait and symptom reporting. Elon BrainCARE Research Institute not only serves as a service to sports medicine and student health staff at Elon, but also a model of co-mentored undergraduate research training for students headed into both academic and clinical health profession fields. Book Description: Sports related concussions and the implications of short-and long-term outcomes is a concern to athletes, parents, coaches, academics, and health care professionals. Leading clinicians and scientists across a variety of fields have come together to collaborate around topics related to concussion education, assessment, management and treatment of head injuries that occur in sports. Athletes of all levels not only have to perform on the field, but may also have to perform in the classroom where symptoms of a concussion can have profound impacts. As health care professionals work to implement the best practices around concussive injuries, scientists assess outcomes, implications and emerging topics related to management and recovery. This book aims to gather leaders in the field of concussion assessment and management to highlight the state of evidence-based practice. In addition, authors explore emerging issues around the care of athletes in returning to play as well as returning to academic settings. Concussion assessment and management is not a one-size-fits-all concept, and topics around pre-existing factors like cultural, ethnic and sex differences are essential to consider as we attempt to change reporting behaviors and positively impact recovery and outcomes from injury. As new information continues to emerge, the education, assessment, management and treatment of concussion evolves with the health and safety of athletes taking a front seat. This book is a timely snapshot of concussion assessment and management, and it is also a leader in emerging issues in the ever-changing science and evidence-based practice of sport-related concussion research. Target Audience: This book is targeted for a wide audience including scientists and health professionals doing concussion work as well as students, parents, and newcomers to concussion education and research.

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.

This practical reference, edited by Drs. Blessen C. Eapen and David X. Cifu, covers the full spectrum of assessment, management, and rehabilitation after concussion. It includes best practices and considerations for numerous patient populations and their unique needs in an easy-to-read, concise format. Geared toward physiatrists, neurologists, primary care physicians, and rehabilitation professionals, this book provides the key information you need to guide your treatment plans and help patients recover after concussion. Consolidates the most current information and guidance in this challenging and diverse area into one convenient resource. Covers acute management of concussions, diagnostic criteria, neuroimaging, biomarkers, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and return-to-play, school and duty protocols. Discusses special populations, including pediatrics, sports, military and veteran patients. Covers post-concussive syndrome and its management of sequelae after concussion.

Over the last decade, there have been unparalleled advances in our understanding of brain sciences. In this volume on neuroethics, a distinguished group of contributors from a range of disciplines discuss the ethical implications of this newfound knowledge and set out the many necessary considerations for the future.

This book presents a comprehensive, team-based model for assessment and treatment of concussion.