Concussions And Our Kids

From America's preeminent expert on the head trauma crisis in sports, a timely, provocative, essential guide to concussions in youth sports--what they are, how to treat them, and how to protect our young athletes.

Back in the Game: Why Concussion Doesn't Have to End Your Athletic Career is a timely discussion of sports concussions based on science. The book does not dwell on perpetuating fears about sports and concussion, but rather, having a real-world discussion about what science and medicine knows, what parents and coaches need to understand about the brain injury, evaluation and treatment, and possible post-concussive issues and depression.

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.

This comprehensive, reader-friendly book written by a top physician in the field explains to coaches and parents how to understand, cope with, and prevent sport-related concussions among children and teenagers. Written by an expert physician, Kids, Sports, and Concussion: A Guide for Coaches and Parents offers a thorough understanding of concussive brain injury, its symptoms, its potential long-term effects, and the current prevention options. Equally important, it provides insights into how this injury is treated and what parents and athletes can do to facilitate recovery. In addition to explaining in simple, clear, and complete terms what a concussion is and how it can alter the brain function of children and youths, this guide discusses new technologies and equipment that may help prevent concussion. It looks at the incidence of concussion in football, hockey, cheerleading, skiing and snowboarding, soccer, basketball, and equestrian sports, and it explores related issues, such as the movement to have soccer and rugby players wear helmets. A final chapter focuses on emerging research designed to facilitate better treatments and on safety measures, including testing for a genetic predisposition to concussion. - A foreword from Lyle Micheli, MD, past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and author of The Sports Medicine Bible for Young Athletes, commenting on the significance of sport-related concussion in pediatric and adolescent sports - A glossary - A bibliography referencing key investigations in the scientific literature for readers seeking a more in-depth, scientific analysis

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.

Sports concussions make headlines, but you don't have to be an NFL star to suffer traumatic brain injury. In Shaken Brain, Elizabeth Sandel, MD, shares stories and research from her decades treating and studying brain injuries. She explains what concussions do to our bodies, how to avoid them, and how to recover.

Discusses the current epidemic of sports-related concussions, including true-life stories of victims and the ongoing research to unravel the mysteries of concussions, as well as the crusade to prevent these types of injuries.

This book will dispel myths about head impacts in youth sports, potential consequences of these collisions, and the changes sports organizations have made to make these sports “safer than ever.” It will empower parents and athletes to make an informed decision on sports participation and provide recommendations on how to make these sports safer.