Brain Injury in Service and its Relationship to Mental Health Concussion Legacy Foundation Author: Samantha Bureau, PhD In September, we come together to raise awareness about concussions so that more individuals and families know what to do in the event they or their loved one sustains one. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain...Continue reading
Tag: concussion
Virtual Reality: Diagnosing, Simulating, and Treating Concussions
Recently, there’s been a push to prevent head injuries associated with contact sports. While sports organizations have instituted rules to prevent such injuries, there’s another approach that appears to be even more effective: Virtual reality (VR) headsets, which are being used to diagnose head injuries, including concussions. Just this year, the NFL acknowledged that repeated...Continue reading
Sports, Concussions, and Traumatic Brain Injury, Part III
You Might Be Tough, But Your Brain Isn’t! People feel the risk of injury outweighs the gain of winning a starting position on a team, a game or even a championship. Well, that’s not true when it comes to your brain and it’s great to see many athletes are finally speaking out about their falls...Continue reading
Sports, Concussions, and Traumatic Brain Injury, Part II
The Effects of Concussions The following Monday afternoon I went to football practice and sat with the team in the locker room to review the game film with the coaches. The head coach stopped the film after the kickoff and said, “The coaches and I have never seen a player run so fast down the...Continue reading
The Frightening World of Sports, Concussions, and Traumatic Brain Injury, Part I
Why I Quit Playing Football Thirty years ago, I abruptly quit playing high school football while my team was preparing for a playoff game in which the winner would advance to the 1985 New Hampshire Division I-High School Football Championship. My teammates and coaches were upset at me and confused as to why I just stopped...Continue reading
Keeping Your Head—and the Rest of You—out of Trouble
According to a new study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, about half of all 16-18-year olds serving time in jails in New York suffered a traumatic brain injury sometime before being locked up. The injuries were severe enough to cause the teen to lose consciousness or memory. And in most cases, those injuries...Continue reading
Stop the Invisible Injury–Parents and Coaches Share the Responsibility, Part 2
This is Part 2 of our 2-part series. In Part 1, we talked about the prevalence of concussions, the signs and symptoms, and the important role parents and coaches play in preventing and treating them. Based on a foundation of competition and physical perseverance, it’s hard to withstand the “win at all costs” pressure...Continue reading
Stop the Invisible Injury–Parents and Coaches Share the Responsibility, Part 1
Suffering from a concussion can occur in any sport, and at all levels of play, from little league to the major leagues. In fact, the US Center for Disease Control estimates 1.6 million to 3.8 million concussions occur in sports and recreational activities each year. Early education and a shift in the “tough it out”...
What Every Biker Should Know About Concussions
It’s no longer just worried parents who create attention about the importance of minimizing head injuries for athletic events and hobbies. Authorities across many types of full contact and extreme sports have begun to gear up for concussions and create preventative measures, such as the NFL’s new policy on moving kickoffs up to the 35-yard...Continue reading
Acknowledging Brain Injuries in the NFL: Are We Taking Away Our (Super)heroes?
February 5, 2012 set a new record for American television. According to the NFL, approximately 111.3 million people tuned in to see the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, making it the most watched primetime telecast in American history. Two weeks from Sunday, the next NFL season begins. Fans...