posted by Mike Madison at 3:40 PM /
There has been some gnashing of teeth in Mt. Lebanon recently over concussions suffered by high school football players and over arguments that the high school stadium needs new turf to reduce the injury rate.
If you read this recent GQ story about brain damage and football, however, you may come away with a different view of what football does to those who play the game, especially to those who play on the offensive and defensive lines. The story begins in Pittsburgh ... and it is not about the field.
If you read this recent GQ story about brain damage and football, however, you may come away with a different view of what football does to those who play the game, especially to those who play on the offensive and defensive lines. The story begins in Pittsburgh ... and it is not about the field.
1 Comments:
I remember vividly the first concussion I had as a football player in high school. The dizziness, light-headedness, and nausea would just not go away. The headache lasted for a week and no amount of Advil would get rid of it.
I didn't worry much about it until my senior year in college when I suffered my second and third concussions. It was the last one that had the most lasting impact on me. It happened towards the end of the season. I remember going to lunch room and talking with my friends but when I started to speak sometimes the words just would not come out correctly. I would stutter or simply stop in mid-sentence and lose my train of thought.
At the time, I was gripped by the fear of what was happening. I had a step-mom who was suffering badly from Alzheimer's Disease and I remember when she started getting sick that it began with the same symptoms I was exhibiting. Eventually, she just stopped talking altogether, mostly out of embarrassment first, but then due to her inability to communicate later. I prayed that this would not be my fate.
It took time, about six months to be exact, before I would fully recover. I did speaking exercises and focused intently on the proper pronunciation of the words that were going to come out of my mouth. Eventually, I did not have to concentrate as much and everything returned to normal.
I still believe football is a terrific sport and I would be proud if my son chose to play. However, there is a lot of education that needs to be done on protecting the brain. This education runs the gamut from proper technique while playing to proper recovery procedures and timelines when there has been an injury.
Great work by Dr. Bailes and Dr. Omalu getting their information in GQ in such a great way. Having more attention on brain injury and its links to football can only lead to a safer sport.
James
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