Concussions and Our Kids

Concussions and Our Kids
Author: Robert C. Cantu
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2012
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0547773943

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.

League of Denial

League of Denial
Author: Mark Fainaru-Wada
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2014-08-26
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0770437567

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.

Head Games

Head Games
Author: Christopher Nowinski
Publisher: Chris Nowinski
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2006-09
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1597630136

From youth football to the NFL, almost no one understands concussions. Children are dying, and NFL players are retiring early and with impairments. Why? The NFL suppresses the true information about head injuries. Nowinski shows how to recognize them, how long to stay out of action, and how to educate teams and players.

The Brain on Youth Sports

The Brain on Youth Sports
Author: Julie M. Stamm
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2021-07-06
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1538143208

A 2022 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Dispels the myths surrounding head impacts in youth sports and empowers parents to make informed decisions about sports participation “They’re just little kids, they don’t hit that hard or that much.” “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) only happens to former NFL players.” “Youth sports are safer than ever.” These are all myths which, if believed, put young, rapidly maturing brains at risk each season. In The Brain on Youth Sports: The Science, the Myths, and the Future, Julie M. Stamm dissects the issue of repetitive brain trauma in youth sports and their health consequences, explaining the science behind impacts to the head in an easy-to-understand approach. Stamm counters the myths, weak arguments, and propaganda surrounding the youth sports industry, providing guidance for those deciding whether their child should play certain high-risk sports as well as for those hoping to make youth sports as safe as possible. Stamm, a former three-sport athlete herself, understands the many wonderful benefits that come from playing youth sports and believes all children should have the opportunity to compete—without the risk of long-term consequences.

Back in the Game

Back in the Game
Author: Jeffrey S. Kutcher
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2017
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0190226609

The word concussion was unheard of in youth sports a decade ago. The injury was indeed occurring, but youth athletes were often told to "shake it off" after "getting their bell rung". Science and increased awareness about concussion and brain health have transformed the way youth parents, coaches, and players pursue athletics. Fear of incurring concussions, as well as incomplete or incorrect information, is leading some parents to keep their children out of contact sports, such as football and soccer, where concussion is more prevalent. Back in the Game: Why Concussion Doesn't Have to End Your Athletic Career does not dwell on perpetuating fears but, rather, provides the most up-to-date understanding of the condition. This is a real-world discussion of what science and medicine know, what parents and coaches need to understand about concussion, evaluation and treatment, and what possible post-concussive issues exist. The expertise and experiences of noted sports neurologist Jeffrey S. Kutcher, MD, along with reporting and interviews by award-winning sports journalist Joanne C. Gerstner, make this book a timely, relevant, and real discussion about concussions in youth sports. Athletes and professional coaches who have participated in the formation of this book include two-time Olympic gold medalist soccer player Kate Markgraf, former NHL/Team Canada head coach Andy Murray, champion X-Games snowboarder Ellery Hollingsworth, along with an array of youth parents, coaches, and athletes from across the country.

Sports-Related Concussions in Youth

Sports-Related Concussions in Youth
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2014-02-04
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309288037

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.

Shaken Brain

Shaken Brain
Author: Elizabeth Sandel
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2020-02-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0674987411

A physician with thirty-five years of experience treating people with brain injuries shares the latest research on concussions and best practices for care. The explosion of attention to sports concussions has many of us thinking about the addled brains of our football and hockey heroes. But concussions happen to everyone, not just elite athletes. Children fall from high chairs, drivers and cyclists get into accidents, and workers encounter unexpected obstacles on the job. Concussions are prevalent, occurring even during everyday activities. In fact, in less time than it takes to read this sentence, three Americans will experience a concussion. The global statistics are no less staggering. Shaken Brain offers expert advice and urgently needed answers. Elizabeth Sandel, MD, is a board-certified physician who has spent more than three decades treating patients with traumatic brain injuries, training clinicians, and conducting research. Here she explains the scientific evidence for what happens to the brain and body after a concussion. And she shares stories from a diverse group of patients, educating readers on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Few people understand that what they do in the aftermath of their injury will make a dramatic difference to their future well-being; patient experiences testify to the best practices for concussion sufferers and their caregivers. Dr. Sandel also shows how to evaluate risks before participating in activities and how to use proven safety strategies to mitigate these risks. Today concussions aren’t just injuries—they’re big news. And, like anything in the news, they’re the subject of much misinformation. Shaken Brain is the resource patients and their families, friends, and caregivers need to understand how concussions occur, what to expect from healthcare providers, and what the long-term consequences may be.

The Concussion Crisis

The Concussion Crisis
Author: Linda Carroll
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2012-02-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1451627459

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.

Concussion (Movie Tie-in Edition)

Concussion (Movie Tie-in Edition)
Author: Jeanne Marie Laskas
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2015-11-24
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0812989260

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.

Concussions and Our Kids

Concussions and Our Kids
Author: Robert Cantu
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2012-09-18
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0547774036

A leading doctor “shines the light” on concussions, CTE, and keeping youth sports safe (Gregg Easterbrook, ESPN football columnist). See the movie Concussion. But first read the classic book from the acclaimed concussion doctor who’s changing how America thinks about safety in youth sports. From Washington to Quebec, from offices at the NFL to the New York Times, from the NHL players union to the soccer fields of Anytown, USA, people are talking about concussions. Long believed by experts to be a silent epidemic, concussions are fast becoming the most dominating and important issue in all of sports. At the center of this crisis—and one of the key reasons for this increased awareness—is Dr. Robert Cantu, the country’s leading expert on athletic brain trauma and a pioneer in the study of the link between concussions and progressive brain disease in athletes. He has treated thousands of patients who have experienced brain trauma, from high-profile professional athletes to peewees, including young boys and girls who play soccer, football, lacrosse, hockey, and other sports. And he is on the frontlines of groundbreaking research that is changing the way sports are played. Concussions and Our Kids is the first prescriptive book of its kind to address the issue of head trauma in sports and provide preventive solutions to protect athletes and give guidelines for the way sports can be played safely. Dr. Cantu and sports journalist Mark Hyman have crafted a book that is part manifesto, part manual, explaining to parents and coaches what head trauma is, why it has become a focus of national attention, and why some practices in youth sports must change. They also outline the measures we can take to protect our children. Readers will learn: • The signs and symptoms of a concussion • Three concussion tests parents can give at home • Concussions and what “rest” really means • How concussions improperly treated can develop into post-concussion syndrome • Why total brain trauma (not just the number of concussions) is a risk factor for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) • Why helmets are no guarantee of safety • Why concussions are prevalent in all sports, not just football and hockey Addressing what sportswriter Bill Simmons calls “the single most important issue in sports today,” this book is essential reading for parents, coaches, players, and all those interested in young athletes, their safety, and their future well-being.