Florida QB and 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is the latest star to suffer a concussion in the tough sport of football. Wildcats defensive end Taylor Wyndham hit hard in the chest on third-and-6 play from the Kentucky 9. As Tebow fell to the ground, the back of his head hit Gators tackle Marcus Gilbert's knee. For now, he appears to be OK, but concussions are a worry in all levels of football, as this new study clearly notes.
A synopsis of a study commissioned by the National Football League (NFL) and performed by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, was distributed to league officials this month. It reported that Alzheimer’s disease and similar memory-related diseases appear to have occur among NFL players far more often than in the general public. Among the ages for men of 30 - 49, in fact, the rate is 19 times the normal rate that for the normal population.
Concussions in the NFL have increased of late, as players on both sides of the line of scrimmage become faster and stronger. Still, it bodes ill for the sport, particularly at lower levels, if this data, which still needs peer review, is true.
Simply stated, protective technology has not kept up with human advances in speed and strength. The head is the most vulnerable part of an NFL player, and helmets are still not protective enough. It's because of this that rules have been changed and team doctors are much more cautious when a concussion is suspected.
Dr. Julian Bailes, the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at the West Virginia University School of Medicine told the New York Times that “This is a game-changer — the whole debate, the ball’s now in the N.F.L.’s court “They always say, ‘We’re going to do our own studies.’ And now they have.” Bailes is a former team doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He did similar research that found the same sorts of links between dementia and NFL players four years ago.
The Michigan researchers conducted a phone survey in late 2008 in which 1,063 retired players, all of whom played at least three seasons, were asked questions on a variety of health topics. Questions were used from the standard National Health Interview Survey so rates could be compared with statistics previously collected from the general population.
While researchers asked players (or caregivers, if necessary) about a variety of medical conditions, they also asked them if they had ever been diagnosed with “dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, or other memory-related disease.”
The results: 6.1 percent of players age 50 and above reported that they had received a dementia-related diagnosis, five times higher than the cited national average of 1.2 percent. Players ages 30 through 49 showed a rate of 1.9 percent, or 19 times that of the national average, 0.1 percent.
The league has long denied any evidence connection the sport to dementia or memory-related diseases. Even given these reults, they continue to deny it.
Dr. Ira Casson, a co-chairman of the NFL's concussions committee said, “What I take from this report is there’s a need for further studies to see whether or not this finding is going to pan out, if it’s really there or not. I can see that the respondents believe they have been diagnosed. But the next step is to determine whether that is so.”
Yes, yes, continue to study forever. What's happening now, is that the NFL is conducting its own rigorous study of 120 retired players. Results are not expected for a few years. All neurological testing is being conducted by Dr. Casson.
Written by Michael Santo
Exclusively for HULIQ.com
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