WSJ: A Game Changer for Diagnosing Concussions in the NFL

[bbobbo]

this could be good for player safety but bad for the NFL.

WSJ: A Game Changer for Diagnosing Concussions in the NFL

(clicking on the link will take you to lmgtfy.com, which performs a google search for the article. click on the first result that shows up. this gets around WSJ's pay wall)

Is asking football players to name the president or state their birthday the best way to diagnose concussions?

A soon-to-be-released paper is expected to give a boost to a more scientific approach: a blood test that can quickly diagnose concussions more effectively than simple clinical methods administered by doctors and trainers.

The paper by National Institutes of Health researchers, expected to be published in the coming weeks online in the journal Neurology, raises hopes that eventually a blood test for a concussion will be as objective as diagnosing high cholesterol or a heart attack, according to people who have read the research. It comes amid growing frustration among scientists and even those on National Football League sidelines with the so-called protocols for diagnosing brain injuries.

The test could help tamp down withering criticism that the league has ignored the effects of head injuries. But it may also reveal more vividly how dangerous the game really is—and potentially sideline more players for longer periods even if they aren’t suffering from obvious concussion-related symptoms.

 

[Brit patriot]

Concussions are really not good, but is the fact that the steroid use was so bad in the 80's a reason for a huge spike in CTE cases, which may not be repeated over later years?

I am certainly glad more is being done to save these guys from hardships later in life.

 

[Ring 6]

If every player who had a minor concussion had to leave the game, there would be forfeits because teams wouldn't have enough players to finish, or at least not enough lineman.

 

[PatsBoy12]

The NFL may not be able to survive soon. I know that may seem too far-fetched, but I dunno. There is too much scientific stuff and mismanagement going on these days. Add the declining ratings , and we may be looking at an end maybe a decade or two from now? I wonder.

 

[Urgent]

ALL sports leagues must address this.
This is not a 1980's roused up player issue. Autopsies of teenage athletes are identifying problems.

As the science improves the game(s) will evolve.

 

[chasa]

players wont allow the league to take blood samples.

There was supposed to be blood testing after the CBA was signed as a means of ferriting out HGH users, and it just never happened.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

The NFL may not be able to survive soon. I know that may seem too far-fetched, but I dunno. There is too much scientific stuff and mismanagement going on these days. Add the declining ratings , and we may be looking at an end maybe a decade or two from now? I wonder.

I agree 100% and have been saying the same for years.

Its almost complete 180 from the 80's-90's. Even the early 2000's.

Much less about scheme and fundamentals and all about talent/upside and potential.

This isnt just an NFL problem. You'll see it in youth hockey and basketball. Its get the best players on the field and put them in the best position you can.

I think this league will look very different in 10-15 years and not for the better.

Basically science has caught up to and about to pass, lap the NFL.

 

[Tuck]

Excellent new for those of us who are in the burn it to the ground camp.