Gasper on Kevin Turner: Died from football

[QuantumMechanic]

Thought this part was interesting:

When doctors start using a word like exposure to refer to the health risk inherent in playing it portends another type of end zone for football. Exposure is a word reserved for asbestos, radiation, or tobacco. And football exposure starts well before players reach the NFL.

“It clearly seems to be the risk is undoubtedly increased by exposure,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, clinical professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the BU School of Medicine. “The greater number of years and the earlier you start taking trauma are both risk factors, and Kevin started playing at age 5 and played into his 30s, a 25-year exposure.”

and

McKee said there are subconcussive impacts that occur in practices or games at every level of football that are silent injuries.

“I think even we thought it was concussions in the beginning,” said McKee. “The science has evolved. All the work to date is that concussions don’t correlate with CTE, rather it’s the length of playing time, the years of exposure to trauma, and the subconcussive impacts that correlate to severity and risk of CTE.”

Christopher L. Gasper: Scientific and medical jargon aside, Kevin Turner died from playing football - The Boston Globe

 

[Bill Lee]

Might want to change the title, the author is Gasper not Flynn

 

[BTTA]

And this study, apparently not covered by the Globe, was noted in the comments section:

RSNA press release: Brain Changes Seen in Youth Football Players without Concussion

Its conclusion were that there are changes in the brains of kids after a single season of playing football.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Gaspers best article of his life.

 

[Family]

In a way this clouds fault/liability. Long term exposure rather than concussion lets the NFL off the hook in a sense. The worst concussions would likely be from college/pros, but long term exposure means Pop Warner/high school. And what if someone played soccer as a youth?

It's horrible. The first step is better helmets.

 

[BTTA]

It's horrible. The first step is better helmets.

If the same problem comes from heading a soccer ball once in a while (and there's mounting evidence of that, too) then helmets won't make enough of a difference.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Might want to change the title, the author is Gasper not Flynn

Thanks. Done!