The National Football League will soon release a poster to be hung in all league locker rooms entitled, "Concussion, A Must Read for NFL Players, Let’s Take Brain Injuries Out of Play." After years of trying to discredit studies showing that concussions can cause permanent brain damage, through this poster the NFL is finally acknowledging the position that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has taken for years.
Under "Concussion Facts," the poster acknowledges that:
"Concussion is a brain injury that alters the way our brain functions."
"Most concussions occur without being knocked unconscious."
"Severity of injury depends on many factors and is not known until symptoms resolve and brain function is back to normal."
"All concusscions are not created equally. Each player is different, each injury is defferent, and all injuries should be evaluated by your team medical staff.
Defense experts who testify against brain injury victims ignore the prevailing science on which this poster is based. They continue to categorize all people into the same general groups when it comes to recovery time, severity of injury, and the force required to cause long-term effects. They ignore the science from the CDC, the military, and the medical community which shows that, indeed, the severity of a head injury depends on many factors, not all concussions are created equally, and not all people respond the same to a concussion. People respond differently depending, among other factors, on age, gender, history of prior head injuries, health, and history of depression.
I’m sure some of the NFL vets I watched as a kid, who are now struggling with early Alzheimers’-like symptoms and depression, wish they were provided the type of information the NFL is finally providing. For example, the new poster urges players as follows:
"Take Care of Your Brain. According to the CDC, ‘traumatic brain injury can cause a wide range of short-or long term changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, or emotions.’ These changes may lead to problems with memory and communication, personality changes, as well as depression and the early onset of dementia. Concussions resulting from repeated brain injury can change your life and your family’s life forever."
I hope this poster appears my son’s locker room and in all school locker rooms. Indeed, the NFL poster concludes with, "Work smart. Use your head, don’t lead with it. Help make our game safer. Other athletes are watching…"
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