Exam Day Post

With my term paper submitted, I spent the majority of the class studying for my other exams.

However, I ran across two really interesting articles:

The first one:

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/do-concussions-lead-to-suicide/

FiveThirtyEight is one of the most reliable sources when it comes to sports and statistics. The main focus of this article is Kosta Karageorge, the defensive lineman who committed suicide, one that may have been linked to repetitive head trauma he sustained during his football career. 

The second one:

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/12/16/7398649/chris-conte-said-some-dangerous-things-about-playing-with-concussions

Blissful ignorance. What more needs to be said?

Term Paper Status

I revised my term paper, fixing syntax and grammar mistakes. 

I submitted the final draft of my term paper to Mr. Correa for review and grading. 

I have begun to gather up information, especially on the legislation side of things, to put together my mid year presentation.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/10/nfl-explains-ruling-brandon-browner-hit-ladarius-green/ExeMscBSK0897iP4q0Lk5J/story.html

Above, I have linked the most hotly debated incident that occurred in the past week in the NFL (well, excluding the start of Johnny Football vs. the Bengals). 

The big thing to take away from this is that the NFL is thinking about making these type of hits become reviewable. This introduces a whole new aspect to the sport. Remember how goals in soccer were not able to be reviewed until recently when goal line technology was put in place? The ability to review penalties like this will most likely slow down the game and possibly ruin the momentum of an offense, but I see this as another facet that has the potential to be implemented successfully, just like booth reviews of all scoring plays.  

You can clearly see from this angle that there was no helmet to helmet contact on the play. However, a flag was thrown and it cost the Patriots 7 points.

Thesis Paper (continued)

Write a 3-5 page essay (3 pages minimum) in which you synthesis and reflect on what you have learned in your field and through the thesis process thus far.

What I've produced today:

The last major area of study I have been focusing on is legislation. This subfield has been by far the trickiest to learn about. Concussion laws enacted by each state are literally a few pages long (Mississippi’s bill, the most recent and the last state to pass legislation, is only three pages in length). My overall knowledge on this topic is not as expansive as it is in the subfields of equipment and regulations. The reasoning behind this is that I need to know more about how to make the players safer before I try to make amendments to bills that are supposed to ensure their safety. I also want to get my hands on the concussion pamphlet that is required to be given out to all athletes playing football in grade school. Surprisingly, I have not been able to find one online, so I will have to go down to a local school and ask for one. Legislation is sketchy. The way it is implemented is even more suspicious. This topic is by far the most arcane of the three I am studying, but it has the most potential to effectively save the lives of those who play the game of football.

There are many new, specific details I have learned throughout the three subtopics I have looked into. However, my mind is always set on the big picture and that photo has not changed. Dr. Bennett Omalu, the leading neuropathologist in the studies of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), stated that he always felt as if the NFL was going against everything he said in order to maintain its pristine, civil look. I feel a similar way. Obviously not at the level Omalu felt, but similar in the sense that any glimpse of victory is marred with a pyrrhic feel. There is no cure for concussions. One argument against concussion protocols is that the players know what they are getting themselves into and that they love the game of football so much that they are willing to live with the ailments that will follow them for the rest of their lives. This argument parallels the one regarding how college athletes know what they are getting themselves into, thus needing no reason to compensate them for their work. The harsh reality is that these players have no idea what they are getting themselves into. If getting flagged for a hard hit is not worth one’s long term health, then there might just be a bigger issue with delusion in the NFL. Which makes sense when the company views its players more as objects than human beings - well, objects that are deteriorating within. But who cares? People watch what they enjoy, like Ray Rice’s beating of his wife in an elevator. What is amusing is the fact that what goes on inside an NFL player’s brain is far worse in magnitude – it just does not sell to an audience.

This concludes the rough draft of my term paper.

Term Paper (continued)

Write a 3-5 page essay (3 pages minimum) in which you synthesis and reflect on what you have learned in your field and through the thesis process thus far.


What I've produced today:

A large portion of my research has been focused primarily on the regulations of the game of football. Out of the three subtopics that I am exploring, rules and regulations of the game tends to be the most controversial and heated topic, which makes sense. Nowadays, a major hit near the head and neck area (emphasis on the word near) delivered by a defending player usually ends up in a 15 yard penalty for what is stated by officials as a “helmet to helmet hit”. However, it has been seen a plethora of times (specifically Rodney McLeod’s hit on Emmanuel Sanders and Brandon Browner’s hit on LaDarius Green) that the flag is thrown more as a cover up to satisfy the concussion activists. In both of those specific instances stated above, a flag was thrown when, according to the NFL’s rulebook, both tackles were legal because the defenders led with their shoulders and not with their helmets. Here is where everything gets complicated. In both instances, both Sanders and Green sustained a concussion. In both instances, the hits were unnecessary. However, both hits were indeed legal, and, in Browner’s case, the hit produced what could have been an interception returned for a touchdown. So the question arises: should some aspects of the game of football be sacrificed in order to prolong the health of the players? And to be honest, this is a question I myself cannot give a definite answer. When I saw the Browner hit live, I actually believed that Browner made a conscientious effort to avoid a helmet to helmet collision. While in mid-air, Browner shifted his head out of the way and led with a strong shoulder to the chest of Green. This impact force caused Green to fumble the ball, which was intercepted and returned for a Patriots touchdown, a crucial point in the game. However, the touchdown was overturned because of the penalty on Browner. Rarely do I ever say this, but I actually yelled at my TV: “Let them play.” I have been so adamant about using rugby tackling as a guide for tackling properly in the NFL. However, the inherent differences in the way the games are played is what leads to the difficulty in implementing these rules. No matter what, there needs to be a balance between playing the game of football aggressively and protecting the health of the athletes – a sentiment easier said than done.

Term Paper (continued)

Write a 3-5 page essay (3 pages minimum) in which you synthesis and reflect on what you have learned in your field and through the thesis process thus far.

This is what I worked on today. 

To shift focus into more specific aspects of my thesis, I will begin with discussing about what I have learned about the equipment and technology involved in the sport. To the surprise of many, helmets do not actually do a great job at preventing concussions. Actually, helmet do not even do a satisfactory job. Well, to be completely honest, helmets may actually contribute more to concussions than they do to prevent concussions. Hines Ward, a two time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP, and greatest Pittsburgh Steeler receiver in history, believes that in order to prevent concussions, helmets should completely eliminated from the game (Smith, “Hines Ward: If You Want to Prevent Concussions, Take the Helmet off”). This same sentiment, of playing old-school football with just leather helmets, has been shared by many advocates, especially those in the medical field. When I brought this topic up with my father, a doctor, he said the exact same thing as Ward.  Players believe that the helmets make them infallible and indestructible. This psychological belief actual leads players to go out there on the field and use their helmets as a weapon instead of as a safeguard for injuries. The NFL is not doing much to help this cause either. Instead of digging into what causes concussions, they just continually build up bigger and bigger helmets. Simple physics tells us that the more massive the object is the more force it will exert. And the fact that most football players are freaks of nature does not help in lessening the force at impact. The NFL’s dealing with the whole helmet situation is entirely erroneous. From my research, it is clear that the sentiment of returning to old-school leather helmets is more correct than it is wrong. MIPS, a Stockholm-based company, has been in the process of developing a fluid layer helmet that would protect against oblique impacts and help reduce the rate of concussions (Weiss, “Helmets Inspired by Brain Fluid to Offer Better Impact Protection”). In this case, bigger is not better. To make matters worse, the NFL has not looked into this new technology one bit. I understand feigning ignorance to these new, up and coming helmet competitors – at the end of the day the NFL is a business. However, when the NFL itself publishes a report saying how studies done on its helmets show that the helmets are not preventing concussions, some red flags should arise (“Study Shows Helmets in Use Not Made to Prevent Concussions”).

Term Paper

I continued to work on my term paper.

Write a 3-5 page essay (3 pages minimum) in which you synthesis and reflect on what you have learned in your field and through the thesis process thus far.
^ I'm going to copy and paste this to every blog post until I'm finished with my term paper, that way I can see my objective every class period.

This is just a link to an article that links to a PDF file that is one of my citations in my paper so I'm putting it here so I could access it quicker: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/soccer-concussions-are-more-frequent-than-you-think


Here is what I wrote up today:

The sports world is lighting quick. It revolves around its own axis at a rate much faster than that of Earth itself. To expound, as I make progress in a particular field of study within my topic some new groundbreaking piece of information always tends to arise right when I am content with my analysis of that said sub-topic. When this occurs, I have to take into account the new information and analyze every little facet related to my thesis project. As I am writing this term paper, major news about Kosta Karageorge, a defensive lineman for the Ohio State Buckeyes (one of the best college football teams in the nation), has come out. In summary, Karageorge, 22, was found dead in a dumpster from what has been identified as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Why would a football player from one of the best sports programs in the nation commit suicide? Without surprise, the answer may end up boiling down to the concussions he received throughout his football career. These type of stories are almost commonplace now. A football player commits suicide and, within a second, the topic of concussions becomes heavily discussed. As the story develops, concussions remain the focal point in all conversations about the incident. Then, like a flash before one’s eyes, it is over. People move on from the story and just wait for the next tragic event to occur. This cycle pains me. I am certain that within a month, maybe even two weeks, nobody is going to be talking about Karageorge. There will be no biography written about him. There will not be a suicide awareness outreach following this story like the one that followed Robin William’s death. Because at the end of the day, people will remain ignorant about the factor that concussions may have played in leading to Karageorge’s suicide. He will be looked as just another person who could not deal with his problems in life. Which is ironic, because the real issues lie within the mass neglect of a hidden epidemic that is not even trying to remain incognito.

Term Paper

Today I received the assignment that will be my fall final exam, a term paper.

Some very relevant words by Mr. Correa himself:

"At this point, is ought to be more of struggle to stay within the length requirements (no more than five pages), rather than a struggle to meet them (no less than 3 pages)."

With so much to talk about, keeping my paper within the length requirements will be difficult but manageable.

I spent the entire class working on my term paper. Here is a snippet of what I have so far:

Sports is an umbrella term for the wide variety of games that encompass what we know as a physical activity, a sport. Originally, I titled my thesis project as “Concussions and Sports: A Hidden Epidemic.” However, after undergoing closer inspection, I came to the conclusion that the word “sports” is much too broad. I want to clarify that I am focusing on football, only football, and the equipment/technology, regulations, and legislation concerning it. Thus, a feeling of neglect comes about from focusing on only one particular sport. Concussions do not just occur in football, I am very aware of this. In fact, according to the Center for Injury Research and Policy, more high school soccer players had concussions in 2010 than basketball, baseball, wrestling, and softball players combined (Chemi, “Soccer Concussions Are More Frequent Than You Think”). But what sport had even more concussions than soccer? Football. Once established guidelines are challenged in the biggest sport, in terms of the concussion rate and general popularity in America, than will widespread reforms come about in all sports.

I would have liked to discuss about more development in the NFL concussions settlement story that is going on right now, but I decided to focus on the term paper. So, just keep an eye out for what might occur in the next couple of weeks, if anything. This could end up being a monumental moment in the history for concussion safety advocacy. Just keep this quote in the back of your head:

"The NFL showed 765 million reasons why you shouldn't play football." - Harry Carson on the NFL's $765 million dollar settlement on concussions in the NFL.

Nov. 21

Here is the response I formulated to this question Mr. Correa posed to me:

"Isn't there a higher instance of concussions in soccer? I think it would be interesting to find information (about misinformation) about football and its connection to brain injury.

The Lebron thing is media hype, unfortunately. But you are correct in your analysis."

There is a very high instance of concussions in soccer, but it is still second to that of football. 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-07/soccer-concussions-are-more-frequent-than-you-think

Here is actually a link that talks about how concussions in soccer are more common than people think, yet it is still not at the level of football.

Also, Hilderaldo Bellini, former Brazil Captain and World Cup Champion, who recently passed away was the first professional soccer player to have CTE. So, what I found interesting is the fact that the concussion rate in soccer is relatively high, yet only one player has shown signs of CTE (and this is still somewhat disputed, some sources are saying his death was caused by Alzheimer's disease which culminated in a cardiac arrest, I think someone out there that was reporting the story when it came out was just trying to create speculation). The way concussions in soccer are managed is much better than the way they are tackled in the NFL, but that may just be due to the nature of the game. Football players tend to neglect their health more and try to play the following week, which can be extremely difficult if a team has a Thursday night game. At least on the professional level, soccer teams tend to have an agglomerate of highly paid, well trained players. In football, we can have teams like the Raiders or the Jaguars which are primarily built on young players and rookies who haven't played at a high level. So there is less stress on soccer players to play the following week, while if someone like a Dez Bryant or Josh Gordon is to miss a week there goes the entire team's passing attack.

Also, as you probably know, Derrick Rose is now taking flak for the comments he made about his long term health. I'll talk more about this in a future blog.

I'm putting this on my blog because the question was very insightful, which forced me to respond (and since I tend to keep going on and on my response ended up being basically another blog post).

To expand on the Derrick Rose story, this is what he said that caused people to label him as "soft";

"I think a lot of people don't understand that when I sit out it's not because of this year. I'm thinking about long term. I'm thinking about after I'm done with basketball." 

His teammate, Joakim Noah, came to his defense:

"We're a group that's gone through a lot," Noah said. "Just looking at [the situation] as a teammate is just frustrating because I feel like sometimes he's portrayed as something that he's not. You don't come back from the injuries that he's coming back from without an unbelievable commitment ... just watching the league and the power that [the media] have. Sometimes you guys can really portray somebody as something he's not, and to me that's a little disappointing just because I know how much he cares about this game."

So how are the Bulls doing this year? Oh, they are just 8-4 and 3rd in the Eastern Conference. People forget that team sports has the word TEAM right in front of the word sports. Rose's absence can almost be seen as a good thing, for Jimmy Butler has developed into an elite player putting up 21.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.6 apg, and 1.5 stlpg while shooting 52% from the field, an incredible leap from career averages. Media portrayal can be awful, but at least awareness of athlete's health is at an all time high. But there comes a point where awareness isn't enough to change established guidelines. And that time is now.

Nov. 19

https://www.nchsaa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/nfhs-concussion-mgmt.pdf

Here is the link to the pamphlet I was talking about.

I was mistaken. This is actually not a pamphlet that is given out to the players. This is one created by the NFHS, the National Federation of High School Associations. I looked up some information about the NFHS and it is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. So, I actually do not know to whom this pamphlet is given out to. Maybe it's just something that is just on its website.

Something I found interesting in the brochure:

"For non-medical personnel, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has also developed a tool kit (“Heads Up:
Concussion in High School Sports"), which has been made available
to all high schools, and has information for coaches, athletes and
parents. The NFHS is proud to be a co-sponsor of this initiative."

"Which has been made available to all high schools." Really? ALL high schools? What does being "made available" even mean? If putting this up on the CDC's website (actually "putting up" is a nicer way to describe it, if you don't know I actually linked the "Head Up: Concussion in High School Sports" pamphlet in another blog. The link to get to that was hidden) constitutes as being "made available to all high schools" than the Oakland Raiders may also be the best team in the NFL.

Other than that I am actually fairly pleased with what I saw. The brochure covers some of the major points about concussions and is very simple to understand. It's just the implementation of the pamphlet that is bothering me. I really doubt that the majority of schools have ever seen it before. What I do really like though is the words they use on what would be the first page if the brochure was folded up.

"EVEN SEEMINGLY MINOR CONCUSSIONS
CAN HAVE DEVASTATING RESULTS"

This is something that needs to be known to the general public. The majority of people don't know that what may seem like "getting your bell rung" can end up having a huge impact on the rest of your life. Here is my biggest problem with football. There are 53 players on each team's active roster. There are 32 teams in the NFL. We take 53 and we multiply it by 32. We get 53 x 32 = 1696. That's the amount of players in the NFL. Only 1,696 people. How many people play football at the elementary, junior high, high, and college level? Millions. We have millions of people playing this game and getting injured to a point where the rest of their lives will never be the same. I know that TIME magazine posed the question "Is Football worth it?". To me, at this very moment, it isn't. I honestly would not let my son play the game as it is right now. Neither would the President of our country. People need to be informed. Because once informed, there will be an immense amount of pressure to change the way the game is played, which, in turn, will make it safer and less violent. Because, as of this instant, the NFL isn't marketing the game of football, they are marketing violence itself.

Nov. 17

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/emmanuel-sanders-taken-out-with-violent-hit--but-was-it-illegal--195130313.html


As you can see from the URL, today I'll be discussing what happened to Emmanuel Sanders in yesterday's game against the Rams.

Sanders runs a typical fade route when the ball is thrown his direction. As he stretches out to attempt the grab, he gets ransacked by Rams safety Rodney McLeod. Immediately, a flag was thrown and the penalty was on McLeod, a 15 yard penalty for unnecessary roughness, a helmet to helmet hit on a defenseless receiver. However, after review (the penalty was not overturned or anything) it was clear the McLeod lead with his shoulder and delivered, under NFL rules, a "legal" hit.

Remember my blog post a while back about spear tackling. Well, I said that even if a player does not lead with the helmet spear tackling should be illegal anyway because it is extremely dangerous (hint hint NFL maybe that's why rugby and other sports have banned it). I believe the same should be done with hits on defenseless receivers even if the helmets never collide. McLeod could have easily just got in the way of the pass and even possibly intercepted it, but instead he decides to apply a tremendous amount of force to a player who can do nothing about it. You tell me how that's fair, because it isn't.


I also looked into Mississippi's youth concussion law bill (link here for reference).

My general reaction: shocking and worrisome.

This bill is literally 3 pages long. One of my college essays is of the same length. Actual scratch that, the font used and spacing in the bill probably makes it the same length of a supplement in Common App. This is honestly appalling. This was my biggest concern: that legislation is weak and, most likely, ineffective.

I do not think I linked this in one of my recent blog posts, but I found (but at the moment can't find the link) an actual pamphlet that schools give to football players and their parents about concussions. I'm also thinking about going to Highland Park High School and just asking if I could have the one they give out. This is because they are under a different school district and it would be interesting to see what they put on their pamphlets. While I'm at it, I might also go down to the middle school and see if I can retrieve their concussions pamphlet as well, that way I can compare the too.

I will also check out this Saturday Night Live skit that Adrian told me about that parodies the new rule changes in tackling in football.

Nov. 13

Huge news in the world of sports. Mainly because it deals with the Tim Tebow of basketball, LeBron James.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11866239/lebron-james-says-kids-allowed-play-football
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/lebron-football-house/story?id=26872603
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/nov/13/lebron-james-not-let-sons-play-football-safety-fears

Let's just say that there is way too many articles on such a brief statement. What did "The King" say?

"No football in my house."

Interesting, yes. Surprising, yes. A big deal? Absolutely not.

When asked whether the reason for his decision was the health dangers related to football, James replied, "Yes."

People have begun to berate LeBron for his comments.
Some comments I found amusing:
"So basically no real sports in his house?"

"Makes sense since you can't flop in football."

"Pussy Bitch"

Standing at 6'8 and 250 lbs, LeBron is anything but that last comment. LeBron has even stated that his first love was the game of football, but he stopped playing because of a broken wrist he suffered as a junior in high school. I'm not going to sugarcoat anything (that's the NFL's job), but those comments pissed me off. How does not letting your children play football make you any less of a man? If anything, it makes you a sound parent that cares for the safety of your children. Don't get me wrong, letting your child play football isn't bad parenting. But the way we as a society label people who don't play football because of the fear of injuries is just repulsive.

I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. The biggest problem with all that I'm doing in my thesis is the preconceived notions people already have in their minds. Whether it be, "Football is a man's game", "Getting hit is part of the game", or "Walk it off", all these ideas that football is not for the "weak" are just annoying and erroneous. Berating one of the greatest athletes to walk this planet because he believes that his children shouldn't play football is just plain stupid.

I'm going to reiterate this because I think it needs to be said. Injuries in football are just different from those in most sports. Yes, you can tear an ACL playing almost any sport. However, you cannot develop CTE from most sports. Injuries to the head and brain cannot be seen physically in the same way as a broken arm or sprained ankle. Yet, these head injuries tend to be some of the worst that can possibly be sustained. LeBron is just looking out for the long term health of his children. And if you think that he is just being a "pussy bitch", then you need a shot of reality. Maybe even two.

Nov. 11

Some more news on the Jahleel Addae accident that occurred 2 weeks ago:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24792216/focus-turning-to-pressbox-spotter-in-jahleel-addaes-concussion-probe
Someone is going to get fired over how the Chargers handled the situation, which is good news because there should be no toleration to this behavior.

I was watching the Cowboys v. Jaguars game this weekend and one play in particularly got me extremely agitated. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, game pretty much in the books, Bortles throws a short pass to WR Allen Hurns in coverage. Hurns catches the ball and is in the process of being immediately tackled when, out of nowhere, Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens delivers an unnecessary blow to the head. Hurns immediately fell to the ground and stayed there for a solid 2 minutes. Hitchens was later flagged for a 15 yard penalty. Reason? "Blow to the head." Am I happy he was flagged for 15 yards and that the referee gave a no BS description of why? Yes, extremely. Should it have even happened in the first place?  Absolutely not. The blow was extremely unnecessary, Hurns was already going down to the ground!

Some important notes from the CDC's overview of concussions in sports:
• Athletes who have had a concussion, at 
 any point in their lives, have a greater 
 chance of getting another concussion.
- this is why a big deal is made about repetitive head trauma. This is also why players who are easily concussed (Ryan Grant, Wes Welker, etc.) have to contemplate retirement because the chance for another concussion just gets higher and higher.
• Young children and teens are more 
 likely to get a concussion and can take 
 longer to recover than adults.
- yet the biggest focus is on the most athletic, healthiest, adults in the world? Not enough is being done to protect the children from the risks of concussions in sports.

Interesting thing I found in TX's Concussion Law:
A student shall be removed from an
interscholastic athletics practice or competition immediately if
one of the following persons believes the student might have
sustained a concussion during the practice or competition:
(1)coach;
(2)physician;
(3)licensed health care professional; or
(4)student’s parent or guardian or another person
with legal authority to make medical decisions for the student.

How often does #4 occur? I believe that the majority of the parents are not educated enough to make a medical decision related to concussions. And I also think parents think that pulling their child out of the game is "weak" and would "embarrass" him/her in front of his/her friends.

Nov. 6, 2014

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/HeadsUpOnConcussionInSportsPolicies-a.pdf
General overview by the CDC on Concussions in Sports

http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/pdf/RTP_Implementation-a.pdf
General overview by the CDC on Implementing Return to Play

https://vine.co/v/OhJlmMLZqmq
Video of Jahleel Addae's brain short circuiting on live TV. He later returned to the same game.

I like to keep bouncing around between the three main aspects of prevention that I'm trying to find out about. So today I've been looking into the legislation aspect of concussions. Two states that I want to look in depth at are Texas (because it is where I currently reside) and Mississippi (because it was the very last state to implement a concussion law).

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2011-08-18/news/student-athletes-suffer-the-stings-of-concussions-while-lawmakers-fail-to-help/
This is an article from 2011 about Natasha Helmick, a talented soccer star who suffered multiple concussions throughout her career forcing her to give up the sport for good. At the time of the article, Texas had not implemented any concussions laws. However, thanks to her activism, the law was conjured up and passed and was named under her for her support towards the necessity of the bill.

http://theconcussionblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/tx-bill1.pdf
Here is the actual bill that passed for Texas

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/football-high/attention-players-parents-coaches/#damap
Frontline PBS page on Head Injuries and Legislation guidelines for every state

http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2014/pdf/HB/0001-0099/HB0048SG.pdf
Mississippi's recent bill

https://www.nchsaa.org/sites/default/files/attachments/nfhs-concussion-mgmt.pdf
Example of  a concussion brochure given out to high schools

Next class I will look more in depth in all my sources from my past couple of blog posts that why I can explain in detail the importance of each piece of information.

Nov. 4, 2014

I'm now shifting my focus on finding out more about the rules and regulation in football. Also, I have decided that I needed to change the title of my thesis. No longer is it Concussions and Sports: A Hidden Epidemic. It is, and should have been, Concussions and Football: A Hidden Epidemic.

Right now I'm looking into spear tackling. Spear tackling is illegal in all sports in which tackling is a part of the game - except in the NFL. A spear tackle is a tackle in which the tackler runs full speed without any tackling technique in mind, ramming the shoulder into the chest of the opposing player. The NFL did make it illegal to spear tackle helmet-first. Which is funny because that should never have even come up in the conversation. The helmet should be used to protect the head, not as a weapon.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/spear-tackle/
Here's a video featuring former Chargers CB Quentin Jammer to showcase the dangers of spear tackling.

I believe in the total decimation of this rule. Spear tackling should be completely eliminated from the game, with a bigger emphasis on "Seahawk" tackling. In rugby, a perfect tackle is one that is technically perfect, one that uses safe, effective, tactful techniques. In the NFL, it seems as if the "perfect tackle" is one that knocks the wind out of the opponent.

Next class hopefully I can find the 60 minutes on "A Blow to the Brain"

http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/dave-duerson-the-ferocious-life-and-tragic-death-of-a-super-bowl-star-20121002?page=2
Putting this link here so I can read the article on Dave Duerson.

Halloween Blog Post

I finally got a mentor, Dr. Kilianski from Georgia Regents University. I'd like to thank Lucas and his dad for there help in securing a mentor for me.

I finished the League of Denial documentary today as well. That is one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. The magnitude of denial by the NFL just baffles me.

"The NFL showed 765 million reasons why you shouldn't play football." - Harry Carson on the NFL's $765 million dollar settlement on concussions in the NFL.

Oct 29, 2014

I emailed Dr. Chen to see if he could defer me to one of the neurology residents at UT Southwestern.

I watched part of the League of Denial documentary for the rest of class and hope to finish watching it next class. I got to the 56:00 mark of the 2 hour documentary

Quote from the documentary "They didn't think I was practicing medicine. They thought I was practicing voodoo." - Dr. Bennett Omalu recounting what the NFL's mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) committee thought about his discovery of CTE in NFL players.

Oct 27, 2014

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/videos/Seahawks-Tackling/af5b80dd-7e39-4519-8b80-ad558292b1a6

Today I watched this documentary on Seahawks Tackling, which I talked briefly about last post.
It goes in depth in how the Seahawks, known to be one of the best defensive teams in the NFL, tackle.
There style of tackling is directly related to rugby tackling.
THEY TACKLE EFFECTIVELY AND SAFELY.
MAKE THIS MANDATORY ROGER GOODELL.

Hopefully I can find the League of Denial Documentary for next time, which would be on Friday since I have my meeting with Marberry next class.

I also completed Stephen Blair's survey.

Oct. 23, 2014

I've been working hard on my thesis project the last couple of class periods so I've begone to shift my focus toward college oriented things, like this CSS profile. So I've just be continually filling it out this class period.

However, I'm also looking into the basic rules of rugby. If I want to know how to the NFL can benefit from rugby I should at least know how the game of rugby is played. So I've been looking a lot into that.

Next class I'll look more into the specifics of tackling in rugby.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/07/30/pete-carroll-urges-rugby-style-tackling-in-instructional-video/
Pete Carroll, coach of the Seahawks, urges rugby style tackling in the NFL.

Tuesday Oct. 21

1. Got my picture taken for the yearbook
2. Got my transcripts from Ms. Randle
3. Looked for possible mentors/judges in Correa's book of business cards

I'm thinking about looking at some lawyers for the legislation part of my project.
I also began filling out my CSS profile.

Fluid Layer Helmets to protect against oblique impacts

I'm now beginning to look in depth in every specific prevention technique possible to reduce the rate of receiving a concussion.

Right now I am focusing on helmets, more specifically fluid layer helmets. I believe that radical changes need to be taken in this department because helmets are used in football and other sports at all age levels.

http://www.gizmag.com/mips-helmet-technology/21656/
A company in Sweden called MIPS is developing a fluid layer helmet to protect against oblique impacts.
http://apps.research.ufl.edu/otl/pdf/marketing/13586.pdf
http://w3.cns.org/dp/2011CNS/1250.pdf
The University of Florida is also trying to develop a fluid layer helmet. I believe that, while in its infancy, fluid layer helmets may be a piece of the solution needed to reduce the rate of receiving concussions.
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-08/helmet-wars-and-new-helmet-could-protect-us-all?page=0%2C3
Another, longer article about "The Helmet that May Save Football"

One question I should probably address is what do I mean by fluid layer. Firstly, I'm talking about Non-Newtonian fluid, so nothing like water or any liquid of that sorts. Non-Newtonian fluids are things like magma, lava, yogurt, and mucus. There is a shear thickening and thinning associated with Non-Newtonian fluids.

No Blog Today

ACT Today, was not in class.

Last day of Presentations

Today was the last day of presentations. Regular blogging will begin starting next week.

Presentation and ACT registration

Today I presented my thesis project to my peers. I think it went pretty well, literally nobody knew about the the ramifications of experiencing a traumatic brain injury or concussion except Mr. Correa, which exemplifies what TAG is all about - the teachers know more about sports than the students.

Ms. Langet came in our class today to help the class register for the ACT.

Thesis Presentation and Mentor

Fifty minutes of class was dedicated towards my peers' thesis presentations. Good job to all those that presented today.

I believe I have solidified who my mentor will be. Hopefully, Lucas's dad, Dr. Chen, will be kind enough to donate his time to be my mentor. He does research in sports medicine so he is my ideal mentor.

I'm still working on my presentation for Wednesday. It's going to be pretty fantastic. At first, my presentation was around seven minutes because I just kept going on and on about my topic. However, I've been able to cut it to a respectable amount, around five minutes and forty-five seconds. \

Found this pretty cool quote from this article: "But TMZ can’t leak a video that shows athletes’ brains deteriorating, so most people ignore the story. Our collective outrage is saved for what’s easiest to watch online."

More Housekeeping

1. Got my transcripts from Ms. Randle which took about 30 minutes
2. Looked up how I could send my transcripts to my colleges
3. Finished up my bibliography
4. Started on my presentation

EDIT: found this interesting article about Niles Paul that came out recently

Little Update

No blog post for Friday and there will be no blog post on Tuesday because of TREK.

I am currently working on my annotated bibliography.

EDIT: Found this amazing Volume from The Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics (42:3). Will include in my annotated bibliography.

EDIT #2: Zack Lystedt*, Chad Stover**

More Sources for Annotated Bibliography

ACT packets were given out today. I also requested transcripts from the front office. I might be able to talk to Ms. Marberry today as well. Michelle also helped me contact Baylor hospital today because she was able to get a mentor from there last class. So, I've sent a general inquiry form to the hospital.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3438866/
- twelve years of nfl concussion data
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/sports/football/24concussion.html?_r=0

- article about a 2010 law trying to protect young athletes from concussions, will look into what ever happened to it
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445193/
- repeat concussion data
https://theconcussionblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/trend-in-nfl-concussion-recording-2010-2012.pdf
-trends in nfl concussion reporting from 2010-2012
https://www.theshockbox.com/shockbox-helmet-sensors-research-studies-youth-football-pop-warner/
- application of shockbox helmets
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905224343.htm
- not nfl related, relates to death of former WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and CTE
http://www.sportssurgerynewyork.com/articles/rugby-injuries.pdf
- review of rugby injuries

*Note: remember to look up guardian caps

Annotated Bibliography

Here I'm just going to list all the resources I have looked at/used:

http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2014_February/ticoncussions/
- new ways to detect concussion symptoms
http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/1049/1/Weber10PhD.pdf
- The neuropsychology of sport concussion
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC155428/
- concussion in rugby (would like to compare concussions in the NFL to that of an even more brutal sport)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2945234/
- CTE in athletes due to repetitive head injuries
http://www.nicholasrizzo.com/arp/Cantu_Chronic_Traumatic_Encephalopathy_Progressive_Tauopathy_after_Repetitive_Head_Injury.pdf
- I have no clue how I even found this but I believe it is the complete report for the above link
http://www.jaapl.org/content/41/3/430.full.pdf
 - more CTE
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01947648.2011.632710#tabModule
- high school athletes and concussions and what is at stake
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/eye-performance/201310/rugby-football-concussions-tackling-safety-technique
- more rugby vs football
http://time.com/3397085/the-tragic-risks-of-american-football/
- huge news recently about Chad Stover, just linking TIME because there will be an article about him coming out on Sept. 29
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2014/sep/21/research-shows-american-football-can-ignore-dangers-of-trauma-no-longer
- makes some good points and backs it up with facts about the NFL and head trauma
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/09/teddy-roosevelt-saved-football-111146_Page2.html#.VCBYafldVL8
- very interesting read about Teddy Roosevelt and the impact he had on football





Website I found that may help me get a mentor:
http://theconcussionblog.com/


I have also sent my college recommenders the information they need.

September 18, 2014

I've spent time looking for some possible mentors for my project. The research is coming along fine. I've been reading from the thesis paper that I posted last blog. Soon I'll be able to start piecing things together to come up with a presentation. Also, I'm beginning to keep note of my sources on a word document with brief explanations about them for the upcoming annotated bibliography that will be due.

Today I also spent time filling out my Texas Exes Scholarship application for UT. Also, I'll be in need of recommendations soon, so I've been working on getting all the required documents ready for my recommenders. 

September 16, 2014

No post last Friday due to TAG Forum.

Here is the link to one of the sources I found about a week ago. It is about the neuropsychology of sport concussions so this will be an extremely useful source. There is so much pertinent information to my field of study and it comes from the UK so it will probably have a more objective view on concussion in American sports like the NFL. I also put myself out there for a mentor and guidance in my research topic on this physical therapy forum.

I got my intern badge from the library today as well.

I also got a lot of stuff in order (request form, list of deadlines, resume, and will print out the surveys later today) today for recommendations from my teachers and from the counselor

Day 6

I updated my resume and sent it to my thesis adviser, Mr. Correa. I am planning on doing the survey, but with all the problems with the document I'll wait a little to start on that. I'm still looking for a mentor for my project, but I know for certain that I would like a physical therapist who deals with head injuries and concussion management. 

I was linked to this website from a comment on my forum post from last class. I'll look into it some more because, apparently, it is a new company.

Also I'm debating between doing a long thesis/research paper or a presentation on my research. On one hand, a thesis paper would be quite dull but scholarly while a presentation would be more active and lively. I'm leaning towards a presentation of my research.

I've been looking at CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), which is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma. There is a direct relationship between CTE and the death of Junior Seau, a former 10-time All-Pro and 12-time Pro Bowler. 

I also worked some more on my common app questions for my colleges. 

Day 5

Late on Friday I sent an email to Dr. Rennaker, the director of UTD's Texas Biomedical Device Center, to request mentorship, but he hasn't responded yet, which is probably because I sent an email over a weekend. So I'll wait a little more for his response as I look into other possible mentors. Finding a mentor might be difficult because my topic is in a very specialized field of study.

I found a great source on my topic but it is on my laptop so I'm just putting this note here to remind myself to add it to my bibliography and to link it on my next blog post.

Today I put my self out for a mentor on a neuroscience forum so hopefully I'll get some replies.

I found a course that the NFHS and CDC put out together about the importance of proper concussion recognition in high school athletes, but the computer shut off so I wasn't able to link it here so I'll go home and try to find it again.

I also spent about 10 minutes on Common App filling out some short answer questions.

College Talk

Ms. Marberry talked to the class today about the college process.

I'll be getting a list of deadlines together later today so I can follow a more rigid structure.

I'll also be watching the Packers vs. Seahawks game tonight to monitor any injuries that may occur, especially concussions (which Percy Harvin is prone to).

Progress

I've overestimated the amount of information I wanted to uncover with my project, so my goal is to fixate on a specific injury and see what I can do to help prevent it.

Initially, I wanted to focus on ACL injuries and have more surrounding information about concussions and various spinal injuries. By doing so, I would have neglected the other injuries and would have ended up with just a rudimentary, surface level analysis of the periphery injuries. Instead, I'm going to focus on one particular sport injury that way I can really understand the injury itself and come up with a well detailed plan to help prevent said injury.

With this said, I have chosen to focus my thesis on concussions in sports, more specifically football. Interestingly enough, UTD and TI are developing a system to help determine what causes concussions and identify athletes at risk of injury.

Here is a link to that article: http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/2014_February/ticoncussions/

I would really like to work with them and learn more about what they are doing. To conclude, concussions, concussions, and even more concussions.

Thesis Progress

Housekeeping items about senior thesis and the college process was discussed today, so I spent some time perusing the various documents which included the overview of what is expected in this class.

I have looked into more information about an ACL injury prevention program called PEP that focuses on specific warm up routines that strengthen the ligament from structural damage.

Link to PEP Program Study: http://www.la84.org/pep-program-study/

I am also looking into spinal injuries as well because recently NFL running back David Wilson retired at age 23 due to a neck related spinal injury. This has been seen before with NFL safety Nick Collins early retirement also due to a neck related spinal injury.

Thesis Overview

In sports, it is safe to say that the equivalent to "break a leg" is "tear an ACL".

Sam Bradford, quarterback for the St. Louis Rams, just re-tore the ACL in his left knee during a preseason game against the Cleveland Browns on August 23. So not only did he miss nine games last season, but now he will miss the entire 2014 season with a torn ACL in the same knee. In an industry that is so dependent on the play of the quarterback, it may very well have been Bradford's last game in the NFL.

I bring up Bradford (one of many, ex. Sean Lee) to show the importance of my thesis topic. To restate, I would like my thesis topic to revolve around injury prevention in modern day sports as more and more athletes suffer from career ending (and sometimes fatal) injuries than ever before. This is a major problem because most modern day athletes do not receive a college degree and therefore are limited in their life after sports. 

My goal is to come up with a prototype helmet (for concussions) or brace (for tears in the ligaments of the knee; I am not limiting myself to just concussions and knee tears) or come up with ways to increase the chance of preventing such injuries from occurring.

*Even my football team, the Denver Broncos, are in danger as their star wideout, Wes Welker, has sustained 3 concussions over the past 10 months, with the most recent one occurring while he was wearing a specially designed helmet to protect him from blows to the head.