Litigation

Nearly 20 percent of professional football players fail to report their concussion symtoms according to an AP study

By Michael Kaplen

A study sponsored by the Associated Press reports that nearly 20 percent of professional football players have hidden the fact that they sustained a concussion or down played their concussion symptoms.

The AP concussion study interviewed a cross section of NFL players, talking to five players on each of the 32 teams, which amounts to approximately  10 percent of all players.  The interview results confirms what we all know, concussions are a bigger problem in football then the NFL or its players association wants to admit to.

Players reported feeling there head vibrate like a bell, but going back to play within minutes and never reporting their symptoms.   Another player said,
"You get back up, and things are spinning," but he didn?t tell anyone.
 
Now the NFL wants players to keep tabs on each other and tell their teams if they believe someone else has a head injury.

The NFL told the AP that they believe all concussion symptoms need to be reported and that team members should be encouraged to report observations of their team mates to the medical staff.

According to the AP,  ?What emerged from the AP's interviews was a wide-ranging, unprecedented look at the way active players think about head injuries in a world where "getting dinged" and "seeing stars" ? and the potential long-term effects of concussions ? are deemed a frightening but perhaps inevitable consequence of their job.?

The NFL says its data shows an average of one reported concussion every other game ? about 120 to 130 concussions per regular season.

Of the 160 players interviewed by the AP, half said they've had at least one concussion playing football; 61 said they missed playing time because of the injury.

Players acknowledged staying on the field despite feeling "dazed" or "woozy" or having blurred vision, because, "It's what you're taught."

One thing is clear, the efforts by the NFL and the players association to educate players about the dangers and long term consequences of concussions, to date, have not worked.  Much more is needed and needed now.  Merely handing out brochures to warriors in the locker room about the dangers of concussions is not doing the job.  More serious efforts must be undertaken.  In addition to educational films which should be mandatory of former players who describe their disabling injuries and the need for vigilance, player?s wives and mothers should also be told about the dangers faced by their loved ones.  Maybe it?s time that we bring in the heavy guns to tell players, WHEN IN DOUBT, STAY OUT!

The full AP story can be read by clicking here.

Full post as published by Brain Injury News and Information on November 19, 2009 (boomark / email).