My head hurts!

[dieseltaylor]

Not a very funny subject really

First, the concussion issue. As anyone who has every played football can tell you—concussions are everywhere. Indeed, 60 Minutes looked at new research—much of it on NFL players and concluded (video):

The National Football League commissioned a telephone survey of 1,000 retired players that was released just two weeks ago. The study found the players under the age of 50 were 19 times more likely to have been diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimer’s and other memory related diseases, compared to the general public.

Which raises the whole question of people damaging themselves for gain.

PS - I wonder if they asked about steroid and drug habits ......

Dr. Cantu is even more worried about kids and concussions.

Last year, high school athletes reported having 150,000 concussions. Younger brains are more vulnerable to injury, doctors say, and unlike in the NFL, there's often no one on the sidelines trained to diagnose brain injuries.

That's what happened to Zackary Lystedt in 2006. He was 13 years old when he got a concussion, and fell to the field clutching his head. He sat out briefly, then his coaches sent him back in.

When the game was over, his father, Victor Lystedt, says Zackary was screaming in pain. "He's like, 'Daddy, my head, my head, it's killin' me, Dad. It’s killin’ me,'" Lystedt recalled.

The situation, Lystedt said, was already beyond scary at that point. "And so then he collapsed on the field and was experiencing stroke after stroke after stroke."

Zackary remained in a coma for over a month. Three years later, he's in a wheelchair and spends at least 40 hours a week in therapy.

"All the kids right now at 16 are plannin' their dances. We're plannin' on just gettin' a little bit more movement so that my son can stand on his own, on his own two feet," Lystedt said

[tooz]

How about Ice Hockey Goaltenders? I played between the pipes for over 36 years. I have had my "bell rung" by slapshots off the facemask (still cannot fathom goalies of yesteryear NOT wearing them). One shot that I recall vividly was while playing summer hockey in Connecticut this AHL guy (Larose from the Chicago Wolves) cranked a slapper from top of the right faceoff circle and the shot hit me dead in the mask, above the cage. The rebound caroomed back to the center red line on a fly. Seriously. My head did not really hurt (had to have the best quality headgear and CUP protection!) but I did get a ringing in my ears that lasted awhile. Had a shot crack open my old Jacques Plante/Bernie Parent style mask and split my chin once (lots of blood and gore). Now that I get older I do wonder about how much more trouble my body will go through in the coming years. I already have the ankles of an old lady (also not a pretty sight) and my right hip is tweaky. I remember making many a save I wish I hadn't--the welts! Let me tell you about welts! Purple and yellow spots that later calcify before going away. I wonder what long term effects they had.

Maybe I'll revisit this post in a few years. So, if anyone has kids playing goal, please spend the money and get them the best protection out there. It is NOT inexpensive however. This is probably why I never took up skiing--couldn't afford two winter sports.