'Concussion' doctor in NYT op-ed: No high-impact sports until age 18

Muslims, probably. And Clintons, blowjobs and confrontations with police officers. But not coffee.

 

This topic hits home for me, because my son plays high school football. He's a junior who starts on the O-line. And this past season, he missed a couple games after being diagnosed with a "minor" concussion.

Thankfully, our school has a trainer who attends each football game and noticed my son shielding his eyes in the huddle after he fell to the ground hard, apparently hitting his head on the field turf (sensitivity to bright light is among concussion symptoms). Although he played a couple more plays after the incident, when the drive ended she pulled him aside, tested him, and told the coach to sit him for the rest of the game. Fortunately it wasn't a severe case with major symptoms, but when there's a question, our school errs on the side of caution. I'm grateful for that.

My son came back and played the final three games of the season, without any more problems. Offensive linemen have less high-speed collisions than other players, but that doesn't mean they can't get head-butted, slapped upside the head while pass blocking, or knocked to the ground. As my son noted, it's football — there are collisions on every play.

Injuries happen, but as the doctor notes in the article, brain injuries are different. The long term impact of even a minor concussion could last the rest of your life; we simply don't know enough about the brain and how it heals.

So I'm not sure how I feel about keeping kids out of contact sports until they're 18. In my son's case (and even for me, way back when), there are many positives that come from playing sports, and if they're not in organized sports, they still can get injured playing pickup ball or just goofing around with their friends.

But any equipment modifications or rule changes to help reduce the number of concussions, I'm all for that.

 

My son played offensive line. In his sophomore year they put him in at noseguard for a goal-line play. Two guys drove into his head. He bounced right up but my wife could tell he was off after the game. He was diagnosed with a concussion and had headaches and difficulty concentrating for a week.

He decided to stop with football after that season. He also didn't like the fact they they kept encouraging him to add weight. Linemen aren't exactly encouraged to have a healthy lifestyle.

 

Sounds like a smart kid.

 

My kids won't play football. I loved playing, but there's just no way.

 

There's a growing body of research that suggests the repeated smaller impacts that offensive and defensive linemen experience on every play are worse over the long-run than those high-speed collisions.

It scares the shit out of me as former O lineman, with a family history that already makes me nervous about early onset dementia/Alzheimer's.

 

My wife just had our first. We agree. He won't be playing football. Which is a shame, because I love the game.

But I covered it for a bunch of years and I was convinced I'd see someone die on the field one day. If he played, I'm not sure I could watch.

I also grew up playing hockey, which isn't as bad, but has similar potential for that type of injury. I admit he'll probably be on skates as soon as he's walking, but it still makes me uneasy.

 

My son had a friend who had a half-dozen concussions in high school, but with his parents' enthusiastic support, was looking hard to find a D II or D III school where he could play college football.

My son thought he was crazy.

 

I'm not opposed to full contact sports either. I was a wrestler growing up, and while there are certainly concussion risks there, I am comfortable with my son hitting the mat when the time comes. I just can't say OK to football.

 

My son continued with wrestling after he stopped with football. He liked it better, and there isn't the constant head contact.

 

Mat herpes, though.

 

You learn a lot about skin diseases, for sure.