Strides are being made on serious problem of sports concussions

By Dr. Robert R. Sloan

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 13, 2012

~~<p>Brain injury, or concussion, is in the news almost daily nowadays. The more severe brain injuries, such as in our local boxing champion Andy Ganigan, can occur in and out of the sports arena, and the results are easy to see. More subtle mild brain injury, like sports concussions, make the injuries harder to identify.</p>
<p>After the NFL granted researchers at Boston University $1 million to study the brains of athletes who die after concussions, the NFL is being sued for negligence in protecting NFL players from the sequelae of brain injuries on the field. This is due to overwhelming evidence that even mild concussions cause far more severe problems than could be previously proven. These concussive injuries to athletes' brains, young and old, cause acute and chronic problems that persist and even worsen later in life — even without another brain injury. This is common in many sports.</p>
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Brain injury, or concussion, is in the news almost daily nowadays. The more severe brain injuries, such as in our local boxing champion Andy Ganigan, can occur in and out of the sports arena, and the results are easy to see. More subtle mild brain injury, like sports concussions, make the injuries harder to identify.

After the NFL granted researchers at Boston University $1 million to study the brains of athletes who die after concussions, the NFL is being sued for negligence in protecting NFL players from the sequelae of brain injuries on the field. This is due to overwhelming evidence that even mild concussions cause far more severe problems than could be previously proven. These concussive injuries to athletes' brains, young and old, cause acute and chronic problems that persist and even worsen later in life — even without another brain injury. This is common in many sports. Login for more...