Category Archives: Other Sports
In Case You Missed the October 2017 Concussion Litigation Reporter
Published four weeks ago, here’s the table of contents for October 2017 Concussion Litigation Reporter, here’s the Table of Contents of that issue, which, as always, features “timely reporting on developments and legal strategies at the intersection of sports and concussions—articles that benefit practicing attorneys who may be pursuing a claim or defending a client:”
- The NFL’s Head Injury Research and the Law: An Overview of Liability under the Voluntary Undertaking Doctrine
- When Football Players Suffer from Concussions, Who Is Responsible?
- Third Circuit Affirms Lower Court, Denying Relief to Parents of Concussed Football Player
- Hockey Enforcer Unsuccessful at District Court, Appeals to Seventh Circuit
- Researchers Identify Possible Biomarker for Diagnosing CTE During Life
- Controversy Stirs as Youth Football Coach Is Suspended for Reinserting Player
- Mother Alleges Doctor Broke for Concussion Protocol, Leading to Serious Brain Injury
- Legal Infighting Marks Hearing on NFL Concussion Litigation in Philly
- High School Football Participation Has ‘Peaked’, Further Declines Likely, Says CU Boulder Professor
To subscribe, visit: https://concussionpolicyandthelaw.com/concussion-litigation-reporter/
Posted in College, Football, General, High School, Hockey, Litigation, Other Sports, Products, Professional
Tagged CTE, law, legal
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Contact in Sports May Lead to Differences In The Brains Of Young, Healthy Athletes
People who play contact sports show changes to their brain structure and function, with sports that have greater risk of body contact showing greater effects on the brain, a new study has found.
Researchers at St. Michael’s Hospital performed preseason brain scans of 65 varsity athletes — 23 from collision sports (with routine, purposeful body-to-body contact), 22 from contact sports (where contact is allowed, but is not an integral part of the game) and 20 from non-contact sports.
They found that the athletes in collision and contact sports had differences in brain structure, function and chemical markers typically associated with brain injury, compared to athletes in non-contact sports.
Their findings were published online today in the journal Frontiers of Neurology.
Lead author Dr. Nathan Churchill, a post-doctoral fellow in St. Michael’s Neuroscience Research Program, said there was growing concern about how participation in contact sports may affect the brain.
Most of the research in this area has focused on the long-term effects for athletes in collision sports, such as football and ice hockey, where players may be exposed to hundreds of impacts in a single season. Less is known about the consequences of participating in contact sports where body-to-body contact is permitted, but is not purposeful, such as soccer, basketball and field hockey.
This study looked at both men and women from a variety of sports, and found progressive differences between the brains of athletes in non-contact, contact and collision sports.
This included differences in the structure of the brain’s white matter — the fibre tracts that connect different parts of the brain and allow them to communicate with one another. Athletes in sports with higher levels of contact also showed signs of reduced communication between brain areas and decreased activity, particularly within areas involved in vision and motor function, compared to those in non-contact sports, such as volleyball.
However, these differences do not reflect significantly impaired day-to-day functioning, said Dr. Tom Schweizer, head of the Neuroscience Research Program and a co-author of the paper, noting that the athletes in this study did not report significant health problems and were all active varsity athletes.
He said this study fills an important gap in understanding how contact affects healthy brains, as a step toward better understanding why a small number of athletes in contact sports show negative long-term health consequences.
Posted in College, Football, General, High School, Hockey, Litigation, Other Sports
Tagged peewee, youth
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National Concussion Symposium set for Ireland on October 7
Building on the success of last year’s event, Bon Secours Health System and UPMC, a leader in concussion treatment worldwide, have come together with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to present Ireland’s second National Concussion Symposium, which will take place at Croke Park on October 7, 2017.
Leading concussion experts from UPMC in the United States, Bon Secours Health System in Ireland and sporting figures from the GAA will join together for another ground-breaking symposium which will share nationally the best practices, protocols and treatment of concussion today.
The event will feature a panel discussion involving Dr. Pat O’Neill (All-Ireland winning former manager and player with Dublin), Dr. Brendan Murphy (former Offaly hurler, current Tipperary hurling team doctor) and Oisín McConville (former Armagh footballer and All-Star winner) sharing their own experiences of concussion from their various involvements at all levels as players, team doctors and managers. The Dr. Brendan Murphy and Oisín McConville were on hand in Croke Park this morning to help publicise the event.
A limited number of spaces are still available for those wishing to attend. The event is aimed at medical professionals and those involved in academic research to benefit from the wisdom of those involved in ground breaking research and treatment in this field. Those wishing to attend can register their interest by email to kevin@investnet.ie or call 087-9877391.
Further information on concussion, including the GAA’s Concussion Management Guidelines and Concussion E-learning course are available on the GAA website. http://learning.gaa.ie/Concussion
