Getting hit in the head likely isn't good for you.
Getting in the head repeatedly is probably even worse.
And getting hit hard enough to make you lose consciousness is assumed to be really bad.
Of course, as always, somebody felt the need to prove this. So they studied boxers and found that (GASP!) getting hit in the head repeatedly is bad for you!
Here's the article.
Thank you, Cherie.
Not to be a nerd, but I actually attended a lecture on this recently and it's a hot topic. Dementia pugilistica is being studied because it apparently shows up in early stages in the autopsies of the brains of young athletes who had no or minimal concussions.
ReplyDeleteFootball, with its repeated contact inherent in all positions, has been shown to give the same TBI problems as boxers are found to have.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter put her eight year old son into the local Kid League, I sent articles (snail mailed !!) describing the issue. Grandson's grades fell and he was , um, removed from the roster. Much to HIS delight, my father gleefully reports from the sidelines.
I started writing a response and it got so long that I just made it into my own blog post.
ReplyDeletehttp://mizmoose.livejournal.com/228377.html
Long story short: there is valid scientific reason for studying things that seem obvious.
This isn't even new information. It has been known for decades. I remember hearing it in a talk given by Carlton Gajdusek when he visited New Zealand in the '80s.
ReplyDeleteDisneyland J Med, 2010.
ReplyDeleteParkinson's pugilistica--what a great name!
ReplyDeleteAs a pathologist, I have been fascinated by the research into patterns of cranial injuries. How was that done? Guy took a bunch of skulls and a baseball bat.
I know this *seems* obvious, but look at what's going on with football. It's like OMG, really??? Being tackled repeatedly in the head and having repeated concussions is BAD FOR YOU??? Nu-uh. But it's so manly!! It can't possibly be bad for you.
ReplyDeleteSadly, sometimes the idiots need to be educated.
18 months ago, I slipped on a slope while fishing. Both feet went out, as if on ice. I came down hard on my upper back, my head snapped back thumping the ground. I barely held on to consciousness, I called my wife on my cell phone to help me. Went to ER, scanned and checked. 6 months of headache, short term memory gone--could not remember anything , took the next year to recoup. Now back to normal. Dr. said mild concussion. Serious stuff. Study away.
ReplyDeletetbi is a very real very hot topic. that is why the nfl is trying to take action, in spite of fan and player outrage. le forte got things started with understanding facial fractures, but his system does not really describe most bony facial injuries. the concept of bony structural pillars does better and is still evolving.
ReplyDeleteThe Mother -- I thought the LaForte did most of his research on skull base fractures by rolling skulls down a flight of stairs?
ReplyDeleteSo if you're dumb enough to play football in the first place, you end up even dumber. Heh heh.
ReplyDelete