A former NFL player and a former pro wrestler traveled to Capitol Hill this week to warn fellow athletes about the dangers of traumatic brain injuries – but unlike many recent TBI-focused events in Washington in recent months the emphasis of this news conference was teens, not fellow retired pros.…
Yesterday at the White House President Barack Obama hosted a special event designed to spotlight the dangers of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in youth sports. As someone who has worked and written on these issues for years it is inspiring to see them receiving this kind of attention at…
An announcement last week by New York’s University of Rochester received little attention in the national media, but deserves more. According to a news release from the university’s medical center, researchers there have made a significant breakthrough in the study of sports-related traumatic brain injuries, especially to children. The medical…
When attention focuses on the question of sports and traumatic brain injuries we usually think of football, hockey or boxing. A new study from Boston University, however, highlights the potential TBI dangers of a sport we do not often think of as violent: soccer. As outlined by the New York…
When the news broke right before New Year’s that Michael Schumacher, arguably the world’s most famous race car driver, had been seriously injured in a skiing accident it immediately focused public attention on safety and winter sports. According to numerous media reports Schumacher was skiing ‘off piste’ (a common term…
A story published last week in the Los Angeles Times spotlights both the help technology can offer in the fight against traumatic brain injuries, and the surprising resistance that such technology can, and does, encounter. The paper reported on a “wireless alert system” that can be placed in football helmets.…
The widely reported news that “the NFL has agreed to pay $765 million to settle a lawsuit brought by more than 4500 players and their families,” as The New York Times reported this week, is welcome news for former players suffering from traumatic brain injuries and other physical and mental…
On a day when the NFL has settled a landmark lawsuit over player concussion (a subject on which I’ll write more later this week) it is worth remembering the measures closer to home that we all need to take to protect our kids from traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.…
On Tuesday the Oregon Senate passed by a wide margin a bill that would allow children of any age to ride motorcycles, dirt bikes and other off-road ATVs. Let me be frank, it is hard to see how any responsible parent would allow a child that young to ride a…
A recent news release from SafeKids Oregon – “Concussions: What You Need to Know” – offers an important note of caution during this holiday season, highlighting the dangers of Oregon TBI injuries related to youth sports and offering important pointers for parents who want their kids to be as safe…