Abstract
The issue of concussion in football is of substantial interest to players, coaches, fans, and physicians. In this article, we review specific cultural hindrances to diagnosis and treatment of concussion in football. We review current trends in management and identify areas for improvement. We also discuss the obligations that physicians, particularly neurosurgeons and neurologists, have toward brain-injured football players and the larger societal role they may play in helping to minimize football-associated brain injury.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance
Lehman EJ. Epidemiology of neurodegeneration in American-style professional football players. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2013;5:34. A 6 year prospective study of TBI in the NFL that included analysis of 787 injuries evaluated by the authors. Concussions were broken down by situation, severity, and return-to-play.
Casson IR, Pellman EJ, Viano DC. Concussion in the national football league: an overview for neurologists. Neurol Clin. 2008;26:217. 41; x-xi.
Edwards JC, Bodle JD. Causes and consequences of sports concussion. J Law Med Ethics. 2014;42:128–32.
Myers G. Former NY Jets WR Wayne Chrebet, who sacrificed body for love of NFL, dives headfirst into new career. New York Daily News. 2013.
Delaney JS, Lamfookon C, Bloom GA, Al-Kashmiri A, Correa JA. Why university athletes choose not to reveal their concussion symptoms during a practice or game. Clin J Sport Med. 2014. doi:10.1097/JSM.0000000000000112.
Hirth RA, Chernew ME, Miller E, Fendrick AM, Weissert WG. Willingness to pay for a quality-adjusted life year: in search of a standard. Med Decis Making. 2000;20:332–42.
Ginnitti M. NFL Minimum Salaries & Veteran Discounts. In: 2014. http://www.spotrac.com/blog/nfl-minimum-salaries-veteran-discounts/.
Davenport EM, Whitlow CT, Urban JE, Espeland MA, Jung Y, Rosenbaum DA, et al. Abnormal white matter integrity related to head impact exposure in a season of high school varsity football. J Neurotrauma. 2014. doi:10.1089/neu.2013.3233.
McAllister TW, Ford JC, Flashman LA, Maerlender A, Greenwald RM, Beckwith JG, et al. Effect of head impacts on diffusivity measures in a cohort of collegiate contact sport athletes. Neurology. 2014;82:63–9.
Singh R, Meier TB, Kuplicki R, Savitz J, Mukai I, Cavanagh L, et al. Relationship of collegiate football experience and concussion with hippocampal volume and cognitive outcomes. JAMA. 2014;311:1883–8. Early but compelling research that correlates concussion with anatomical and functional brain changes.
National Football League. League announces stricter concussion guidelines. In: 2009. http://blogs.nfl.com/2009/12/02/league-announces-stricter-concussion-guidelines/.
NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee. Protocols regarding diagnosis and management of concussion. 2013. Recent guidelines of the NFL’s safety committee on brain and spine injury.
National Football League Head, Neck and Spine Committee. Protocols regarding return to participation following concussion. 2014.
Fenno N. Internal NCAA emails raise questions about concussion policy. Washington Times. 2013. Investigative article that outline the start of an investigation into the policies and practices of the NCAA in regards to concussion safety.
Compliance with Ethics Guidelines
Conflict of Interest
Kalil G. Abdullah, M. Sean Grady, and Joshua M. Levine declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent
This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is a part of the Topical Collection on Neurotrauma
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abdullah, K.G., Grady, M.S. & Levine, J.M. Concussion and Football: a Review and Editorial. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 15, 11 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-015-0535-3
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-015-0535-3