cakediva
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Post by cakediva on Jan 9, 2016 13:29:29 GMT
While I think it's great that with the movie and all the TV specialist interviews I've seen/heard on the various news outlets here....(I'm in Ontario)
It is very frustrating to me that these specialists (or interviewers) keep harping on hockey. "Parents who want their kids to play hockey...." "for those of us who play hockey...." You'd think that hockey was the only sport played in Canada!
There ARE other sports out there that we need to be concussion aware about! Yes the movie has a football angle to it - but up here on our news you'd think hockey was the only sport!
I have a client who's daughter played rugby and got such a bad concussion she couldn't remember her name right away.
And my DS plays basketball - that court floor is HARD. I cringe every time DS goes down.....
We were watching Canada AM Weekend, and the specialist said something about hockey in closing, and DH says "but hockey isn't the only sport" - took the words right out of my mouth!
We've had DS do a baseline concussion test - he's never had a head injury. So the $60 was worth it to know that should he get an injury, we have a baseline to compare it to.
Now I'm rambling - but I'm annoyed! LOL
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quiltz
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Jun 29, 2014 16:13:28 GMT
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Post by quiltz on Jan 9, 2016 13:41:24 GMT
Don't you know that hockey is the Canadian sport? Just joking.
Football scares me & so does basketball. The hits are hard & the surface is unforgiving.
The hockey reference is probably due to the fact that many kids play & there is something going around about hitting / body hits.
Tweet Canada AM & let them know how you feel. They like the feedback.
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Post by magentapea on Jan 9, 2016 13:50:09 GMT
Here it seems that it is all about football. DS suffered a concussion in May and doctors kept asking him if it was from football - it wasn't even football season here (he fell down our stairs). Then he got another one in September (this time from football) and is still recovering. But, he did something stupid a couple of weeks ago (sledding) and his symptoms worsened for a few days. So, yes, I agree with you - the focus shouldn't be only on the most popular sport for it, but rather they should reiterate that any repeated jarring motion can cause it.
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Post by anxiousmom on Jan 9, 2016 14:04:50 GMT
Having been the mom on the sidelines of soccer fields for years, I agree. Football is a big culprit for sure, but at least there is awareness and attempts at keeping kids safe. Those soccer kids are only equipped with shin guards for safety and heads are open season for injury.
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TankTop
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Post by TankTop on Jan 9, 2016 14:12:00 GMT
My dd got a concussion from high school volleyball. It was bad, but not as bad as another girl last season.
What annoys me about this focus on one sport on the news....
Parents who are lss I formed will get the idea their child is okay because they don't play "sport of the week."
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Post by brina on Jan 9, 2016 14:15:52 GMT
and here in the US they talk about football 99% of the time, with sometimes a reference to the fact that for girls concussions are most common in soccer. I have two hockey players and within the hockey community there is a lot of talk and our club takes it very seriously, but the news only talks football. At our high school there is a mandatory parent meeting at the beginning of every sport season and the athletic director discusses concussions with every team, including cross country, swimming and fencing and stresses that concussions can occur during any activity, or during random slip and fall. I assume most parents are intelligent enough to know the risks in their own kids sport, or even the risk of playing sports for fun, or in PE class, or from any fall. The news follows the easy story and people can't count on them for all the information they need.
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lindas
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Post by lindas on Jan 9, 2016 14:32:56 GMT
I don't know how accurate the info below is because I couldn't find a date on the article but it does show why football and hockey seem to be talked about the most. I also found another statictic that showed among college sports the highest rate of concussions were in men's wrestling.
Concussion Rates per Sport
The below numbers indicate the amount of sports concussions taking place per 100,000 athletic exposures. An athletic exposure is defined as one athlete participating in one organized high school athletic practice or competition, regardless of the amount of time played.
Football: 64 -76.8
Boys' ice hockey: 54
Girl's soccer: 33
Boys' lacrosse: 40 - 46.6
Girls' lacrosse: 31 - 35
Boys' soccer: 19 - 19.2
Boys' wrestling: 22 - 23.9
Girls' basketball: 18.6 - 21
Girls' softball: 16 - 16.3
Boys' basketball: 16 - 21.2
Girls' field hockey: 22 - 24.9
Cheerleading: 11.5 to 14
Girls' volleyball: 6 - 8.6
Boys' baseball: Between 4.6 - 5
Girls' gymnastics: 7
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anniebeth24
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Post by anniebeth24 on Jan 9, 2016 15:25:03 GMT
My niece suffered a severe concussion in competitive cheerleading. Coaches didn't follow protocol.
I certainly agree that the emphasis on one particular sport (football, hocky, whatever) certainly is doing a disservice to the awareness campaign.
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jan 9, 2016 15:46:31 GMT
While I think parents should be generally aware that all sports carry risk, we have to acknowledge that some sports have a significantly higher risk of concussion than others. Yes it's certainly feasible that someone can obtain a concussion in swimming, and I don't doubt the anecdote above. 47% of high school concussions are due to football. That's important for parents to know. Football, soccer, lacrosse and hockey all have significantly higher risk, and comparing it to swimming is just silly. Swimming has more than 100x lower risk than football statistically (.1 injury per 10,000 exposure verusus 11.2). Should parents be aware of concussion risk - sure, but let's not pretend that all sports carry the same amount of risk. Statistics from: well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/concussions-can-occur-in-all-youth-sports/?_r=0 |
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Post by freecharlie on Jan 9, 2016 15:53:58 GMT
I'm not sure of the irritation. Everything has risks. Contact sports have a higher rate of concussions (except soccer whish isn't a contact sport, but does have a high rate). The news focuses on the sport with the highestcrate, football in the us and hockey in canada. Their news story times have to be shortened.
In colorado, all athletes must do the impact testing before their first sport season. It doesn't matter if it is football or swimming, they cannot participate without the testing.
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Post by gritzi on Jan 9, 2016 15:59:04 GMT
My DS suffered a serious concussion during a soccer game. He was unconscious a minimum of 3 minutes, likely longer. His teammates were huddled on the sideline whispering "is he dead".
His recovery time took about 8 weeks. He had a lot of restrictions that included no electronics ( TV, video games, computers and cell phone), very limited homework, no tests, no end of year finals, absolutely no physical activity, permission to excuse himself to the nurse's office at school if he needed to lay down, multiple weekly physical therapy appointments, etc etc.
It was a very frustrating time for him, and most worrisome time for us. A cycle of personality changes from first being extremely withdrawn, overwhelmed and tired to having no filter & being extremely impulsive to feeling frustrated because he couldn't play &/or practice with his teammates.
Really? Soccer isn't a contact sport? My boys have played for 10-13 years now. Pele wasn't physical, obviously, but as the years have passed I have yet to watch a game that wasn't physical or w/o contact.
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GiantsFan
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Post by GiantsFan on Jan 9, 2016 16:23:40 GMT
I'm not sure of the irritation. I think the OP's irritation is because the reporter was stereo-typing Canadians since he kept mentioning hockey, even though a concussion can be caused by any head trauma, whether its on ice, a field, on a court or apparently even in water. |
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jan 9, 2016 17:06:27 GMT
You might not have stated they have the same risk. But the whole "all sports carry risk" - implies that we shouldn't worry about these sports that carry significantly higher risk. Yes all sports - hell all activities carry risk - that doesn't negate the serious issue with some of these sports. I'm frankly smh at the idea that one random kid hitting his head swimming is relevant to a discussion on head injuries in youth sports.
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Country Ham
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Post by Country Ham on Jan 9, 2016 17:08:56 GMT
If a commentator took the time to mention every single situation that causes a head trauma he would never get on with the story. When I lived in NS the focus was hockey, here in my part of the USA now it's football. Of course they are gonna focus on the sport the majority of the kids in the viewing area play. That's just what it is. When they bother to announce the scores of the NHL games around here people often start tuning out the broadcasters so of course they wouldn't spend much time discussing the dangers in hockey for example.
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Nicole in TX
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Post by Nicole in TX on Jan 9, 2016 17:12:35 GMT
They are trying to catch people's attention.
I have a student who got a concussion falling off a horse.
It is nice to see the dangers of brain injury being made 'common knowledge.'
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 9, 2016 17:14:49 GMT
I think this topic is just really beginning to take solid roots. Until it becomes an old discussion, we will probably be hearing about it in the same context over and over. For us, it was a teenager's head and a windshield. He lost a good three years of being solidly productive. In addition to the testing for sports, buy good car insurance.
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Post by anonrefugee on Jan 9, 2016 17:19:15 GMT
We were in ER once next to a swimmer with concussion. He'd slipped somehow on the starting block. 950nancy, your son's story was scarey, I remember from 2Peas. Hope he's doing better. |
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Post by Darcy Collins on Jan 9, 2016 17:22:16 GMT
My brother received a concussion at dinner, tipping his chair back at the dinner table and fell hitting his head on the ground.
ETA- this is tongue in cheek if one doesn't realize. I think many are missing the point of these statistics - but your kid's head.
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pridemom
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Post by pridemom on Jan 9, 2016 18:20:27 GMT
My dd got a concussion from high school volleyball. It was bad, but not as bad as another girl last season. What annoys me about this focus on one sport on the news.... Parents who are lss I formed will get the idea their child is okay because they don't play "sport of the week." My daughter sustained two concussions in high school volleyball. She was team manager her senior year because her coaches agreed that it wasn't worth risking another concussion this last fall. She still has memory issues. |
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Post by dillydally on Jan 9, 2016 20:04:25 GMT
I think the focus right now on football in the U.S. is because there is now some research that indicates that long term brain damage (CTE) can occur from body jarring hits, even if the player never has a concussion. Those types of hits could be more common in football or hockey - not saying they don't happen in soccer or other sports, just tackling/checking are a pretty integral part of those sports and hence the focus on them.
(BTW, my friend's son had a nasty concussion from swimming - he was climbing out of the pool and the next swimmer didn't see him and dove in and they hit heads. ooh, it was bad!)
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cakediva
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Post by cakediva on Jan 9, 2016 23:15:56 GMT
If a commentator took the time to mention every single situation that causes a head trauma he would never get on with the story. When I lived in NS the focus was hockey, here in my part of the USA now it's football. Of course they are gonna focus on the sport the majority of the kids in the viewing area play. That's just what it is. When they bother to announce the scores of the NHL games around here people often start tuning out the broadcasters so of course they wouldn't spend much time discussing the dangers in hockey for example. Of course I don't expect them to mention every single sport, I do understand the time constraints on a TV interview. But to simply and only refer to hockey, without at least a simple 2 second mention of "any sport" or "numerous other sports" isn't too much to ask. I think it needs to be known that yes, while hockey has probably the highest concussion rates, that all sports carry risk, just because your kid isn't playing hockey or football doesn't mean their sport is safe. And while the news interviews aren't saying that, by only placing emphasis on hockey, some parents may just not get the concussion risks. My one friend says "I think its just the latest thing for helicopter parents to cling to - we all got concussions in our youth, how did we ever survive?" I think she's totally off base with that. Concussion is a serious issue. Look at the hockey players who have committed suicide in the past few years. Some people believe the multiple brain injuries led to that. Who knows? |
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Post by brina on Jan 9, 2016 23:16:32 GMT
While I think parents should be generally aware that all sports carry risk, we have to acknowledge that some sports have a significantly higher risk of concussion than others. Yes it's certainly feasible that someone can obtain a concussion in swimming, and I don't doubt the anecdote above. 47% of high school concussions are due to football. That's important for parents to know. Football, soccer, lacrosse and hockey all have significantly higher risk, and comparing it to swimming is just silly. Swimming has more than 100x lower risk than football statistically (.1 injury per 10,000 exposure verusus 11.2). Should parents be aware of concussion risk - sure, but let's not pretend that all sports carry the same amount of risk. Statistics from: well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/24/concussions-can-occur-in-all-youth-sports/?_r=0 You are right. I was a swimmer and one of my kids is in his 9th year of competitive swimming. I am also a certified official and have been for 7 years. I have heard of one backstroke related concussion in all my years in the sport, two cases of somebody needing stitches after hitting a heel on a flip turn and a couple of slip and fall related injuries from a person running on a wet pool deck. Most swimming related injuries are repetitive stress injuries. You cannot compare it to football, hockey, or soccer (which is considered a contact sport despite what somebody said above) and while I may not have made it clear in my earlier post, when the school AD addresses concussion awareness at the swim parents meeting, most of us roll our eyes. My point was simply that the people most responsible for my kids' safety are aware of the risks and that is more important than the media's take on the issue. |
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Country Ham
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Post by Country Ham on Jan 9, 2016 23:22:14 GMT
Look at the hockey players who have committed suicide in the past few years. Some people believe the multiple brain injuries led to that. Who knows? I don't know of any, or at least it wasn't anything brought to my attention via social media or the news. Was this in your community? NHL players? |
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 9, 2016 23:27:09 GMT
We were in ER once next to a swimmer with concussion. He'd slipped somehow on the starting block. 950nancy , your son's story was scarey, I remember from 2Peas. Hope he's doing better. Thank you. We have seen improvement physically and mentally, but he could have lasting effects in both. He just had to take some basic tests before going to college next semester and he did extremely well. He failed them the semester after his accident. On the bright side, he did develop a love of family that was a little shaky at 17. He's still all boy and 'ornery. That didn't change.  |
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cakediva
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Post by cakediva on Jan 9, 2016 23:35:28 GMT
I don't know of any, or at least it wasn't anything brought to my attention via social media or the news. Was this in your community? NHL players? Maybe it wasn't a big story in the US - I don't follow hockey - but there were several reports on our National news about the links between concussion & depression & CTE, which can lead to suicide. Here's one article - it's long, but the concussion section is about halfway down the page... NHL Suicides |
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GiantsFan
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Post by GiantsFan on Jan 9, 2016 23:42:01 GMT
I don't know of any, or at least it wasn't anything brought to my attention via social media or the news. Was this in your community? NHL players? Google NHL concussion suicide. |
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Post by anxiousmom on Jan 9, 2016 23:53:06 GMT
You cannot compare it to football, hockey, or soccer (which is considered a contact sport despite what somebody said above) This is why I would like to see more information put out about soccer. As a parent who has watched from the sidelines for years, I would completely agree that it is a contact sport for some. Particularly as the kids get older and the competitive levels amp up. There are coaches that are less...scrupulous? about teaching how to play cleanly (and if I were honest, a number of good coaches have blind eyes when a win is wanted.) A lot of parents think that because there isn't a lot of safety equipment involved it is a safer alternative to a sport like football-and in some ways it is, but in a lot of ways it isn't. It can be a brutal sport and there are times that it resembles a rugby scrum and all manner of bad behaviors occur when the refs are not watching. It can be really hard to watch your kid get slide tackled, cleat first, and watch him essentially drop like a rock and start rolling around the field in agony...then watch while the other kid (only) gets a red card and high fives from his teammates. |
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