For Eastern Oregon University student and softball pitcher Holly Martin, February 25, 2010 was both the luckiest and unluckiest day of her life. On that day, she suffered a life-threatening, life-changing head injury. Given the reported lack of care she received after the injury, Holly was lucky to survive. According to an article in an [...]
Junior Seau was a star. He was the kind of football hero that put butts on couches and raised Sunday TV ratings. Junior Seau died on May 2 of an apparent suicide. In echoes of the suicide of another former NFL great Dave Duerson, Seau killed himself with a shot to the chest, presumably because [...]
Ray Easterling, former player for the Atlanta Falcons, died Thursday at age 62 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to an article in The New York Times, Easterling was part of a group of former NFL players who sued the league, claiming that it had failed to treat players for concussions, and for attempting [...]
There are two new and wonderful resources about concussion. You know we write a lot about mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), and it takes a lot to impress us, but these resources are truly special: One is a physician-developed smart phone app designed to help coaches, parents, and athletes recognize and assess concussion; the other [...]
About 18 months ago, we wrote with great excitement about the National Football League (NFL) and the new attention they were bringing to the crisis of concussion. The 2010 football season began with new concussion awareness posters in the locker rooms. As quoted in The New York Times, the Baltimore Ravens’ center, Matt Birk, said: [...]
Thomas Henson Jr., managing partner of the catastrophic injury and complex litigation division of HensonFuerst Attorneys, spends much of his time focusing on cases involving traumatic brain injury, catastrophic personal injury, and spinal cord injury. He has personally represented hundreds of people—children and adults—with every type of brain injury, including concussion, coma, and brain bleeds. Henson [...]
Dylan Hearn probably has a great future ahead of him; he is wise beyond is meager years. The 7-year-old Colorado boy has a personal crusade to made sure that everyone takes concussion seriously. And he knows what he is talking about: He suffered two concussions in the past six months. The first was playing football, [...]
Over the course of a year, we write hundreds of blogs. In case you missed some, here is a round-up of the most important traumatic brain injury (TBI) stories of the year. (To read any of the blogs, click on the title and you’ll be taken directly to the story.) U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords The [...]
We know that getting hard hits to the head can cause concussion and brain injury. That’s why we worry so much about football players, boxers, and soldiers, who regularly get their heads smacked around. But a new study reveals that soccer players may also be at risk. The study, which was discussed at the annual [...]
A new product is the latest tool to combat sports concussions. The Impact Indicator (by manufacturer Battle) is a chin strap that connects to a player’s helmet. It measures the force and duration of a hit to the head: When first connected, the impact indicator LED light on the chin is green…but after a hard [...]