Stricter Enforcement of Rules Against Helmet-to-Helmet Contact: The Time For Action Is Now

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 04/11/2013 - 13:10. | comments

The most recent consensus statement on concussion in sport (1) states that "rule enforcement may be a critical aspect of modifying injury risk."

Watch any high school football game and you will see a lot of helmet-to-helmet contact in the trenches, much of which has been technically illegal for over three decades. The problem is that penalties are rarely, if ever, called; so much so, that linemen see leading with their helmet, perversely, as a form of self-protection. The time for that to change is now.

Douglas E. Abrams, J.D.

Youth Sports Heroes of the Month: Andrew Austen (Radnor, Pa.), Whitney Foster (Louisville, Ky.), and Avery Ingram (Eugene, Ore.)

Submitted by Douglas E. Abrams, J.D. on Mon, 04/01/2013 - 12:45. | comments

Andrew Austen, Whitney Foster and Avery Ingram are different from one another in many ways. They live in different parts of the country, play different high school sports, and maintain different training regimens. They likely have never met one another, but they are joined by a common thread – all three have overcome disabilities to play on teams with their friends and classmates. Participation in sports enriches not only their lives, but also the lives of coaches, teammates and opponents whose respect they have earned for their determination and talent.

Andrew Austen, Whitney Foster and Avery Ingram are different from one another in many ways. They live in different parts of the country, play different high school sports, and maintain different training regimens. They likely have never met one another, but they are joined by a common thread – all three have overcome disabilities to play on teams with their friends and classmates.

Brooke de Lench

The Smartest Team Is Out!

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 03/29/2013 - 17:42. | comments

It's hard to believe that, after over a year of hard work, MomsTEAM's high school football documentary, "The Smartest Team, is finally being released!

The release of MomsTEAM's high school football documentary, "The Smartest Team," is the culmination of everything we have learned over the last 13 years as the pioneer in youth sports concussion education, and 13 months working with a high school football community and a team of experts to implement a concussion risk management program we call the Six Pillars.

Brooke de Lench

NFL's Goodell Speaks At UNC About Concussion Safety

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 03/07/2013 - 14:35. | comments

On March 6, 2013, National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell spoke about concussion safety at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was there at the invitation of a leading concussion expert, Kevin Guskiewicz, PhD, ATC, Kenan Distinguished Professor and Director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at UNC.

In a wide-ranging speech (see video below), Commissioner Goodell indicated that the NFL "stand[s] ready" to "share any of our research with any other league," and expressed the belief that "we should all be working to make youth sports safer."

We at MomsTEAM couldn't agree more.

Chronic Shoulder Pain: A Matter of Anatomy?

Shoulder injuries and pain are common in a variety of sports. Whether it is in throwing a pass in football or a pitch in baseball, athletes need tremendous shoulder strength and coordination to achieve athletic excellence. But the constant strain and pressure on the shoulder often leads to irritation and can result in an overuse injury.

Douglas E. Abrams, J.D.

Youth Sports Heroes of the Month: Ben Baltz (Valparaiso, Fla.) and Pfc. Matthew Morgan (San Diego, Calif.)

Submitted by Douglas E. Abrams, J.D. on Fri, 03/01/2013 - 14:34. | comments

Eleven-year-old Ben Baltz was halfway through the one-mile run, the final event in the Sea Turtle Kids Triathlon at Pensacola Beach, Florida on October 7, 2012. He had already completed the first two events, the 150-yard swim and the four-mile bicycle ride. Now he anticipated crossing the finish line without fanfare.

This was Ben’s third triathlon since early summer, but an unforeseen problem would make this one different. A bone cancer survivor, the sixth grader had had his right tibia and fibula amputated for osteosarcoma when he was six. Now, with about a half mile to go, he fell to the track because his prosthetic right leg wobbled and broke when its screws came undone.

When Ben Baltz' prosthetic right leg broke as he was competing in the Sea Turtle Kids Triathlon at Pensacola Beach, Florida, the eleven-year-old cancer survivor was down but not out: a new friend from the nearby Marine base was there to help him finish the race.

Brooke de Lench

Lost in Translation: The Perils of Tweeting About Concussions

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 02/28/2013 - 18:14. | comments

One of the things I try to do every day is carve out time to keep up with what people are saying on Twitter, and occasionally throwing in my two-cents worth. For those of you reading this blog who follow MomsTEAM on Twitter, it won't come as any big surprise that concussions in sports seems to be the topic that most often lights up the youth sports Twittersphere.

But as anyone active on Twitter also knows, condensing one's thoughts into 140 character "tweets" is often a challenge, and can sometimes leave a lot to be desired, especially when one is talking about a subject as complex as concussions.

Last night was one of those times.

As anyone active on Twitter knows, condensing one's thoughts into 140 character "tweets" is often a challenge, especially when one is talking about a subject as complex as concussions. Last night was one of those times.

Brooke de Lench

Chronic Under-Reporting Of Concussion: Is Changing The Culture A Realistic Solution?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 02/26/2013 - 03:39. | comments

If your child plays a contact or collision sport, whether at the youth, middle school or high school level, odds are that at some point in their athletic career they will suffer a concussion. How well they recover depends a lot on how quickly their concussion is identified so they can be removed from practice or game action.

A lot of student-athletes - a declining percentage, fortunately - don't appreciate precisely when they have suffered a concussion. There are a lot of reasons:

Most athletes won't self-report concussion symptoms to sideline personnel, much less voluntarily remove themselves from the game. Changing the culture is one way to address the problem of chronic under-reporting, but it can't be counted on as a panacea.

Brooke de Lench

Limiting Full-Contact Practices in High School Football: The Time to Act is Now!

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 02/05/2013 - 22:23. | comments

For those of you who may be wondering why you haven't seen a blog from me in recent weeks, there is a simple answer: I have been head down (pardon the pun) finishing up MomsTEAM's high school football concussion documentary, The Smartest Team.

Newcastle, Oklahoma football player about to be tackled Two news items on the subject of brain trauma in high school football, however, hit my desk over the past week which deserve comment.

Despite a growing body of evidence which suggests that brain trauma to football players can result, not just from violent helmet-on-helmet collisions hard enough to lead to concussions but from the cumulative effect of less forceful, but repetitive, subconcussive blows, no steps have been taken to limit such trauma at the high school level. That may be about to change.

Injured Athletes: Nutrition Tips to Hasten Healing

Being injured is one of the hardest parts of being an athlete. If your child is unable to exercise due to a broken bone, knee surgery, stress fracture, or concussion, you may wonder: What can she eat to heal quickly? How can she avoid getting fat while she's unable to exercise? Should she be taking supplements? This article will address those concerns, and more.

Team of Experts