More on Concussions in Sports

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 | 0

Over the last several months a debate has been raging over proposals to revamp and reduce the eligibility of many professional athletes to file cumulative trauma claims in California.

And football in particular has been in the spotlight for several years as high-profile ex-player suicides focused concerns on the long term effects of concussions. The National Football League is facing a raft of lawsuits by former players who allege that the league concealed evidence of the dangers of concussions.

So it is interesting to note that the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has issued new evidence based guidelines on concussions, updating prior guidelines that date back to 1997.

Their press release summarizes findings that:

“Among the most important recommendations the Academy is making is that any athlete suspected of experiencing a concussion immediately be removed from play,” said co-lead guideline author Dr. Christopher C. Giza, with the David Geffen School of Medicine and Mattel Children’s Hospital at the University of California, Los Angeles and a member of the AAN. “We’ve moved away from the concussion grading systems we first established in 1997 and are now recommending concussion and return to play be assessed in each athlete individually. There is no set timeline for safe return to play.”

"The updated guideline recommends athletes with suspected concussion be immediately taken out of the game and not returned until assessed by a licensed health care professional trained in concussion, return to play slowly and only after all acute symptoms are gone."

According to the study:

"Risk factors linked to chronic neurobehavioral impairment in professional athletes include prior concussion, longer exposure to the sport and having the ApoE4 gene."

Here is what Wikipedia tells us about the ApoE4 gene:

The study also asserts that:

"Among the sports in the studies evaluated, risk of concussion is greatest in football and rugby, followed by hockey and soccer. The risk of concussion for young women and girls is greatest in soccer and basketball.

An athlete who has a history of one or more concussions is at greater risk for being diagnosed with another concussion."

This study will probably promote better medical management of player concussions and more responsible decisions by coaches and athletic directors.

From a workers' comp standpoint, though, the American Academy of Neurology Guidelines will do little to allay the debate over cumulative trauma claims filed by football players, some of whom had minimal playing time in California.

The expenses associated with severe post-concussive claims can be very tremendous. Those types of cumulative trauma claims aren't covered in many other states, which is one reason that players want to file here and why owners and insurers want to minimize cumulative claims filed in California by pro athletes.

Here is a link to materials on the American Academy of Neurology study.