Hard Hits and Head Trauma, the Dangers of Team Sports

The Super Bowl wraps up the football season this Sunday, but concerns about head injuries from high-impact sports continue. One doctor has invented an iPhone app to help school coaches diagnose concussions in their teenage athletes.

Published

4 months ago

Categories

Health

Topics

Sports, Health, Technology

Places

United States of America, Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Houston

Tags

app, concussion, football, ice hockey

Transcript

SCRIPT: At this Texas high school, football is not just a sport, but a way of life. The game is famous for its hard hits, tough tackles --and endless injuries. More than 55,000 players end up in the ER with concussions every year -- despite having their helmet on at all times. SOUNDBITE 1 Gerard Gioia (man), Pediatric neuropsychologist, Children's National Hospital (English, 16 sec): "It's a blessing in that it actually does what it's supposed to do which is to keep the skull from fracturing. The problem is, it gives you this false sense of security for the soft tissue inside the skull, which is the brain" Impaired vision, incoherence and vomiting -- these are some of the first signs of a brain injury. NATSOUND : "This is the concussion recognition and prevention app" Dr Gioia has created a special app to track these symptoms. With just a series of questions, it can help determine whether the player needs to go to the hospital. The first concussion is usually benign, but Dr Gioia says that ignoring it can lead to serious consequences. SOUNDBITE 2 Gerard Gioia (man), Pediatric neuropsychologist, Children's National Hospital (English, 16 sec): "You are now more vulnerable to the next injury. You then get that second injury, that becomes even more problematic for the brain to recover from, usually resulting in much more prolonged recovery and possibly, in rare cases, producing deaths and more permanent disability" Hard checks and violent hits are also the staple of ice hockey. Several NHL players have had their careers cut short because of brain lesions, likely due to repeated hits. To prevent these injuries, Coach Zeigler teaches his players need to be more responsible on the ice. SOUNDBITE 3 RJ Zeigler (man), Head coach and general manager, "Potomac Patriots" (English, 15 sec): "If you put your elbow into some kid's head, you could be ruining his season. If you hit a kid from behind, who knows what you're going to do damage-wise. We're trying to make sure kids understand that they're accountable for their actions" New safety rules mean hockey coaches can't put players back on the ice until they've completely healed. The sport these athletes play may be a game, but the risks involved are very real. --------------- SHOTLIST: HOUSTON, TEXAS, OCTOBER 7, 2011, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of a football game between two Texas high schools ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND, JANUARY 28, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - SOUNDBITE 1 Gerard Gioia - VAR of a framed photo of a brain - VAR of Dr Gioia explaining how the Concussion Recognition and Prevention app works on his iPhone - Cu of the iPhone indicating in red "Concussion Suspected" - SOUNDBITE 2 Gerard Gioia WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA, JANUARY 30, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR of the junior ice hockey team, the Potomac Patriots, during training - VAR of the head coach RJ Zeigler talking to the players SOUNDBITE 3 RJ Zeigler - VAR of the team training, scoring and celebrating HOUSTON, TEXAS, OCTOBER 7, 2011, SOURCE: AFPTV - CU of the winning high school football team celebrating their victory