NationalHSFootball.com
– Dallas Jackson, NationalHSFootball.com
Sandra Chapman, Ph.D., spent her time in front of the gathered coaches and media at the American Football Coaches Association annual meeting in Indianapolis giving a new take on the concussion epidemic and youth football.
Sandra Chapman – BBS – Director Center for BrainHealth – Dee Wyly Distinguished Chair in BrainHealth – Brain Plasticity & Neurocognitive Rehabilitation; Brain Injury, Brain Disease and Healthy Aging
“What’s being touted is ahead of the evidence,” she said.
“Youth football’s benefits to health and well-being far, far exceed the risks.”
Chapman is not a medical doctor but is the founder of the Central for BrainHealth at the University of Texas-Dallas and has been researching trauma since 1999.
She said that the mainstream research on concussions has been limited on what happens to the brain and not on how to make the injury better; said that the brain has the ability to heal itself as well as build resilience.
“We want to know how can we maximize it regardless of whether it’s concussions or ADHD or drug addiction or bipolar disorder,” she said. “Medicine doesn’t do that. They kind of say here’s your pill, goodbye.”
Brandon Sheppard is the Head Athletic Trainer at Hoover (Ala.) High. He has a Master’s of Education and is a ATC — certified athletic trainer.
He said that, for the most part, he agrees with her stance.
“I haven’t seen her research nor am I familiar with her therapies or treatments but the take home point is this,” he said. “A concussion needs to be treated like a torn ACL or a broken leg. You need to stop, let it heal, and not play with symptoms.
“I hope her message doesn’t get chastised because there is validity to it but it is also against what is commonly being discussed.”
It was an important part of the lecture that Chapman continued to point out: she is not saying concussions are good for anyone, but that they are a treatable injury much like other injuries sustained playing sports.
She also acknowledged that severe, untreated cases which have progressed into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) leave little that can be done for a patient.
The suicides of former NFL player Junior Seau and MLB player Ryan Freel linking CTE to suicidal thoughts have forced the issue even more.
Legendary running back Tony Dorsett said in November that the effects of CTE has made his retirement miserable and that he has also contemplated suicide.
Chapman distanced herself from the cases by saying that early treatment is crucial and those that “sandbag” the baseline tests in order to get back onto the field are hurting themselves and the medical research.
“The myth is that brain damage is permanent,” she said.
“We pick up where basic medicine drops off. Basic medicine will say, ‘O.K., you’ve got this concussion; here, take this and go to sleep.’ I’m a cognitive neuroscientist that is focused on how the brain learns, rewires. Medicine doesn’t study how the brain rewires.”
Brandon Sheppard (center) is the Head Athletic Trainer at Hoover (Ala.) High.
As noted by Dan Wolken of the USAToday, her message was well received in a collection of adults that are invested in the game but the public reception is something that has yet to be weighed.
The current attack on the game has been however.
Participation is down at the youth and high school level and parents are concerned.
Chapman said that pulling kids out of sports is not a solution.
“A lot of moms will say, should (their son) take the risk if he’s not going to be an NFL player?” she said. “Yeah, because the benefits are so much greater than the risks. Just because he won’t play in the NFL doesn’t mean don’t let him play football.”
That is a point that Sheppard stood beside.
“You can get a concussion at home on your skateboard or bike so unless you totally eliminate risk and just sit inside and play video game I don’t think the message should be to stop playing,” he said. “Most concussions are mild trauma and do heal, I think that should be the emphasis. If you do the right things after you are diagnosed with a concussion you can live a long healthy, normal life.”
SOUND OFF: Do you agree with Chapman on concussions or think she is self-serving?
