Sidney Crosby’s last 31 months in hockey has been pretty remarkable. Olympic gold, Stanley Cup win, followed by the World Cup title. He won tournament MVP in the World Cup and joined Gretzky and Orr as the only players to win the honour coupled with the Conn Smythe and the Hart Trophy. Sid had played a lot of hockey, so the Penguins only brought him back to training camp last Tuesday after extended rest. The Penguins are not completely sure what got to him, but they announced on Monday that Crosby had suffered yet another concussion. The thought of of a concussion “did not even cross [his] mind” after a practice on Friday, but Sid woke up with a headache the next morning and reported his symptoms to the team’s doctors who administered the concussion protocol. As most hockey fans already know, Crosby has a deep history of concussions and head injuries, which does not foreshadow great things to come.
A concussion is a brain injury resulting from a direct or indirect blow to the head, face, or jaw causing a negative change in brain function. Sudden acceleration of the head and/or body followed by a sudden deceleration is the primary cause of concussions commonly seen in sports like football, hockey, and also in vehicle accidents. The primary concern with concussions is that they are difficult to diagnose. Given the wide range of individual symptoms and responses, it is difficult to properly recognize a concussion. The most common symptoms are headache, nausea, dizziness, poor concentration, loss of balance, and confusion. If anyone presents any of the above symptoms combined with the mechanism for a head injury, it is crucial to treat the case as a concussion and there should be no return to physical activity regardless of athletic performance.
Crosby’s long history begins in January of 2011 when he took two blows to the head within a period of five days. The first one came on New Year’s Day in the Winter Classic when he was struck on his blind side by Capitals forward David Steckel. Four days later, he was smashed into the boards by Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman which forced him out of the ice for 3 months. Crosby attempted to come back in April, but suffered a setback which derailed his recovery, and he did not play again until November of 2011. After just 8 games into his return in December, he collided with teammate Chris Kunitz in the neutral zone, and this time, according to his agent, Crosby may have suffered two fractures in his cervical vertebrae along with concussion symptoms. He had the year of his life.
As with Crosby’s case, it is important not to rush athletes back to the ice or the field too early. The NHL’s a concussion protocol forces a player suspected for a concussion to be immediately removed from the game and to be taken to a quiet area for assessment (NHL Public Relations, 2016). In addition, the league has recently added a staff of Central League Spotters who are elite athletic trainers who are trained in visible symptoms of a concussion. Some Spotters will observe the games from a televised broadcast, and another group from inside the arena, with their job solely dedicated to spotting potential symptoms. Both the NHL and the NFL utilize a baseline testing protocol that records a player’s neurocognitive abilities at the beginning of the season before competitive action, in the case that an athlete suffers a concussion. The testing measures reaction time, attention span, working memory, response variability, and non-verbal problems solving (Sports Medicine Centre, 2016). Professional sports organizations are acknowledging the enormous impact of concussions in the game more than ever and continuing research and advancement of protocols, which is crucial to the protection of the players.
Some fans are encouraging Crosby to choose retirement, as they believe that he has given enough to the game and should choose personal health. However, it does not look like Crosby will retire anytime soon as he is planning to get back on the ice as soon as possible. Nonetheless, we hope Captain Canada will avoid concussions in the future.
If you have any questions to ask a physio, ask away at askburquitlampt@gmail.com!
Sources:
NHL Public Relations. 2016. NHL updates concussion protocol. Retrieved from: https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-updates-concussion-protocol/c-282571624
Sports Medicine Centre. 2016. NHL Protocol Baseline Concussion Testing. Retrieved from: http://sportsmedicinecentre.ca/services/service-title-2/
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