President of the KFCA, Jimmie Reed, emailed this out today. Great read.

 

I'm a physician and medical researcher at Stanford, and I only decided to let my son play after reviewing the medical research.

The study that best elucidates the risk of football-related brain injury comes from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDCP officials studied 3,439 former National Football League players with at least five years of pension-credited playing seasons between 1959 and 1988.

This is arguably the highest-risk group of players available for study. Among these players, the incidence of neurodegenerative disease is three times higher than in the general population. However, the risk of death from neurodegenerative disease was relatively low in both groups: 3 percent in NFL players, and 1 percent in the general population. The risk associated with a long NFL career is not insignificant but remains small.

Physician Reviews Research, Lets Son Play Football - Athletic Business

Great article...they need more articles and research on this subject or our sport will die.

Good quick read and spot on as far as what a kid can learn from playing HS football outweighing the risks.

I thought the article was interesting, and I agreed with it all, pretty much.

 

One thing I thing that does need to happen, in my opinion, would be brain trauma diagnosis and such things. I mean, I've seen kids not take a hit or have any contact, but when a tough part of practice comes up, suddenly they're concussed. Not saying that everyone fakes it, or even a sizable percentage fakes it. They don't. But it is still such a huge, murky, foggy area of concern. No one wants high school kids our younger to be damaged for life. I've known of doctors who will just give a concussion diagnosis if they head the words "headache" anywhere near "football."

 

It also isn't helped by people coming out with their horror stories well after the fact, the "coach knew I was severely concussed, and made me play even though I was bleeding out my ears" type stories. More than most coaches are genuinely concerned with the health of their players, even after they cease being players. To have focus on such fringe groups, is damaging to the profession and to the sport.

 

And maybe it's just me, but after reading stories about NFL players being played with concussions or the chance that they were, I don't really blame them. There has been speculation that Edelman played in the Super Bowl with a concussion. Yeah, so would I. If I was on the biggest stage, one of the biggest names on that team, you're going to have to strap me down to a table miles away from the stadium to keep me from getting out there. If it comes down to getting a Super Bowl ring and not being able to do math tomorrow, I'm just glad phones have calculators because I know what I'm choosing.

 

After rambling on the subject, I'd love to know one fact: Aside from brain damage, what is the total body strain among all sports and activities. Not injuries, but general wear and fatigue on your body compared with everything else. Every sport has certain risks, and some are higher for a certain sport. I'd just be really interested in knowing lasting joint injuries between a QB and a baseball pitcher, for example.

The best part of this article is, the writer has credibility. When we say the things he is saying we are thrown the "I know you are but what I am" of medical discussion: "you're not a doctor". This man is a doctor, a medical researcher and a a parent of a High School football player. I am more then ecstatic that he felt strongly enough to write this article.

 

Things I have said before about other sports being just as dangerous and I inevitable get some statistics from the south-eastern part of North Dakota thrown at me:

The key here is that high school football is not the NFL. The Mayo Clinic found that the risk of high school football players developing degenerative neurological diseases later in life is no greater than if they had been in the band, glee club or choir.

As an anesthesiologist at a hospital that treats more horse-related trauma accidents than any other in the country, I'm glad my son went with football.

When I sit in the stands, I worry when my 160-pound son lines up on the front line of the kick-return team, but that is only slightly less than I worry when I sit in the passenger seat as he merges onto the highway. Adolescence is a scary time for parents.

To all you parents who are keeping your sons from playing football, I say, "Let them play." They are just as safe on the football field as they are in most of the other sports and activities we regard as a necessary part of a healthy adolescence.

 

Thank you Dr. Ed Riley.

I thought the article was interesting, and I agreed with it all, pretty much.

 

One thing I thing that does need to happen, in my opinion, would be brain trauma diagnosis and such things. I mean, I've seen kids not take a hit or have any contact, but when a tough part of practice comes up, suddenly they're concussed. Not saying that everyone fakes it, or even a sizable percentage fakes it. They don't. But it is still such a huge, murky, foggy area of concern. No one wants high school kids our younger to be damaged for life. I've known of doctors who will just give a concussion diagnosis if they head the words "headache" anywhere near "football."

 

It also isn't helped by people coming out with their horror stories well after the fact, the "coach knew I was severely concussed, and made me play even though I was bleeding out my ears" type stories. More than most coaches are genuinely concerned with the health of their players, even after they cease being players. To have focus on such fringe groups, is damaging to the profession and to the sport.

 

And maybe it's just me, but after reading stories about NFL players being played with concussions or the chance that they were, I don't really blame them. There has been speculation that Edelman played in the Super Bowl with a concussion. Yeah, so would I. If I was on the biggest stage, one of the biggest names on that team, you're going to have to strap me down to a table miles away from the stadium to keep me from getting out there. If it comes down to getting a Super Bowl ring and not being able to do math tomorrow, I'm just glad phones have calculators because I know what I'm choosing.

 

After rambling on the subject, I'd love to know one fact: Aside from brain damage, what is the total body strain among all sports and activities. Not injuries, but general wear and fatigue on your body compared with everything else. Every sport has certain risks, and some are higher for a certain sport. I'd just be really interested in knowing lasting joint injuries between a QB and a baseball pitcher, for example.

 

You just called out the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Totally agree. TOTALLY. Like you, I never questioned it, nor ever would.

 

But, it's amazing how these things pop up when it's 90 in the shade and/or during games that are blowouts.

You just called out the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Totally agree. TOTALLY. Like you, I never questioned it, nor ever would.

 

But, it's amazing how these things pop up when it's 90 in the shade and/or during games that are blowouts.

 

I've seen kids fake concussions when they got juked out of their shoes, I've seen kids "get concussed" when they missed a tackle.

 

The big thing, for me, is if someone claims to have a concussion, shows symptoms or anything like that, they need to be sat, regardless. If a kid decides to fake one, then you've just learned everything you need to know about his character. Coaches, ultimately do know their kids pretty well, and they have eyes for the game. If the corner who just slipped and gave up 6 suddenly is dizzy, they're going to know how to handle it compared to the RB who almost got halved and then started to walk towards the opposing sideline.