An Excellent Commentary on Concussions and Concussion Protocol

As a concussion specialist, I see the notable increase in concussion diagnosis across the board in all sports. In response to a Sept. 12 article that stated orthopedic surgeons should not support football, I feel strongly that the focus needs to be on solving the problem of concussions, not blaming football and fanning the flames of fear that our society has regarding concussions.

The stand these orthopedic surgeons are taking is shortsighted. Citing the possibility of brain injury in football players, the authors of the piece in Clinical Orthopaedic and Related Research recommend that members of their profession avoid team sponsorships, standing on the sidelines, and even performing sports physicals for high school and college players.

After reading their editorial piece, the average person would think that my concussion patient population is lopsided with a majority of football athletes filling my waiting room and exam rooms. In fact of the more than 8,000 concussion patients the Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance has seen in the last five years, less than five percent are from football.

We see concussions of all degrees from a variety of sports including horse racing, cheerleading, baseball, softball, ice hockey, field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, car racing, bike racing, etc. We also see almost 50 percent of our concussions from head injury due to car accidents, work injuries or just injuries in daily life. So with only about 5 percent of our concussion patients being from football alone, I think a proposed embargo on football by these physicians is very short sighted.

Opinion: Stop blaming football for concussions