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AP Photo/Nick Wass, File
One of the things I love about Cleveland is the start of Football season. I love the Fall here and football is a big reason- Cleveland has incredible football tradition - as does Ohio- we are like the middle east of producing great players and coaches. Schools like Ignatius, St. Joes, St. Eds and Glenville have produced great teams and many college and NFL stars. Cleveland is a recruiting hotbed, where teams like Notre Dame and Ohio State search for talent. The level of play here is so strong that players must train almost year round just to be in good enough shape to make it through preseason practices. For example, check out the current state champion St. Ignatius football running program.
There are a lot of positives about playing football, learning to work as a team, learning to overcome challenges through discipline, hard work, and dedication. However, there are also a lot of injuries that occur.
A new report from the The Journal of Athletic Training on concussions in high school football points out some surprising findings. It appears that high school players have a higher risk than college or pro football players. The study speculates that the high school players have higher incidences of concussions because their neck muscles are not as fully developed
The report estimates between 43,000 and 67,000 of the 1.2 million high school football players in the US sustain concussions. The study used a system called HITS that collected real time data.
Biomechanical analysis of these high school age athletes point to their size as the key factor in why they sustain more concussions than college or pro athletes. The study points out that in college or the pros a player has strong fully grown muscles, more able to withstand the jarring hits. This is not the case for some high school players.
CNN reported the effects concussions have on the brain in this story. There is a danger that repeated concussions can cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CNN reports that symptoms include depression, sleep disorders, and headaches (Does this explain the BCS system? Could the people who devised it be suffering from football induced brain damage?). Football is a sport of collision and sometimes a player can really get nailed, as the video below demonstrates:
If you are injured playing football, or in any of your fitness activities, a great place to go is the Cleveland Clinic The Clinic has a sports rehab programs that can get you back in the action and help you avoid injury in the future.
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