Is a Helmet Worth It? How Brain Injuries Effect Different Body Functions http://www.dandalaw.com/resources/is-a-helmet-worth-it/ – An excellent primer and informative site, discussing the importance of wearing a bike helmet and how a brain injury “can affect any part of the body, even changing a person’s behavior and abilities.” Thank you Elizabeth and Patricia!

www.carinsurancecalculatoronline.com/raising-concussion-awareness/ – The statistics behind brain injury (especially in sports), showing the prevalence of traumatic brain injury in sports and the public.

www.stopconcussions.com – A concussion/neurotrauma educational and awareness platform for all sports, to address the growing trend of concussions in sports.

Think First – a well organized Canadian organization that is focused on preventing brain and spinal cord injuries.

Hockey Canada – Hockey Canada appears to taking this seriously. Their Safety Program is prominent and it’s easy to find links to the Concussion Seminar: In association with Think First. Importantly, the Concussion Seminar  falls into the Minor Hockey Development category of their website. It’s good to see this being promoted in minor hockey development.

Cerebral Palsy Sports Association – “Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a broad term used to describe a group of chronic disorders affecting body movement and muscle coordination.”

USA Football – The Concussion Awareness section is by no means obvious. It’s under Coaches-Health and Safety, so it takes a bit of work to find. There is also a Put Pride Aside For Player Safety campaign to raise concussion awareness among youth in football. Neither Concussion Awareness  nor Put Pride Aside For Player Safety were easy to find on the website, but concussions and player safety are obviously important issues for USA Football.

US LacrosseAn ESPN 60 video about girls lacrosse and concussions

NCAA: Concussion in Sport – A partnership between the NCAA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Football BC – This organization represents amateur football in British Columbia and is working with several organizations – including ThinkFrist – to prevent concussions. It has set out a Concussion Policy which is linked from this page.

Sports Legacy Institute – this institution has had the ability to study brains of former NFL players. It is concerned not only with concussions, but also with the neurodegenerative disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

University of Toronto Concussion Program – a research program at the UofT Faculty of Physical Education and Health studying concussion in athletes.

Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy – A collaboration between the Boston University School of Medecine and Sports Legacy Institute. A related site, also dealing with concussion in sports and also at Boston University isFootball Brains.

Arizona Sports Concussion Center – Uses the ImPACT Test as part of overall concussion management plan to help educate and provide information youth in Arizona.

NFL CONCUSSIONS

Not quite 3 weeks into the 2010 NFL season and in the first couple of weeks several players have left with concussions and haven’t not returned to play, including Kevin Kolb, starting quaterback of the Philadelphia Eagles. A sign that is encouraging when talking about a system of rules that will hopefully allow players more time to recover from concussions.

That said, what’s not encouraging is that Kolb, after immediately being taken off the field, was sent back on for three more plays until finally being removed and diagnosed with a concussion. I remember thinking, “How is he back on the field?” Of course, when Stewart Bradley walked back out after this during a week 1 game against Green Bay: watch?v=IOeRGFPOtLY my faith in the sideline concussion test was ruined.

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