A noted expert on brain injuries says the length of NHL great Sidney Crosby's recovery is concerning, but that a full recovery could still be possible.
It's been eight months since Crosby sustained two hits to the head within a week of each other, and yet the 24-year-old is still grappling with the effects of the concussions.
Crosby's doctors told reporters Wednesday that the NHLer appears to have caused damage to the vestibular system, the area in the brain that controls balance and space perception.
Crosby told reporters Wednesday that while he is mostly free from daily symptoms, when he fully exerts himself, his headaches and other symptoms return.
Dr. Charles Tator, a neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital, tells CTVNews.ca that eight months is a long time to still be feeling the effects of a concussion.
Tator notes that many people can recover fully from a single concussion. Sometimes that takes just days; other times it can take a couple of weeks. But with each subsequent concussion, the recovery can take longer.
"And the amount of force that is required to cause a second concussion is always less than what was needed to cause the first concussion. And the recovery is that much longer as the number of concussions goes up," Tator told CTV's Canada AM.
"It's cumulative damage."
While the Pittsburgh Penguins captain's recovery has been slow, he is still recovering.
He was cleared in July to resume on-ice workouts, though without any physical contact. But he has not been able to push beyond "90 per cent exertion" without the headaches coming back, the Penguins said in a statement Aug. 24.
Tator explains that there's a six-step program for recovery to determine if a player is ready to return to play.
"And from what I can determine, he's gone to step 4, which means pretty vigorous drills but without any body contact. He hasn't been able to go to step 5, which means practice with body contact and step 6 which is full game play," Tator said.
"The fact that he's gone to step 4 is pretty good. But on the other hand the fact that he's still getting symptoms after eight months…" he said, his voice trailing off.
Tator notes that some players do fully recover after repeated concussions, pointing to the example of Patrice Bergeron. The big question is what will happen to Crosby if he sustains another hard hit: Will that be the end of his career?
Tator says science is still learning about the small behavioural and mood changes that come with repeated concussions. There is evidence to suggest that they can lead to a degenerative brain condition called CTE, of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
But he notes that recent studies suggest that not every athlete with a history of concussions develops this condition. A recent study on four deceased CFL players found that two had markers of the condition while two did not.
He says there's still lots to learn about why some people develop the condition and others don't.
Aside from CTE, there is also a strong link between repeated concussions and mood disorders, like depression, Tator adds.
"Depression is a recognized symptom after repeated concussions. We didn't know that a few years ago," he said.
He says this problem is not making headlines with the recent suicides of two NHL players, both of whom were taking medication for depression.
"So the combination of head injury, followed by depression, followed by suicide, I think we can draw the line between the dots," Tator said. "And then we have an even greater problem with concussion than we realize.
"So it is time to really come to grips with this."
No comments:
Post a Comment