Flatt wants better guidance on concussions

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/19/concussion-protocols-not-uniform-at-skating-rinks/

Although U.S. Figure Skating has published guidelines for handling potential head injuries, Flatt and others say more education is needed to know what action to take should an incident occur.

Jody Flatt, Rachael’s mother, has spent the past year lobbying U.S. Figure Skating’s parent committee and others to illuminate the problem. She has worked with Mindy Aaron, the mother of elite skater Max Aaron.

“There are as many different protocols as there are rinks,” Jody Flatt said.

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The article above was part of a series by Elliott Almond, San Jose Mercury News, who has written on concussions for well over a decade, on the incidence of concussions in figure skating.

Both articles:

http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/...ner-lived-in-silent-terror-after-head-injury/


http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/01/19/concussion-protocols-not-uniform-at-skating-rinks/

with quotes and stories from Ashley Wagner, Rachael Flatt, Robert Cantu, co-founder and medical director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, Mindy Aaron and Jody Flatt, Evan Lysacek, Josh Farris, Dr Bill Moreau, the managing director of the USOC Sports Medicine group

One of the more interesting quotes, from Wagner, and something that seems to be prevalent in many sports...the issue of getting an injury like a concussion diagnosed, and how that affects the career path of an athlete:

"Wagner’s initial fear of discussing her medical situation also highlights a problem in a sport where officials decide an athlete’s fate by making team selections for international competitions. Wagner kept her symptoms private because she was emerging as a serious candidate for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

“Going into that Olympic cycle the last thing you want to have public is a flaw — and a flaw that is not going to go away,” she said.



Edited to include a YT video of the interview between the journalist, Elliott Almond, and Wagner where she discusses the onset of symptoms post initial concussions 10 years ago, as a 15 yr old
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMooqEZ4B2M

Thanks for the other links. It's a really interesting subject and I'm glad the writer explored it!

What can really help with concussions are helmets. No way skaters are going to wear helmets. The reason? Fashun.

Dick Button had concussions so bad that he lost hearing in his left ear, still has memory problems.
Ashley Wagner had concussions so bad that she lost the ability to do science and math, also has memory problems.

Both of them have given interviews that saying that they won't wear helmets or that helmets aren't happening, because helmets aren't stylish.

brightphoton said:

What can really help with concussions are helmets. No way skaters are going to wear helmets. The reason? Fashun.

Dick Button had concussions so bad that he lost hearing in his left ear, still has memory problems.
Ashley Wagner had concussions so bad that she lost the ability to do science and math, also has memory problems.

Both of them have given interviews that saying that they won't wear helmets or that helmets aren't happening, because helmets aren't stylish.

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Really? She can't do science and math but can still do social studies and English? And can memorize all her steps and jump? As a science teacher, I have to say, that's a good one, LOL!

Poodlepal said:

Really? She can't do science and math but can still do social studies and English? And can memorize all her steps and jump? As a science teacher, I have to say, that's a good one, LOL!

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Very funny. Haha, she just lyin' 'bout her academic problems.

Actually, she said science and math used to be her favorite subjects, but she went from AP math to basic math after her concussions, and she was devastated. She actually has problems with short-term memory as well. She gave an interview saying that she has to really, really, really concentrate during conversations, or she even forgets what people said maybe 1 minute before.

but the important thing is that even all this -- all this brain power loss -- it's still not enough to convince Ashley to wear a helmet. What can we do?

I also want to add an edit. A common criticism of Ashley's skating is that she doesn't get level 4s on her spins, and her spins are often slow and labored. She said that spinning fast hurts her head, and this is probably an effect of the concussions.

This discussion has actually come up at a good time for me.

Do you remember me mentioning during the Rio Olympic Women's Football tournament that a girl from my hometown had scored the fastest ever goal in international Women's football in a Euro 2017 qualifying match last June?

(Here's the video: https://twitter.com/SimoneMagill/status/739787169586413568)

Well, as you can see early on in the video, one of the Georgian players ran into Simone, and they clashed heads. Although Simone ran on and scored, she did actually suffer a concussion. And she was not able to play another match until last week, a full 7 months later.

Here is what she wrote at the start of October:


She went on to explain that she had to wear special protective headbands. But, given that wearing headbands has been her trademark look since she was a kid, none of us were any the wiser.

As she said, most people take a week to get over their concussion. Hence why in motorbike racing, it is mandatory that you are not allowed back on a bike for at least 7 days after being knocked out or concussed.

However, during the one of the Free Practice sessions at the 2016 Aragon MotoGP, Danilo Petrucci crashed into Pol Espargaró. Petrucci was thrown off his bike, and got a bang to the head. But he picked up the bike and got back on straight away and rode back to the pits. After the bike was fixed, he went out again, and did 6 more laps. But, after the session was over, he admitted that when he reached the pit exit at the start of this stint, he didn’t know where he was. And that after he finished this 6-lap stint, he couldn’t remember most of it.

What this shows is that signs of concussion may take time to appear. So, whilst it is important to check for signs immediately, it is better to be extra cautious and stop the person from continuing and keep them under observation in case signs appear later on.

brightphoton said:

What can really help with concussions are helmets. No way skaters are going to wear helmets. The reason? Fashun.

Dick Button had concussions so bad that he lost hearing in his left ear, still has memory problems.
Ashley Wagner had concussions so bad that she lost the ability to do science and math, also has memory problems.

Both of them have given interviews that saying that they won't wear helmets or that helmets aren't happening, because helmets aren't stylish.

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At the start of the year, Eurosport's contract for the Olympics coverage came into force. And they showed a 1 hour review of the Sochi Olympics.

During that review, they showed a couple of clips from the speed skating. Now, I have never watched speed skating before. And the first thing I noticed was that they were wearing helmets. And my instant thought was:


OK course, helmets would spoil the idea of everything looking beautiful. But, is that necessarily a bad thing? Surely the health and wellbeing of the skaters is far more important than image.

That said, I don’t think the bicycle-style helmets that are used in speed skating would work in figure skating. This block of extra weight sitting at the very top of the skater’s head would raise the centre of gravity too high, and make a mess of everything they were attempting (jumps, spins).

Something like a ski helmet would work better, as the weight is more evenly spread out around the head. Plus, it would provide more protection to the sides and back of the head than a bicycle-style helmet would.

Having no head protection was fine in the days when what the skaters were doing was much simpler. But now that they are doing more complicated things like triples and quads, they need some sort of protection in case it goes wrong.

CaroLiza_fan

brightphoton said:

What can really help with concussions are helmets. No way skaters are going to wear helmets. The reason? Fashun.

Dick Button had concussions so bad that he lost hearing in his left ear, still has memory problems.
Ashley Wagner had concussions so bad that she lost the ability to do science and math, also has memory problems.

Both of them have given interviews that saying that they won't wear helmets or that helmets aren't happening, because helmets aren't stylish.

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Uhm, unfortunately, not sure the scientific evidence is really supporting helmets as a means to reduce the impact of concussions. Reduce potential for skull fracture, yes. But concussion is about what happens to the brain....

Regrets that I can't find the sources on this, but I recall that there are some kinds of training and conditioning that can be preventive and have not fully been explored or promoted. These include strengthening the neck to avoid head flopping and hitting during a fall, as well as more focus on training to fall appropriately [beyond basic skating lessons].

Skate Canada has put more onus requirements for control, particularly on stops [in all directions] in their basic CanSkate program. These reduce risk of collision, and skaters cannot skate without a helmet [no exceptions] until these skilled are passed. Hopefully, this will lead to safer training conditions throughout the system.

But better, evidence based, and more transparent and accountable requirements for "return to play" are essential. These have recently rolled out in Canada. If a skater has to withdraw from an event due to a fall/concussion, a physician's clearance is required before they can return to train. Coaches, skaters and clubs have no discretion on this. It puts the onus on medical professionals to assess whether they are ready to return rather than whether they should be excused.

TGee said:

Uhm, unfortunately, not sure the scientific evidence is really supporting helmets as a means to reduce the impact of concussions. Reduce potential for skull fracture, yes. But concussion is about what happens to the brain....

Regrets that I can't find the sources on this, but I recall that there are some kinds of training and conditioning that can be preventive and have not fully been explored or promoted. These include strengthening the neck to avoid head flopping and hitting during a fall, as well as more focus on training to fall appropriately [beyond basic skating lessons].

Skate Canada has put more onus requirements for control, particularly on stops [in all directions] in their basic CanSkate program. These reduce risk of collision, and skaters cannot skate without a helmet [no exceptions] until these skilled are passed. Hopefully, this will lead to safer training conditions throughout the system.

But better, evidence based, and more transparent and accountable requirements for "return to play" are essential. These have recently rolled out in Canada. If a skater has to withdraw from an event due to a fall/concussion, a physician's clearance is required before they can return to train. Coaches, skaters and clubs have no discretion on this. It puts the onus on medical professionals to assess whether they are ready to return rather than whether they should be excused.

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editing to add that Skate Canada requires CSA approved hockey helmets [without face masks] for anyone who has not passed all of CanSkate Stage 5. And while skaters can compete and test up, they must be in helmets, and judges may not penalize them. No bike helmets or helmets from other sports are allowed.

Never realized that Dick Button and Ashley Wagner dealt with concussions. I think many of us (including me) think of concussions resulting from quad jumps, or from pairs/dance elements. But man, what was the hardest element Dick Button was doing...a double axel?

Ice is slippery. No matter what you're doing at any level you could fall and hit your head. USFS needs to get on this.

andromache said:

But man, what was the hardest element Dick Button was doing...a double axel?

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Actually, he was the first skater ever to do a double Axel. Also the first to do a triple jump (triple loop). He is also credited with the Flying Camel. I am am sure that back in Button's day those dare-devil feats were just as likely to produce head-jarring falls as quads are now.

Dick fell on the ice about fifteen years ago, fracturing his skull and sustaining a serious brain injury. He never fully recovered and in particular his balance was permanently impaired.

Ice is slippery. No matter what you're doing at any level you could fall and hit your head. USFS needs to get on this.

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I remember how hard it was for the National Hockey League to force players to wear helmets. Players resisted because wearing a helmet did not jibe with their tough-guy image. What's the fun in punching an opponent in the head if he's wearing a stupid helmet?

I think that the USFSA will have a gigantic problem on their hands about how to address this safety issue. For the most part a coach is just someone who knows how to skate and can attract some students. It will be hard to construct a national safety program and communicate it to all coaches. Even the National (U.S.) Football League, which is very tightly organized and awash in money, did not do much on this issue until former players started suing them for millions of dollars for not looking out for their long-term health and safety concerns.

andromache said:

Never realized that Dick Button and Ashley Wagner dealt with concussions. I think many of us (including me) think of concussions resulting from quad jumps, or from pairs/dance elements. But man, what was the hardest element Dick Button was doing...a double axel?

Ice is slippery. No matter what you're doing at any level you could fall and hit your head. USFS needs to get on this.

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This reminds me of Gabriella Papadakis and her scary fall on a choctaw last year where she was out for months.

Mathman said:

I think that the USFSA will have a gigantic problem on their hands about how to address this safety issue. For the most part a coach is just someone who knows how to skate and can attract some students. It will be hard to construct a national safety program and communicate it to all coaches. Even the National (U.S.) Football League, which is very tightly organized and awash in money, did not do much on this issue until former players started suing them for millions of dollars for not looking out for their long-term health and safety concerns.

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I'm worried it won't get addressed until something serious happens. I'm a pro-wrestling fan, and the WWE now takes concussions extremely, extremely seriously. Their concussion policy is strict after Chris Benoit had god-knows-how-many-concussions and well...you can Google it. A doctor autopsied his brain and said it looked like the brain of an 85 year-old man with Alzheimer's. Now, I''m sure skaters aren't risk for as many repeated concussions as wrestlers are, but something scary could still happen if a single concussion goes untreated.

andromache said:

I'm worried it won't get addressed until something serious happens.

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What's something serious? Countless skaters suffering from the after-effects of multiple concussions, like lifelong memory problems?

Or a former skater suing for millions of dollars?