“The brain doesn’t hear sound or see light. What we perceive is its best guess at what’s out there in the world.” – Anil Seth
So, without our brains, what are we? Are we anything? Is everything just a mere projecti….. No let’s just relax there Alan Watts 2.0.
Our brain does control everything we do. Our senses are our senses because our brain perceives the sense. Without senses then, we’re essentially living in a vanilla world. (Italics to emphasise what a ridiculous phrase that is. Some people like to use vanilla as a word for boring/plain/bland. Scandalous.)
Every body part has its functions, they all then function together as a fundamental body. But without the brain we’re utterly useless. To quote Ken Robinson as a related analogy;
“Legs have a major role in running, but a leg on its own is frankly rather poor at it.”
The entire body is connected via the Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord) and the Peripheral Nervous System (Everything else). These nervous systems work together to carry impulses to the brain, the brain interprets, perceives, responds by sending impulses back, and boom. We react. Simple.
Not my photo, just incredibly convenient this was on Google images
A few weeks ago we spent a Saturday at the Root 44 market in Stellenbosch. Arguably the best market I’ve been to in this country if you’re wondering but that’s for another day. We met a man who seemed to be at the very least 19% Italian, he was at his stall selling pizza cones. It’s basically pizza dough shaped into a cone, lined with a layer of tomato sauce, cheese and I believe the toppings for the special that day were bacon, ham and pepperoni. After he learned we were from Ireland he started on the topic of rugby, asking quite enthusiastically if we played, who we supported, etc. With that he finished up by advising us, should we be lucky enough to ever become a parent, to never let our kids play rugby.
“My son played rugby…. Terrible….. It is barbaric.”
I was intrigued as to what could have or rather what did happen but I didn’t feel it was my place to ask. Judging by the look on the man’s face it was a rather sensitive topic.
Wouldn’t take an idiot to hazard a guess at the ordeal involving concussion.
- 1 in 4 injuries in rugby is a concussion.
- Concussion among kids playing rugby is 18 times higher than the average.
- 90% of most diagnosed concussions do not involve a loss of consciousness.
- 30-80% of those athletes who have sustained concussions still had post-concussion signs and symptoms three months after being injured; about one in seven were still symptomatic after one year.
- Once an athlete has suffered an initial concussion, his or her chances of a second one are 3 to 6 times greater than an athlete who has never sustained a concussion.
- Cumulative sports concussions are shown to increase the likelihood of catastrophic head injury leading to permanent neurologic disability by 39%.
Mike Webster, a former NFL player, died of a heart attack. Though after his retirement from the NFL, Webster, unbeknown to his wife who divorced him, developed amnesia, dementia and depression. Dr. Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith in the movie Concussion) carried out the autopsy and discovered the presence of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), which is a brain disease caused by repetitive trauma to the head. Something that previously, had only been frequently associated with boxers. Credit where credit is due, Dr. Bennet Omalu is truly a phenomenal mind. But he discovered something nobody prior to him had discovered, just by looking where nobody else had.
Brain technology, as advanced as it has become, is still far from what is required to monitor mental health, let alone elite sporting performance. This is what people don’t seem to grasp, just because you can’t see it, or it’s not obvious doesn’t mean it’s not there. CTE can take years to develop, starting at something as simple as a headache before progressing to amnesia/dementia/depression.
Former Kilkenny hurler Richie Power is soon to undergo stem cell treatment in a last gasp attempt to repair the cartilage in his knee. If it doesn’t work he’s looking at a knee replacement by the time he’s 40 years old. His reasons for doing so are simply to be able to enjoy his son’s childhood. With his knee currently the way it is, he struggles to go for a puck around with him.
N.B: He questions the quality of his life from a recurring knee injury.
If that shows anything, it’s that when it comes to recurring head injuries, the sheer existence on this earth has to be the question that’s called into play.
One of the players we had at SASRI has suffered something in the region of 5 concussions in the last 18 months. Two of those came in a 5-month spell training here in South Africa. One of which happened while we were on tour, two minutes into game one. Four days later, hours before game two he complained of a headache after jumping up and down 3 times on a trampoline at the hostel. He played the game later that day. I don’t claim to be a trampolining expert, but I’m quite certain getting headaches after bouncing on it a few times isn’t healthy.
George North has also suffered a similar fate, 5 concussions in the past two years. Many people have advised the 24-year-old to retire. In an interview in December, North cited Gethin Jenkins as an inspiration to persevere, I believe the description he used was “half-man, half-rehab”. Fair enough, except Gethin Jenkins’ rehab is mostly if not all from the shoulders down. His most recent rehab protocol was for a torn bicep muscle. The brain is not made of the same tissue the bicep is, the brain cannot regenerate itself. i.e There’s no rehab for a concussion, you simply rest until the symptoms are not felt anymore.
Dr. Bennet Omalu recently called for a ban on underage rugby to be implemented, largely because adolescents are the ones most at risk to brain injuries. Using his own words, and it’s something that I think rings true for a majority of sports, whereby we see player welfare cast aside to chase a result. Dr. Omalu said:
“So, the player suspected brain damage, you do a neuropsychiatric test, he passes, you send him back to the field, he receives 10, 20 more hits to his head. It is causing irreversible damage to his brain.”
Nobody knows your body like you do. If you nod your head and say you’re ok the chances are you’ll be allowed to play.
“I guarantee you five, ten years later he begins to have problems. Who is at a loss? Society, his family.”
Tim Hague, was a former UFC fighter. At the end of his career in 2011 he announced he was to take time off to recover from concussion. He then turned his hand to boxing. It just so happens he had a fight last Friday night, 4 days ago to put this in perspective. The fight ended for him with a TKO defeat. Afterwards he was taken to hospital and on Saturday it was announced that he passed away. 34 years old. He’s not the first and unfortunately he won’t be the last.
The authorities, a large majority of management teams, promoters, sponsors, even some supporters, they don’t care. The NFL covered up concussions, CTE and head injuries for years. They ignored Dr. Omalu for years before 26-year-old NFL player Chris Henry passed away in a road accident, subsequently being the first active player to have been diagnosed with CTE. Since the CTE discovery was made the NFL have faced and will continue to face billions of dollars worth of lawsuits. 1/3rd of concussions are still excluded from NFL injury reports. Until change is made, lives will be replaced with lawsuits.
NFL outside linebacker A.J Tarpley, Roscommon Gaelic Footballer Karol Mannion, St. Kilda’s AFL footballer Sean Dempster and Connacht Rugby player Ben Marshall all entered early retirement, some earlier than others, citing concussion as a pivotal if not deciding factor.
These are but a few of endless examples I could have mentioned. Of course there’s risks to everything in life. I think a life without all of these somewhat dangerous sports would be rather bleak, they provide the platform for passion, unity and pride. It provides the platform for setting standards and being part of something to be proud of. For a lot of people, they would say it gives their life a purpose. But that doesn’t give it a licence to dictate all you do.
If you think the problem is exclusive to rugby, NFL or combat sports you’re deluded. The likelihood of an athlete in a contact sport experiencing a concussion is as high as 20% per season.
Why should you leave it up to the authorities to change the rules? Or leave it up to the management staff to tell you you’re not fit to play?
It’s your life. It’s up to you to say when enough is enough. More often than not stubbornness gets you nowhere, and that’s coming from one of the most stubborn people alive.
You’re only fooling yourself. Decide whether the prospect of one more season, one more game, one more medal, is worth more than being alive. Worth more than the prospect of watching your own child grow up or the prospect of growing old with your best friends.
Time is all you have, and you might wake up one day to find you have less than you think.
Enjoy The Journey.
Concussion references:
http://prevacus.com/concussions-101/statistics/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-concussion-youth-sports-idUSKBN0TZ2RE20151216
http://www.brain-injury-law-center.com/latest-news/head-injuries-rugby-vs-football/
http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/under-18s-should-not-play-rugby-says-concussion-doctor-1.3105970
http://rugbylad.com/worrying-concussion-stats-emerge-from-latest-professional-rugby-report/
http://www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions_sports
The Fickle Feen 