Vezina

Celine Vezina
Professor Mary Gomrad
ENC 1102
27 March 2015
The Long-Term Effects of Concussions on NHL Players
A Review of the Literature
Abstract
This review looks into the long-term, as well as short-term, effects that concussions have
on current and ex-players of the National Hockey League. The first section of this review
I am going to be discussing some background information on concussions, and then it
goes onto discuss the impact that theyve had on professional athletes in the National
Hockey League. Many studies about the long-term affects that concussions have been
conducted to help with the lawsuit occurring and results have showed that symptoms are
different in every person. The second section will discuss the lawsuit that is going on
right now between former NHL players who have suffered concussions and the National
Hockey League. The details regarding exactly what the lawsuit is about will be
researched, as well as what has happened to some of the players that were involved in
this lawsuit. In the final section, it talks about the results that scientists and researchers
have found regarding the long-term effects of a concussion, and whats being done to
prevent them.
Introduction
Asubcultureisdefined,accordingtoWolframAlpha,asasocialgroup
withinanationalculturethathasdistinctivepatternsofbehaviorandbeliefs.Nowwhen

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itisputthatway,itsonlynormaltothinkofhowmanysubculturesexist.Theyexist
fromreligion,fandoms,theschoolastudentattends,tosports.Asportgroupthatstood
outtomewasicehockey.TheNationalHockeyLeaguehaschangedalotsincebeing
establishedin1917.Thegamehasgottenfasterandalotmorephysical,andoneinjury
thatisoccurringmorefrequentlyisconcussions.Eventhoughtheyoccurmoreoftenthan
theyshould,doesntmakethemanylessdangerous.Anytimethebrainhasabnormal
swelling,itwilltakelongerandlongertorecover.Asimplehittotheheadwontcause
thebraintomoveinwaysitshouldnt,butwhenhitshappeninhockey,itsnotasimple
shove.Thesymptomslastlongereachtimeoneoccursandtheaftermathdoesntget
prettierwithage.Allinall,thelongtermaffectsofconcussionsarentgreatatall.
AftermoreandmoreplayersstartedtorealizethattheNationalHockeyLeague
shouldbetryingtopreventconcussionsfromhappening,agroupoftenexNHLplayers
decidedtosuetheNHL.Now,liketheNFLconcussionlawsuit,moreplayersare
expectedtojoinasthelawsuitbeginstoplayout.Lawyersandplayersaretryingtoprove
thatthelongtermaffectsofconcussionsarentaprettysightandtheNHLshoulddo
anythingintheirpowertopreventtheinitialconcussionfromhappening.Requiringa
visor,oramouthguardattheleastcouldcausethis.
Whenextraprecautionsaretakentopreventaconcussion,thechancesofit
happeningdecrease.Dependingonhowhardtheinitialhitwassomesymptomscouldbe
moreprominentthanothers,andalso,thelengthofthesymptomsvariestoo.Playersthat
havebeenknowntobetheenforcersoftheirteamsandreceivedmoreconcussionsthan
theaverageplayerhavebeenexperiencingdeadlysymptoms.Somescientistshave

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correlatedtheamountoftheconcussionstothedepressionthatsomeplayersmayfeel
postcareer.Insomecases,thisresultedinsomeplayersendingtheirownlives.
BackgroundandEffectsofConcussions
Concussionsaresomethingthatoccursveryoftenincontactsportssuchasice
hockey,yetnotmanypeopleknowexactlywhattheyare.Itusedtobedefinedasabad
headachethatoccursafterreceivingabadblowtothehead,butaftersomestudies,its
beenshowntobesomuchmore.AheadtraumadoctorthatworksforMayoClinicsays,
aconcussionisatraumaticbraininjurythataltersthewayyourbrainfunctions
(Swanson1).Thebrainisknowntoswellwhenaconcussionoccurs.Thisleadstothe
mostcommonsymptom,aheadache.Othersymptomsthatoccurincludenausea,
dizziness,fatigue,vomiting,andsometimesatemporarylossofconsciousness.Its
usuallycausedbythesuddenaccelerationanddecelerationoftheheadcausingthebrain
tohittheinnerwallsoftheskull(Swanson3).Thisiswhatcausesthebraintofunction
improperlyandshowsignsofaconcussion.Thebestwaytorecoverfromaconcussionis
torestrainfromphysicalandmentalactivitythatcauseahighamountofstressorforalot
ofworktobedone.Restiskey.
AcommoninjuryintheNationalHockeyLeagueisanupperbodyinjury.When
thisissaid,mostofthetimeitmeansthataplayerhasreceivedaconcussion.Beingan
observerofthegame,Ihavewitnessedmanyplayersreceivingthe,sometimes,career
endingblowtothehead.Therearecurrentlyeighteenplayersoutwithconcussions.This
is2015alone,notcountingtheonesthathavesufferedconcussionsandreturnedtothe
game.OneofthoseplayersthatexperiencedabrutalconcussionwasDavidBooth.

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DuringhiscareerwiththeFloridaPanthershesufferedtwoconcussionsinfivemonths.
Thefirstonelefthimoutforthreemonths,andthesecondonelefthimoutfromMarch
2011untilOctober2011.Overthepastfifteenyears,therehavebeenatleasttwenty
playersthatreceivedcareerendinghits.MarcSavardwasoneoftheunluckyones;he
sufferedagrade2concussiononMarch7,2010yetreturnedthreemonthslater.Thenext
seasononJanuary23,2011hereceivedacareerendingconcussion.Sincethenhehas
sufferedfrompostconcussionsyndrome.ChrisProngerisanotherplayerwhoreceived
multipleconcussionsthroughouthiscareerbutinmidDecemberof2011,66Martin
Hanzelendinghiscareerhithim.Hesufferspostconcussionsyndrometoo.Theseare
justafewexamplesofthelongtermeffectsthataconcussionormultipleconcussions
haveoncurrentorformerNationalHockeyLeagueplayers.
NHLConcussionLawsuit
TheNationalHockeyLeagueisbeingsuedby,atthemoment,tenplayersthat
havesufferedmultipleconcussions.AccordingtoSeanMcindoe,theleagueknew(or
shouldhaveknown)aboutthedangersposedbyconcussionsandfailedtodoenoughto
reducetheriskofheadinjuriesandeducateplayersabouttheissue(Mcindoe1).Inthe
lawsuit,theyarehopingtofindsomewaystomakeconcussionsoccurless,yetthisis
goingtoinvolvetestingoutmultiplethings.Theleagueislookingintowhattypesof
equipmentismorelikelytopreventaconcussion.Hockeyplayerscanusemouthguards
thatwillabsorbshockiftheyrehithard.Anotherpieceofequipmentthattheycanuseis
avisor.Atthemoment,visorsarebeinggrandfatheredin.IfsomeoneisstillintheNHL
whilethenewrulewasmade,thenitsoptionalforhimtowearone,butiftheyrenewto

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theleagueitsarequirementtowearavisor.Asthelawsuitgoeson,moreandmore
playerswillbecomeinvolved.Aftersomeoftheplayersdiedduetodepressionthatis
thoughttobetheresultofmultipleconcussionsduringtheirplayingcareer,theydonated
theirbraintosciencetoassistinthelawsuit,andalsosothatthedoctorscanfindout
whatsgoingonwithcertainpeoplesbrainstomakethemfeelthiswayafterreceiving
concussions.Whatlawyersreallywhattofindouttohelpsettlethecaseistheconnection
betweenconcussionsandfuturebraintrauma/damage.
LongTermEffectsofConcussions
Thoughitiscommonforthesymptomsofconcussionstoeventuallygoawayon
theirown,insomecasestheycanlastuptoafewmonthsaftertheinitialincident.A
concussionvictimcanexperiencepostconcussionsyndrome,whichisexperiencing
symptomsuptoafewmonthsaftertheconcussionoccurred.Theycanalsoexperience
posttraumaticheadachesorposttraumaticvertigo(dizziness).WhatIfoundtobethe
mostdangerousthingforaconcussionvictimtoexperienceaftertheinitialconcussionis
secondimpactsyndrome.Thisiscommonamongstthehockeyplayersthatareinvolved
intheNHLConcussionlawsuit.Playersreturntothegamequickerthantheyshouldand
thisisverydangerous.Thisisbecausethebrainswellsfasterandmorefatallythanwhen
thefirstconcussionoccurred.Hockeyplayersneedtowaituntilthebrainchemicalsare
stableagainbeforehittingtheice,andthisvariesforeveryone.Ifaplayersuffersfrom
multipleconcussions,theyoutcomesoftheirlifestyleaftertheircareercouldbe
significantlydifferent.In2011,threeplayerswerefounddeadwithinfourmonths.Wade
Belak,RickRypien,andDerekBooggardwereallbigtimeenforcersintheNational

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HockeyLeagueandhadallreceivedmultipleconcussions.Accordingtothefamiliesof
thevictims,thesemenhadsuffereddepressionandpostconcussionsyndromeinthe
monthsleadinguptotheirdeaths.
Conclusion
Throughouttheyears,ashockeygotmoreandmoreaggressiveandconcussions
becamemoreprominent,thesignsandsymptomsstartedtogetalotworse.Hitswere
harderwhichcausedthebraintoswellmorethanitusedto.Theinitialconcussion,soto
say,istheleastdangerous,butifonedoesntwaituntiltheyrefullyrecoveredtoplaythe
postconcussionsymptomsarequitebad.Theyremoresusceptibletogetanotheroneif
theyreturntoearly,andthesecondconcussioncouldhavelifethreateningresults.
AstheNationalHockeyLeaguestartedtohavemoreplayersexperiencingcareer
endinghits,playersstartedtogetfrustratedthatnothingwasbeingdonetopreventstuff
likethisfromhappening.ThisiswhenthelawsuitagainsttheNHLwasformed,the
lawsuitthatiscontinuingtogoontoday.Asmoreandmoreplayersjoin,theevidence
againsttheNHLisgrowingstronger,yetwhatreallycausedthelawsuittostartwerethe
deathsofexNHLplayersbelievedtohavebeencausedbymultipleconcussionsand
postconcussionsyndrome.Yet,theNationalHockeyLeagueseemstothinkotherwise.
SinceNHLplayersareusuallysponsoredandweartheirownbrandofequipment,they
areputtingthemselvesatriskbydoingthis.IthasnothingtodowiththeNHL.
Though,theultimategoalisplayersafetyandwiththeeffectsbeingknown,manylives
canbesaved,andtheonesthatcouldntbecanfinallybeputtorest.

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AnnotatedBibliography
Gallucci,John."AthleteConcussion:OrchestratingtheSafeandSuccessfulReturnto
Play."PhysicalTherapyProductsNov.2013:1213.OneSearch.Web.18Mar.
2015.Concussionresearcher,JohnGallucci,ofPhysicalTherapyProductsstudied
thedifferentmethodsthatcanbeusedtoproperlyhandleconcussions.They
hypothesizedthatreturningtoasportprematurelycanleadtomoresevere
symptomsandconditions.Theseincludepostconcussionsyndromeandsecond
concussionsyndrome.Theriskthattheathleteputshim/herselfincanbelife
threatening,butiftheywaittheproperamountoftimethentheyshouldbefineto
return.
Mcindoe,Sean."EverythingYouNeedtoKnowAbouttheNHLConcussionLawsuit."
Grantland.N.p.,27Nov.2013.Web.17Mar.2015.
Sportsanalysis,SeanMcindoeofGrantland,researchedtherelevantlynew
lawsuitbetweenexNationalHockeyLeagueplayersandtheNationalHockey
leagueaboutconcussionsandhowtheycanbeprevented.Usingknowledgefrom
theNFLConcussionLawsuit,hewasabletoconcludethattheplayersfeelthat
theNationalHockeyLeague,whenusingtheproperprecautions,canprevent
concussions.
McNamara,Kilian."ConcussionInterview#2."Emailinterview.18Mar.2015.
Multipleconcussionsvictim,KilianMcNamara,wasinterviewbyCelineVezina
tofindouttheeffectsthatconcussionshaveonsportsvictims.Accordingto
McNamara,theinitialconcussionlastedafewweeks,butsoonafterherecovered
hewasabletoreturntothegame.Oncehegothissecondconcussion,his
symptomsweremoreprominentandlastedlonger.Theconcussiondoctortold
himhewasexperiencingpostconcussionsyndrome,butafterrefrainingfrom
physicalandmentalstressforafewweekshewasfine.
ResearchersDiscover28NewCasesofBrainDamageinDeceasedFootballPlayers.
Dir.SteveFainaruandMarkFainaruWada.PBS.ESPN,03Dec.2012.Web.17
Mar.2015.

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ResearchersfromBostonUniversityhaverecentlydiscoveredtwentyeightmore
casesofformerNFLplayerswithchronicbraindamage.Thisbringsthetotalof
playerswithCTEtooverfifty.Theonlyproblemthatresearchersare
discoveringistheonlywaytodiscoverthebraindamageiswhenthepersonis
deceased.Manyotherscientistshavearguedthattheresnotnearlyenough
evidencetoconnectbraindamagetomultipleblowstothehead,butsomestudies
andexperimentsareprovingotherwise.
Robbins,CliffordA.,DanielH.Daneshvar,andJohnD.Picano."Selfreported
ConcussionHistory:ImpactofProvidingaDefinitionofConcussion."OpenA
AccessJournalofSportsMedicine5(2014):99.OneSearch.Web.17Mar.
2015.
Theresearchers,CliffordA.Robbins,DanielH.Daneshvar,andJohnD.Picano
ofOpenAccessJournalofSportsMedicine,lookedintohowmanyconcussions
athletesactuallyhavehadaftertheyweretaughttheactualdefinitionofa
concussion.Itwasfoundthatathletesusuallydon'treportaconcussionbecause
theythinkit'sjustabadheadache,whichprovedtheirhypothesistobecorrect.It
istobenotedthatthenumberofconcussionsoriginallythoughttohavetaken
placechangedsignificantlyfromtheactualamountthatoccurredafterthe
definitionwastaught.
Swanson,JerryW."Concussion."Definition.MayoClinic,02Apr.2014.Web.16Mar.

2015.
Theneurologistandheadtraumadoctor,JerryW.SwasonM.D.,usedprior
knowledgetoacquireinformationfortheMayoCliniconconcussions.They
includedthedefinition,signsandsymptoms,treatment,andpostconcussion
symptoms.Theyfoundthatconcussionsarecausedbyasevereblowtothehead,
causingthebraintohittheinnerwallsoftheskullleadingtobrainswelling.Itis
believedthataconcussionwill,subsideafterafewweeksinvolvingminimal
mentalorphysicalstress.
Vezina,ArmandF."HowHaveConcussionsImpactedYou?"Telephoneinterview.18
Mar.2015.
ArmandVezina,currenthighschoolhockeyplayer,hassufferedfromfour
concussions,threeofthemoccurredwhileplayinghockey.Theinitialconcussion
lefthimsufferingfromsevereconcussionsymptomsforalittleovertwomonths,
andhewasforcedtoresignfortheseason.Histhirdconcussionledhimto
developingsecondconcussionsyndrome.Hereturnedearlierthanheshouldhave
andgotanelbowtotheheadresultinginhisfourthconcussion.Thisledtohimto
beoutforovertwomonths.Itssaidthathissymptomsreturneverynowand
then,headachesanddizziness,buttheydontoccurtoofrequently.

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