Articles on Alternative Health & Fitness?

It was late in the third quarter and Penn State was fighting not only to keep its undefeated season alive, but its hopes for a national championship as well.  As Penn State quarterback, Daryll Clark scrambled for a seven-yard gain, he collided with two 300-pound defensive linemen.  Seven snaps later, Penn State officials diagnosed Clark with having sustained a concussion from the collision and pulled him from the rest of the game.  Those watching the game could see that Clark was visibly upset by the decision not to let him return to play.

Not only did Penn State win the game and keep its national championship hopes alive, Penn State demonstrated that the health of its athlete was more important than winning a football game.  Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State’s Director of Athletic Medicine, was quoted as saying “We know the stakes are high, but we’re pretty much dedicated to the preservation of an athlete’s well-being.  No one questioned it at all.  We knew we had to find another way to win.  That was it.”

The actions by Penn State’s team doctors and coaches should be a lesson to everyone that players who sustain concussions during sporting events should not be returned to play.  Maybe, just maybe, others will follow this example.

Last Thursday, October 23, 2008, I traveled to New York City to participate in a continuing legal education program on traumatic brain injury sponsored by Lorman Education Services.  My topic at the program was Daubert Issues in TBI Cases.  My presentation focused on the evidentiary requirements for expert testimony and steps that can be taken to keep junk science out of the courtroom.  Besides my presentation, the attendees heard from other outstanding attorneys who specialize in neurolaw as well as from Wilfred van Gorp, Director of Neuropsychology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

The dangers of athletes returning to competition too soon after suffering from a sports-related concussion has been recognized for some time now.  In fact, just a few years ago, the Brain Injury Association of New Jersey invited trainers and coaches from New Jersey high school athletic departments to attend a sports concussion seminar at Giant’s Stadium in the Meadowlands. 
 
This morning I read in the New York Times that Montclair High School planned to meet this week to develop a written policy for dealing with students who sustained concussions.  This announcement came days after a Montclair High School student athlete, Ryne Dougherty, died of a brain hemorrhage. That injury came less than a month after Ryne sustained a prior concussion during a school practice on September 18, 2008. 
 
The article quotes Montclair High School’s Interim Principal Judith Weiss who indicated that she overhead at least one teammate “lamenting that he had not told school officials that Dougherty was complaining of post-concussion symptoms after he had been cleared.”
 
The failure of Ryne or his teammates to complain is not surprising. Over and over again, experts in the field warn that athletes will not bring their complaints to the attention of coaches as a result of the culture that surround these sports.
 
While it is wonderful that Montclair will now begin to develop the necessary policies regarding athletes who sustain concussions, it is shameful that this program was not in place before this tragic event occurred.  It is imperative that schools begin to educate coaches, athletic trainers and their athletes concerning the dangers that concussions pose.

A new study states that prior to becoming homeless, more than one out of every three of Toronto, Canada’s homeless had suffered from a traumatic brain injury, which furthers past theories that mental health is linked to homelessness.

A paper published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal recently found that more than half of the homeless population of Toronto had experienced a severe brain injury, and 70% of those did so before ending up on the streets. The study surveyed roughly 900 people living in Toronto homeless shelters from 2004 – 2005. Traumatic brain injuries usually result in cognitive impairment, attention deficits and emotional instability.

You can read more on this story here.

 

It is very important that we all remain as healthy as we can. Do all the things that you know to do so that we can be healthy. We assume that if we get sick that the doctors or hospitals are going to do everything that they can to make us better. This is not always the case.

When one is sick the first thing that they have to do is take a look at what they are doing. Especially, what one is eating. My grandmother has been sick since February of 2008 and she is now sick again. She has diabetes and congestive heart failure. My mom went to Ohio to take care of her. She had completely changed her diet. She was cooking her meals and helping her get some exercise by having her do a little walking everyday. She was getting better. She took care of my grandmother for 2 months. She had asked my grandmother did she want to come to Michigan and stay with her. She said, "No". My mom returned home.

Since, my mom left my grandmother has been in and out of the hospital. She is now back in the hospital and my mom is back in Ohio. She wasn't doing to good and she had a small stroke. My mom was visiting with my grandmother and guess what she was drinking. Pop. Can you believe that? My mom said,"Mom you don't need to be drinking that?" That's like giving a cancer patient a cigarette. You would think the hospital would know how to feed people when they are sick. It's probably not on their priority list. My grandmother has been in and out of the hospital and the rehabilitation center. Last year I went to Ohio with my mom and sisters and we visited her at the rehabilitation center. The food they were feeding her was horrible. If you are sick no way should you be eating that kind of food. Fish sticks and a potatoe salad sandwich. Who has even heard of that?

I really do believe that it is not the agenda of the health care system to make us healthy. With all the technology they have and all the studying they have done on the body they should know by now what is healthy and what is not. No one wants to be on medication for the rest of their lives. (Well, they shouldn't want to be).

I really hope that my grandmother will get better and I do hope that she will come and stay with my mom because, that would be much better for her. My mom will defintitely take good care of her.






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