CBS News, Los Angeles – May 16, 2012
FEARING POSSIBLE BRAIN DAMAGE, NFL VETERAN QUITS
More than 3,000 pro football players, past and present, are suing the National Football League, claiming the NFL deliberately concealed information about the long-term effects of repeated hits to the head. Jacob Bell is not part of that case, but he’s so concerned about head trauma that he’s giving up football. After 8 years in the league, Bell retired in his prime. He is giving up the game he loved because he’s concerned about possible injury to his brain.
There is now plenty of clear-cut proof that the trauma incurred during football leads to problems later in life. Scientists now link repetitive head injuries to chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. The disease, which causes depression and early-onset dementia, was discovered in the brain of former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson after he killed himself in the same manner as Junior Seau, a gunshot to his chest. In his suicide note, Duerson asked that his brain be donated to science to study whether the brutality of football was responsible for his mental problems.
One week after Seau’s suicide, Bell became the first NFL player to announce his retirement because of fears playing the sport he loves would result in long-term brain damage. “I’m giving up at this point because I feel like I’ve reached a point in my career where I’ve done enough. … I think the risk outweighs the rewards”
“Bell says, I would say anyone who’s played football has suffered a concussion.” A lineman in the NFL or in college incurs about a thousand to 1,500 hits at about 20 Gs per season”. “I remember one time I had a concussion with a feeling in my head that lasted two to three weeks. It’s hard to say, ‘Hey Coach, I’ve got to sit out. My head hurts. I can’t play right now.”‘
Bell concedes the league has started to address the issue, changing rules to cut down on helmet-to-helmet hits and even letting neurologists make the call on when players return following a concussion. But research into CTE is in its infancy, and it’s expensive. “We may not be able to change the way the game is played,” he says, “We may not be able to change football. “But what we could do is raise awareness and do research to find a cure for the disease that’s causing these problems.”
Bell says he feels fine now. He hasn’t sensed any long-term consequences from all the hits he took, but he knows that doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. He hopes that, by walking away from the game he loves, he can be a voice for fallen “gladiators” like Dave Duerson and Junior Seau.
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Having suffered from the effects of head injury himself, Dr. Greg Cantu has a passion for helping athletes to improve their brain health. From his own personal experience of post-concussion challenges, he soon learned that a head injury was actually a brain injury and was the cause of the problems he was having. Dr. Cantu later observed that his patients with a known history of head injury also had abnormal brainwave patterns like his. This resulted in a unique assessment and treatment approach that is now a vital part of helping his patients to recover. The goal of the patient evaluation is to uncover the root cause of the problems, not just treat the symptoms. Before treatment begins the exact location of the injury must be uncovered. Because injured areas cause symptoms, treating these specific problem areas will result in a much better reduction of your symptoms compared to the many general treatment or therapies that don’t evaluate the brain first. If the specific problem area is not detected it cannot be properly treated. This approach of finding the specific brain problem is the best way to determine the true priority for care.
Natural methods are used to address the root cause, not just the symptoms of traumatic brain injury and concussions. Dr. Cantu is highly skilled at detecting residual problems from the numerous effects of head injuries even when the symptoms appear years after the trauma. This innovative approach is designed to restore brain function by finding the underlying cause.
Dr. Cantu also trains other health professionals and presents continuing education seminars to doctors in his innovative approach. As part of his ongoing education, he is completing a Diplomat in Neurology from the world-renowned Carrick Institute.
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