Injured Athletes

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Hockey is way, way cooler than football. :p

Did y'all see the study on Benoit's brain?

Benoit's brain showed the same degenerative processes that doctors working for the institute found in the brains of four men who had played pro football and committed suicide, but to a worse extent. Head trauma can cause substances called tau proteins to build up in the brain, which in turn can trigger a toxic release of phosphorous, killing brain and nerve cells. Tangles throughout Benoit's brain were telltale signals to doctors that he suffered from abnormal and dangerous tau protein deposits.

Their post-mortem diagnosis: Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a form of brain damage that is associated with blows to the head and was found in former NFLers Mike Webster, Terry Long, Andre Waters and Justin Strzelczyk.

Indeed, by the time the 40-year-old Benoit killed himself, he had the brain of a man aged 80 or older with "very severe" Alzheimer's disease, according to Cantu. "His was the most extensively damaged of the brains we have examined so far," Cantu said.
Click to expand...
ESPN - Study: Benoit's brain showed signs of damage - ESPN

Yikers.
 


It's all over the sports news now, Everett can move his upper and lower extremeties. Amazing....
 
Thanks Nate I didn't get to the tv till about 11pm. That new process is crazy. A coolent saleene sounds 007.

I didn't know they hockey in Texas?
 
i didnt read the whole thread, but i read alot, and hockey players need to be way more talented then most other athletes. every player with the exception of the goalie needs to be able to play every position at NHL level, yes players are obviously better in their favored position, but you can place any player anywhere and they will be fine. i would like to see Donovan mcnabb playing wide receiver. also hockey is mostly mental, players need to be thinking before its happening, now as its happening. and nothing can be a set play you gotta react to whats going on. back to toughness hockey players are skating way way faster then football players run and when hockey players get laid out they usually don't know its coming, and ice is much harder then glass. i have been playing hockey for like 10 years now, im probably a 'AA' player but i play in a 'A' league cause there is not a 'AA' around here. i have played in many games where i should not have. im constantly playing in games with aching head aches cause i hit my head too hard...but when your adrenaline comes in you don't think about it. most of the kids on my team usually have to tape something up before a game so they can play good. now im not saying football players dont do that, especially non professionals. my one friend might have a fractured spine and he wanted to continue out his senior year of high school football...
 
just saw this on NHL.com today...

Toronto Maple Leafs - Press Releases: Statement From Jason Blake Regarding Condition - 10/08/2007

Jason Blake of the Toronto Maple Leafs issued the following statement following the team’s practice Monday at Air Canada Centre:

“This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer. The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life.

“This situation will not impact my ability to live my life as I otherwise would, and will not affect my ability to perform at my highest level for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I’m looking forward to my first season with the Leafs and helping our club compete for the Stanley Cup.”

Statement from Maple Leafs team doctor Noah Forman regarding Jason Blake’s medical condition:

“Jason Blake has very recently been diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). This is a form of leukemia (blood cancer) which is a slow growing cancer of the white blood cells. It has an incidence of 500 new cases diagnosed each year in Canada.

“It is caused by an abnormal chromosome of cells in the body's bone marrow.

Jason is in no immediate danger, as he is in the chronic phase of the disease and has been assessed by a leading authority on CML at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

He has already started treatment which consists of an oral medication taken daily with low side effects.

<script language="JavaScript" src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/torontomapleleafs.com/news;pos=bottombox;tile=4;sz=300x250;abr=!ie;ord=' + ord + '?" type="text/javascript"></script> <noscript><a href="http://ad.doubleclick.net/jump/torontomapleleafs.com/news;pos=bottombox;tile=4;sz=300x250;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;abr=!ie6;ord=' + ord + '?" target="_blank"><img src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/torontomapleleafs.com/news;pos=bottombox;tile=4;sz=300x250;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;abr=!ie6;ord=' + ord + '?" width="300" height="250" border="0" alt=""></a></noscript>
“We have secured opinions from numerous CML specialists confirming that with this oral medication, most patients are well controlled and lead normal lives, doing all their normal activities. Jason will be able to continue to play fully with the team and will be monitored closely by both the team's physician and his CML specialist.”
 
Ofcourse you can't place McNabb at WR because they are such extremely different positions that require far different skills and/or a high athletic ability to succeed. It's not like baseball where you can swap your infield around and it's all kinda related or hockey where it's kinda related. Most NFL players were physically and mentally trained all or most of their career for a particular skillset. A player like McNabb would not be considered highly athletic or have a good physical build to succeed when compared to a WR or DB. He would have to rely on a skillset as a WR which obviously he doesn't have.

As for injuries, many people don't realize the abuse football and hockey players endure. But again when comparing the two, football is clearly the more violent sport.
 
Definitely NHL players are tougher. There is a lot more punishment to take in hockey than probably any other sport. There's also a lot of different things that can hurt you during a game. Checks, trips, blocked shots, hick sticks, smacks in the face, getting hit into the boards... that all leaves some kind of a mark that you mostly don't hear about simply because nobody goes crying about these things. They all leave bruises and sprains and aches but these guys just keep going.

Ever get hit with a puck? It hurts like hell and it doesn't take much to leave a mark when you get it somewhere with no equipment. Dropped on the ice like a sack of potatoes? Not fun!

I go out and play for fun and still leave beaten up even though there's no checking. The adrenaline is awesome even in a fun game that turns a little serious. When that happens though don't let the emotions get to you, I'm now waiting on a surgery to get my wrist fracture fixed up. :error:I'll have to stick to watching it on tv for a while.:mad:
 
Wow finally a string that i feel qulified to respond to-

qualifications- I played and coached football at the high school and coached at div 1 college level. I have also have a couple of friends who have played profesional Hockey.

Before I go to the who is tougher, to clarify some of your first few questions- NFL pays for all medical bills for life, with annual pension if you are in the league for more than 5 years. If you get hurt like the unfortunate bills player, they pay for injuries that incurred during the game, but nothing else.
When you think about long term care, they don't pay for daily aches, pains and arthritus that plague almost every NFL player the rest of their life. I am unsure on current union terms, but I do belive they are also paid an amount of money but not full salary when they are injured. besides dimentia, partial paralysis and permanent numbness is also very common for xNFL players.

As far as who is tougher? To me that is like asking who is tougher. "rambo or chuck Norris?" If you are to play either sport at the professional level you are no stranger to pain and physical abuse. And your tolerance for pain besides your physical talent is way above average. And the last time i checked pain is pain, whether from a cross check into the boards, or a 300lbs muscle addict slamming you into the ground. Either hell you suffer, you need to have significant moxy to continue to play at that level. But knowing many ex NFL players, it seems 5,10, 20 years later, their bodies have deteriorated more than my NHL friends. I have fewer Hockey friends, so this in no way is scientific. Just an observation. BUt in my humble opinion. that has more to do with physicas and having repeated collisions with greater impact, than immediate pain tollerance in a game situation.

I can say I appreciate both sports, and they both have their independant reasons why i like watching them more than playing them.
 
What is crazy is this guy will probably walk again with all the new findings the research teams have done. I think it is a amazing how far we have come.
 
i think the average nfl career length is like 2.3 years or maybe 3.2. very short nonetheless. not sure how insurance would work but you do hear about it sometimes.
 
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