Bruins player tells scary story of severe symptoms after a hit to the head
Repeated hits to the head causing concussions is one of the biggest problems with the future of the NHL at the moment. With more and more data becoming available on CTE, a chronic brain injury sustained by repeated concussions, all people in hockey need to be making more of an effort to prevent these injuries. Instead, hockey players and hockey culture are arguably making the problem worse, like this example from Bruins' defender Brendan Carlo.
Carlo missed the last 5 games after taking an elbow to the head against the Colorado Avalanche. The contact initially looked innocuous, but knocked out Carlo with his sixth concussion of his career. With such repeated head injuries, Carlo's putting himself at serious risk of CTE in the future. Returning to the lineup today, Carlo spoke about the feeling of sustaining that third concussion, saying he had to leave the game in Colorado to throw up in the dressing room.
While telling the story of throwing up in the locker room, Carlo admitted recognizance of this being his sixth concussion and the effects that will have on him later in life if he isn't able to monitor the symptoms with extreme precaution for the rest of his career.
Obviously I've been through this before. It's hard at times, in the moment you can start to feel really good, but you still got to pay attention to the little things, the little symptoms still lingering. I got to focus upon my history with concussions and just my future. This one was flukey. I kinda just ran into an elbow, from there got nauseous, after I ended up going back to the locker room and I threw up.
Hearing these stories of players who understand the danger they're putting themselves in with repeated concussions, especially those with a history of them already, is extremely worrisome for their long term health. Hopefully the NHL and the players find ways to curb dangerous contact to the head, or find new ways to treat and prevent the dangers of repeated concussions.
| POLL | ||
Should players be allowed back in the NHL after three concussions? | ||
| Yes, of course | 122 | 35.2 % |
| No, their health needs to come first | 187 | 53.9 % |
| Show Results | 38 | 11 % |
| List of polls | ||
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