Hockey Can Cause Brain Injury Too
As I have previously stated in past posts, sporting events like boxing, martial arts and football can lead to brain Injuries.
In Roman times gladiators fought to the death (and sometimes not) for sport. Have we really become less sadistic in watching "athletes" give eachother brain damage for the sport of it?
Well recently posted was a story that brings Hockey to the forefront of the brain injury causing sports. Boston Bruins assistant captain Patrice Bergeron's Bruins teammate Marc Savard is slowly recovering from a Grade 2 concussion he suffered March 7 in Pittsburgh, the result of a blindside hit by the Penguins' Matt Cooke. The Bruins have come to the realization that they will be without their top playmaker for the remainder of the season, which is a crushing blow to a team fighting for a postseason berth.
Savard remains at home, and the only moving around he's been doing is going to the hospital for examinations; according to coach Claude Julien, Savard has made little progress.
Patrice Bergeron knows firsthand what it's like to suffer a head injury.
His career was in question after he suffered a Grade 3 concussion on an Oct. 27, 2007, hit by the Philadelphia Flyers' Randy Jones that cost him the last 72 games of the season. Fortunately Bergeron recovered, returning to the ice last season, and is completely back to form now.
Any time Bergeron sees or hears about a hockey player suffering a head or neck injury, the news hits close to home for the 24-year-old.
Reggie Fleming, a defenseman and left wing known for fighting as much as scoring in a long career from 1959 to 1974, was found by Boston University researchers to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease known to cause cognitive decline, behavioral abnormalities and ultimately dementia. Fleming died in July at age 73 and was the first hockey player known to have been tested for the disease.
