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| Sidney Crosby is one of several players that has missed significant time this season with a concussion. |
Hockey is a dangerous, full contact game and the risk of injury is obviously a very big one. Throughout the past few seasons, concussions have become a focal injury in the League. During this time, an increasing number of players have been concussed and up until the GM meetings this week in Florida, the NHL has done nothing about it.
A concussion is very different than other injuries suffered playing hockey. The recovery time can’t easily be standardized based on the diagnosis. A concussion is trauma to the brain as a result of a violent hit. Doctors used to talk about the severity of concussions in terms of whether it was mild or severe based on the hit to the player and the resulting head impact. But these descriptors are somewhat irrelevant as an individual’s brain and its subsequent recovery time is different. The brain will take as long as it needs to recover. For example, when Sidney Crosby was injured in early January, the Penguins announced that he would miss 7-10 days with a mild concussion. 30 games and more than 2 months later, Crosby still hasn't suited up for a Pens game. In fact, on Monday he skated for the first time since being injured.
The big trouble with Crosby was that he suffered two traumatic blows to his head within a four day span. When he was first hit by David Steckel at the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, he seemed very dazed and confused. He wasn't properly examined before going back to play in that game or before his next game. This has proven to be a huge problem. During his next contest on January 4th, he was hit awkwardly into the boards by Tampa Bay defenceman Victor Hedman, which left Crosby fumbling over his memory.
At this week’s meetings in Florida, Commissioner Gary Bettman and the League's General Managers have finally reached an agreement that will likely be implemented as soon as next week into regular season games. Any players who feel any sort of concussion-like symptoms experienced during a game will have to be properly examined by a doctor in a quiet, private room. They'll have to be medically cleared before being able to re-enter that game. Finally this is a step in the right direction for the League. If this rule had been in place when Crosby was initially injured, he would likely have made a faster recovery and would presently be in the hunt for yet another scoring title.
Another factor that has to be reviewed to help reduce the risk of concussions is the equipment currently used by players. Various reports have indicated that if players used a softer shoulder pad, it would decrease the risk of a concussion occurring. In addition, the type and quality of helmet is a huge consideration. A number of the helmets don't adequately protect the players from high impact collisions. Recently, Mark Messier has created a helmet which is intended to improve a player’s head protection. The M11 is proven to absorb more energy from high impact linear forces than other premium helmets to provide maximum protection. If the NHL were to explore making this kind of helmet mandatory, the amount of concussions could decrease.
The NHL has finally taken a step in the right direction to reduce the amount of serious concussions. This type of injury will never be fully eliminated from the game, but hopefully the severity and frequency will be reduced.
