The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic

Carroll, Linda; Rosner, David

4

148 ratings by Goodreads

9781452604367: The Concussion Crisis: Anatomy of a Silent Epidemic

ISBN 10: 1452604363 ISBN 13: 9781452604367

Publisher: Tantor Media Inc, 2011

For far too long, the menace of concussions has been hidden in plain sight. On playing fields across America, lives are being derailed by seemingly innocuous jolts to the head. From the peewees to the pros, concussions are reaching epidemic proportions. This book brings that hidden epidemic and its consequences out of the shadows.As frightening as the numbers are-estimates of sports-related concussions range from 1.6 million to 3.8 million annually in the United States-they can't begin to explain the profound impact of a hidden health problem that can strike any of us. It is becoming increasingly clear that concussions, like severe head traumas, can rob us of our memory, our mental abilities, our very sense of self. Because the damage caused by a concussion is rarely visible to the naked eye or even on a brain scan, no one knows how many millions might be living lives devastated by an invisible injury too often shrugged off as "just a bump on the head."This book puts a human face on a huge public health crisis. Through narratives that chronicle the poignant experiences of real people struggling with this invisible and often unrecognized brain injury, Linda Carroll and David Rosner bring home its potentially devastating consequences. Among those you will meet are a high school football player whose college dreams were derailed by a series of undiagnosed concussions, a hard-driving soccer star whose own struggles with concussions pushed her to crusade for safety reform as a coach and soccer mom, and an economist who lost her career because of lingering concussion symptoms from a fender bender.The Concussion Crisis weaves these human dramas with compelling stories of scientists and doctors who are unraveling the mysteries of how an invisible injury can wreak such havoc. It takes listeners into the top labs, where scientists are teasing out what goes wrong in the brain after a jolt to the head, and into the nation's leading concussion clinic, where patients get cutting-edge management and treatment. Carroll and Rosner analyze the cultural factors that allowed this burgeoning epidemic to fester unseen and untreated. They chronicle the growing public awareness sparked by the premature retirements of superstars like NFL quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Steve Young. And they argue for an immediate change in a macho culture that minimizes the dangers inherent in repeated jolts to the head.The Concussion Crisis sounds an urgent wake-up call to parents, coaches, trainers, doctors, and the athletes themselves. The book will stand as the definitive exploration of this heretofore-silent health crisis. It should be required listening for every parent with a child playing sports-in fact, by everyone who has ever suffered a hard bump on the head.

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Review:

"A cautionary wake-up call about addressing a seemingly innocuous hit to the head with critical care. . . . Comprehensive."

--"Kirkus Reviews"

"In "The Concussion Crisis, "health writer Carroll and sportswriter Rosner team up to offer a jolt on the head--intellectual only--to those who've tended to dismiss blows to the noggin as innocuous. . . .A clarion call to take full measure of the broken brains and bodies among us."

--"The Globe and Mail "(Canada)

"A very hot topic. . . . Noteworthy . . . issues a challenge to the 'macho play-through-the-pain' sports culture and urges a rethinking of safety versus spectacle."

--"Publishers Weekly"

"Important. . . . A book everyone involved with football or concerned about the sport must read."

--Gregg Easterbrook, ESPN.COM

"Thoughtfully passionate and comprehensive. . . . A devastating testament. . . . One lays "The Concussion Crisis "down wondering where future American gridiron gladiators will come from; surely not from families who read this book."

--Frank Deford, "The Washington Post Book World"

Praise for

"The Concussion Crisis

"The Concussion Crisis" puts a human face on traumatic brain injury through real-life stories of athletes and soldiers. The authors define the problem, explain the science, and accentuate the need for prevention. This informative book sounds a much-needed alarm for medical intervention, continued research, and a reassessment of how we play sports."

--Michael J. Stuart, M.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Center

and chief medical Officer of USA Hockey

"Thoughtfully passionate and comprehensive.... A devastating testament.... One lays The Concussion Crisis down wondering where future American gridiron gladiators will come from; surely not from families who read this book." - "The Washington Post"

"The parents of teenage athletes should take a careful look at this book."

--Abigail Zuger, M.D., "The New York Times"

"There is no injury I worry about as a coach more than concussions, and this book shows why. It's a must-read for athletes and their parents."

--Anson Dorrance, coach of the USA's first World Cup women's soccer champions and of UNC's 20-time NCAA champions

""The Concussion Crisis" puts a human face on traumatic brain injury through real-life stories of athletes and soldiers. The authors define the problem, explain the science, and accentuate the need for prevention. This informative book sounds a much-needed alarm for medical intervention, continued research, and a reassessment of how we play sports."

--Michael J. Stuart, M.D., co-director of the Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Center and chief medical officer of USA Hockey

About the Author:

Linda Carroll is a nationally respected health writer who has covered a broad range of health topics for MSNBC.com, the New York Times, and other publications.David Rosner is an award-winning journalist with extensive experience covering sports and health for publications including Newsday, Time, and the Sporting News.
Pam Ward has performed in a variety of venues, but she found her true calling reading books for the blind and physically handicapped for the Library of Congress Talking Books program, for which she received the prestigious Alexander Scourby Award from the American Foundation for the Blind. She is also an AudioFile Earphones Award winner.

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