Braves Pitcher Hears Child Get Struck in Head by Foul Ball

There are few things in life more appealing than taking a young son/daughter to a sporting event, enjoying the outdoor air and the energetic atmosphere with a curious and wide-eyed loved one.

That makes it all the more horrific when a sporting event ends in disaster, as it recently did for one young Atlanta Braves fan.

The boy in question was in the stands behind first-base with his father when a foul ball was drilled directly into the stands, hitting him in the head before anyone was able to react. The impact was so drastic that the noise was audible to both pitcher Julio Teheran and Milwaukee leadoff hitter Carlos Gomez.

As anyone who has been in a baseball stadium can attest, only the loudest noises can rise above the background roar of the crowd.

Medical personnel were quick to respond, and they said that as they were treating him in the stadium, he was both conscious and talkative. They still transferred him to a hospital as soon as possible, however, to make absolutely sure that he was OK.

No further details have been released, but the Braves released a statement saying that the young boy was in their thoughts and prayers.

Braves pitcher Teheran, who was visibly shaken by the event, stated that it was scary for him, saying “I knew it hit somebody. It was a fast and hard. No one had a chance to get out of the way.” He also wished the best for the child, saying “if anyone knows him, please let him know I hope he’s fine.”

Keams Canyon Football Player Dies After Tackle

A highly controversial subject in the news today is that of youth sport-related concussions.  Research has shown that athletes between the ages of sixteen and nineteen sustain approximately thirty percent of all sports-related concussions and that the rate of concussions in high school athletes has increased by sixteen percent in the past decade.

Reducing the incidence of sport-related concussions in youth sports has become a priority in high schools across the country, with new safety measures being taken to ensure the safety of the athletes.  However, as a tragic accident in Arizona illustrates, even with safety precautions in place, young athletes in contact sports still suffer debilitating and sometimes fatal injuries.

Last week in Keams Canyon, Arizona, a high school student was rushed to the hospital after collapsing on the football field after being tackled and hitting his head.

Charles Youvella, a senior at Hopi Junior/Senior High School, was playing in the first round of Division V playoffs when he was tackled after a pass play.  Unknown to everyone on the field, Youvella suffered a traumatic brain injury after hitting his head during the tackle. Two plays after the tackle he collapsed on the field.  Although he was awake and actually  speaking with paramedics on his way to St. Joseph’s Hospital, his condition deteriorated and he died several days later.

Youvella’s death illustrates that more steps need to be taken to protect high school football players from suffering traumatic brain injury due to concussions.

One step being taken to protect football players from concussions is  a study that is taking place in the Valley. In his study, Dr. Trent of  Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGEN), has football players at Arizona State University  wear special helmets with sensors that record the magnitude,  force and  frequency of collisions between players.  Dr. Trent’s  team is composed of forty researchers, five of whom are at every ASU football game, and even travel with the team to away games.

These helmets make it possible for the team of researchers to combine the data from the sensors along with the information from samples of the player’s blood, saliva and urine to discover the changes in the athlete’s body that would give a definitive and completely objective sign of a concussion.  Dr. Trent stated that his researchers focus on the players who have the hardest hits and the three players with the most cumulative hits in a game.

Dr. Cardenas of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix said that the most devastating injuries occur when an athlete has sustained a concussion and is then sent back to play before he has fully recovered from his injuries. The information from the sensors could prevent these players from being sent back into the game.

Dr. Trent and other researchers feel that this study may eventually help prevent athlete concussions in the future by leading to a “concussion detector” being built into the athlete’s gear.

“Picture a mouth guard that might change to a different color if they’ve had an injury,” said Dr. Trent.  Sport-related injury surveillance systems such as the Riddell helmet sensor can provide the scientific data needed to prevent traumatic brain and other serious sport-related injuries to young athletes in contact sports.

Original story found here.

Arizona Expands Concussion Prevention to Youth Sports

The recent NFL lawsuit over concussion-related injuries brought national awareness of the dangers of playing football for not just professional athletes, but for athletes of all ages.

In Arizona, one leading expert on concussions, Javier Cardenas, MD, said young athletes are seeking proper medical treatment for brain injuries more often than in the past, but the underreporting of concussions still remains a problem in the state and across the nation. Dr. Cardenas is a neurologist and brain injury expert at Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center.  The Barrow staff is seeing an increase in the number of individuals who are no longer ignoring concussion symptoms, and are instead, reporting the injuries and then coming in for treatment.

Dr. Cardenas said that new mandatory education to help prevent concussions is making a difference in concussion-related injuries seen in the state.  The mandatory education was introduced two years ago through the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) and the Barrow Brainbook, and more than 180,000 Arizona high school athletes have completed the education.

The Arizona Cardinals along with Barrow and the AIA have launched a special concussion prevention video game for the very young athlete as well as highlighting a new AIA regulation for football practice with the aim of preventing head injuries in young athletes.

The video game called Barrow Brain Ball teaches children how to safely avoid collisions with other players and is an interactive game geared to children between the ages of eight and twelve.  The game was funded by the Fiesta Bowl, is free, and will be available soon for download to both Android and iPhones.

A new AIA regulation limits contact during football practice.  In pre-season, no more than half of practice time can be contact practice and during the regular season, no more than one-third of practice time can be contact practice.  The AIA feels this new rule will assist in reducing concussions and other brain injuries.

Two years ago, Arizona became the first state in the nation to mandate all male and female AIA high school athletes undergo concussion education and pass a formal test before play through Barrow Brainbook.  Barrow is also providing medical resources to AIA athletic trainers, pre-injury testing, post-injury treatment to athletes, and Barrow is conducting research on injured students, as well.

The President of the Arizona Cardinals, Michael Bidwill, said “Recognizing the high priority placed on safety in all sports, the Arizona Cardinals are proud to work alongside Barrow and the AIA to help protect young athletes.”  He added that he hopes other states will adopt these important initiatives and standards that Arizona has created.