NFL News and Rumors: League Will Study the Rise in Diagnosed Concussions in 2015
The NFL released information on Friday showing the rise of diagnosed concussions in the league this season, with the increase specifically detailed at almost 32 percent. This increase proves that the league's strict concussion protocol has been successfully carried out but at the same time showcases that the problem is not close to being solved.
The figure released by the NFL for 2015 was 271, including all those reported incidents in the preseason and regular season, as well as practices in training camp. This number is alarming because the previous two years were low, with 2014 having 206 cases and 2013 with 229. The same report revealed that the number of reported concussions during regular season games increased by 58 percent from 2014 to last year. That increase is the highest in four years.
The official report was made by Quintiles Injury Surveillance and Analytics. Speaking in behalf of the NFL, senior vice president of health and safety policy Jeff Miller said that they will be conducting a comprehensive study to determine what may have caused the increase in the incidence of head injuries in the recently concluded season. Although he did not elaborate on how the study will be done and who will become part of it, he at least mentioned some possible explanations such as the doubling in the number of players screened for possible concussions, which of course is attributed by the stricter concussion protocol the league instituted in 2012.
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Likewise, other possible causes include the sudden increase on the number of players reporting signs of concussions, as well as the fact that more people are becoming more active in helping identify if a player is indeed suffering from a concussion.
It should be interesting to see what kind of conclusion the league can come up with after the study is made. Obviously, the game is played in such a way that concussions are so difficult to prevent. Perhaps the focus will be more on the efficient identification in actual games.
