A recent study conducted by researchers from U of T and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute suggests that athletes who suffer a concussion are susceptible to bouts of depression during the recovery process. Published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, the survey found that concussed athletes were not emotionally different from their peers prior to the injury, but were more depressed and confused than their uninjured teammates afterwards.
Concussions are often dubbed “the invisible injury” because the damage occurs within the brain itself. The impacts of concussions are cumulative, and each subsequent concussion significantly increases an athletes’ risk of permanent brain damage-not only potentially ending a career, but also impacting everyday life. In spite of this, the competitive nature of athletes means that they are often willing to take serious risks to continue to perform at the top of their sport.
In contact sports, such as boxing, hockey and football, severe concussions often result in post-concussion syndrome whereby nausea, loss of balance, headaches, and blurred vision prohibit athletes from returning to competition. Mark Bruner, a leading researcher from the University of Saskatchewan’s Sport Psychology program, said that an athletes’ frustration in dealing with these symptoms is a contributing factor to post- concussion depression.
“Unlike a conventional physical injury, such as a torn or strained muscle, athletes can’t see a concussion, making it much more difficult to measure [the] rehabilitation progress. All athletes care about is competing, and that’s all they focus on-it’s part of their identity. Across amateur and professional ranks, athletes identify themselves with their sport and therefore the transition out of sport, due to injury, is very difficult and frustrating.
“Athletes recovering from concussions need to understand there is no set timeline for a full recovery. They need to focus on daily successes and set realistic goals.”
Lynda Mainwaring, a registered psychologist and associate professor in U of T’s Faculty of Physical Education and Health says that “emotional changes that result from brain injuries may help us determine when people are completely healed from a concussion.”
However, Ashwin Patel, leading researcher at the University of Tennessee and radio co-host of ESPN’s Mental Edge, points out an alarming trend that has implications for Mainwaring’s research. “Because of the physical nature of sports, players may feel obligated to ‘tough it out,’ and ignore the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome. Players prematurely claiming to be 100 per cent because of [the] pressure to perform not only run the risk of further injury upon their return, but also create anomalies in concussion recovery research.”
Both Patel and Bruner agree, the question of “Will I be able to play again?” creates fear and anxiety among athletes. “An athlete is left in a precarious situation, one where they have no control,” says Patel. “They experience bouts of dizziness and confusion. They can become nauseous, have seizures and lose consciousness. This would leave any individual, let alone an athlete in peak physical condition, feeling confused, scared and/or depressed.”
The study brings to light one of the problems with modern professional sports. According to Patel, part of the problem is that “athletes are simply bigger, stronger and more physical now than they were in the past, but the playing fields in the four major sports have virtually stayed the same size.”
The evolution of safety equipment may also be partially responsible for the increased number of concussions in sports.
“For example,” Bruner says, “hockey elbow pads used to be a simple, leather padded accessory. Today, most elbow pads have a hard plastic piece to protect the player’s joints. The feeling of added security with stronger equipment is potentially responsible for more reckless and careless behaviour among our athletes in contact sports such as hockey.”
Despite the long-standing traditions of our national pastime, the rise in concussions in the NHL is cause for concern. Proposals to increase the rink size in an effort to reduce the number of violent collisions between players and the boards have been met with strong opposition by franchise owners fearing revenue loss. However, over the past ten years, highly publicized head injuries suffered by some of the league’s top players, including Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, and Mike Conroy, have had an impact on the game.
As Patel notes, “the NHL has done a pretty good job trying to alleviate the problem by installing more forgiving boards and glass. In addition, they have begun to enforce the use of tighter chinstraps and more protective helmets.”
However, for some players, like Lindros and Kariya, the damage has already been done. Patel and Bruner insist that both players should be wary of doctors’ warnings that the next big hit could lead to permanent brain damage. Aggressive, hard-grinding players may need to transform the style that put them among the league’s best to play more conservatively to minimize the risk of another potentially career-ending concussion.
