by Archie

Created on: December 04, 2009

National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell issued a ruling Wednesday which declares regulations regarding concussions. The new policy states players cannot return to football activities, either during practice or game time, if they have suffered or show symptoms of a concussion.

According to the policy change:

"Once removed for the duration of a practice or game, the player should not be considered for return-to-football activities until he is fully asymptotic, both at rest and after exertion, has a normal neurological examination, normal neuropsychological testing, and has been cleared to return by both his team physician(s) and the independent neurological consultant." [...]

The policy becomes effective immediately.

This season has seen a barrage of head injuries around the league. Right now, two starters for the Philadelphia Eagles, RB Brian Westbrook and WR DeSean Jackson, are sidelined due to concussions. Westbrook suffered two concussions in just three weeks this season, and now could be sidelined indefinitely. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger suffered a concussion just over a week ago, and will be allowed to play this Sunday after sitting out one game. But athletes must return to football activities with caution.

Players commonly mislead team physicians and coaches with the full extent of their own injuries, if not for any other reason that they do not want their job taken by someone else. If a player can disguise his symptoms from team doctors, then doctors have plausible deniability in properly diagnosing and treating that player's condition. This is a culture problem in the NFL that must change.

The players are the real people in control. So often, they do not give full disclosure of their symptoms or injuries to team physicians and coaches. Instead, the mentality is to play through injury, play through pain.

A study done by the NFL showed that in four seasons from 2000-03, there was an average of 100 concussions reported per year. Although, that number is debatable, being that most teams only report about half of all head injuries

The risk of further head injuries statistically gets higher after the first concussion is suffered. Many studies have been done, much to the dismay of the NFL, that show a direct relationship between concussion victims who later suffer from severe depression and even Alzheimer's disease. For year's, NFL regulators have overlooked health problems of players. Injuries were often written off as "part of

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