20 replies to this topic

[Krayzie_Bone]

http://sportshaze.co...ing-injury-1919

It appears that the concussion Colton Orr suffered on January 20 in a fight against Anaheim Ducks forward George Parros may be more serious than originally believed.

After speaking to multiple sources within the NHL, the severity of his head injury goes beyond typical concussion symptoms, and that Orr may be forced to decide whether or not he will, or even can, come back.

“It's really bad”, said one source last night. “He is definitely out for the rest of the season, and could be done for all of next season. Right now he is spending time with family and going over what is best for him and the future.”

Some are saying that it is not technically all based on this one particular concussion, but several that went undetected over the course of the past few seasons. One note that has been brought up is that he never missed a game with the Leafs up until the Parros fight, leading some to believe that he played through head injuries in order to keep his spot in the lineup.

Players who take on the role of a tough guy are known to lie about injuries in order to remain on the squad, stopping the team from calling up another player to fill in.

In 128 games with the Maple Leafs, Orr had 6 goals and 8 points, as well as 367 penalty minutes. He also fought 36 times wearing the blue and white.

Hope he doesent end up like Probert

Edited by Krayzie_Bone, 09 March 2011 - 11:22 AM.

[RusDRW]

just sad. He is one of those goons who could have a shift without compromising his team. I would even say "excellent goon" just like Probert was.

[edicius]

Dude's only 29. It's a damn shame.

[NeverForgetMac25]

You gotta wonder what, if anything physical sports leagues can do to diagnose concussions better without the players being able to lie. This is just a shame, brought on likely because Orr was scared of losing a spot in the NHL.

It's mostly on him, but a shame nonetheless.

[13dangledangle]

Dude's only 29. It's a damn shame.

Thats what I was just thinking, I know four different guys from my small little town who are currently getting Orr jerseys made up. Hes a great guy and I hope comes back as strong as ever.

[HankthaTank]

Concussions are a scary scary thing. Remember Mule's continuing headaches back in the playoffs? You just never know how a certain person will react. Wish him the best.

[WorkingOvertime]

You gotta wonder what, if anything physical sports leagues can do to diagnose concussions better without the players being able to lie. This is just a shame, brought on likely because Orr was scared of losing a spot in the NHL.

It's mostly on him, but a shame nonetheless.

Mostly on him? I don't think you can blame this on him. When you get punched in the face weekly it is probably difficult to determine when you have a concussion and not other, less significant injuries. If you watch his fights, he rarely looks concussed at the end.

I hope Orr can recover and play again. He is my favorite current enforcer and hopefully his time hasn't passed.

[commadore183]

You gotta wonder what, if anything physical sports leagues can do to diagnose concussions better without the players being able to lie. This is just a shame, brought on likely because Orr was scared of losing a spot in the NHL.

It's mostly on him, but a shame nonetheless.

Here's an article on what the NFL is doing in regards to concussions:
New Test Helps NFL Teams Detect Concussions

And here's the website for the ImPACT test:
ImPACT Testing and Computerized Neurocognitive Assement Tools

And here's what I said a few weeks ago about how the NHL/the teams can better detect concussions during games.

[Konnan511]

You gotta wonder what, if anything physical sports leagues can do to diagnose concussions better without the players being able to lie. This is just a shame, brought on likely because Orr was scared of losing a spot in the NHL.

It's mostly on him, but a shame nonetheless.

There are a lot of tests that a player has to go through from cognitive to pupil to reactionary tests. But if a player is able to pass all those they still go through brain wave scans. But it's when they pass those and still have headaches and the athlete either lies and says they don't have them or, since they are professional athletes and probably ache all over all the time, they think it's normal and don't think it's worth mentioning. SIS is very serious, and it seems to be what has put Crosby on the shelf. Getting a concussion while still having symptoms of a concussion are very life threatening, not only literally, but also the way of life.

[cjm502]

just sad. He is one of those goons who could have a shift without compromising his team. I would even say "excellent goon" just like Probert was.

Okay, lets not get carried away. Probie was 10x the fighter Orr is and he was a damn good player too. He made the all star team one year (with a little help from Stevie Y) but that still says something.

[NeverForgetMac25]

Mostly on him? I don't think you can blame this on him. When you get punched in the face weekly it is probably difficult to determine when you have a concussion and not other, less significant injuries. If you watch his fights, he rarely looks concussed at the end.

I hope Orr can recover and play again. He is my favorite current enforcer and hopefully his time hasn't passed.

Far too many times enforcers at the NHL level will tell doctors they're symptom-free simply to get back on the ice. As for enforcers who are marginal NHL'ers talent-wise, its way worse. While Orr may not have known the severity of what he was dealing with, I highly doubt he felt like a ray of sunshine the past few years.

Brashear wrote about this a few years ago and basically outlined how often fighters outright lie to get clearance to play. That's why I said, "likely" brought on by Orr, not "only." It doesn't mean he wasn't a part of his ill-fate, because I'd be willing to bet he was.

Now all that said, I still believe the NHL needs to follow suit with the NFL in their heightened testing, further work to find ways to better and more effectively diagnose and potentially use the ImPact system commadore183 posted about.

[NeverForgetMac25]

There are a lot of tests that a player has to go through from cognitive to pupil to reactionary tests. But if a player is able to pass all those they still go through brain wave scans. But it's when they pass those and still have headaches and the athlete either lies and says they don't have them or, since they are professional athletes and probably ache all over all the time, they think it's normal and don't think it's worth mentioning. SIS is very serious, and it seems to be what has put Crosby on the shelf. Getting a concussion while still having symptoms of a concussion are very life threatening, not only literally, but also the way of life.

This is exactly what I'm referring too. If they can put Crosby on the shelf for this long, there's no reason everyone in the league shouldn't be examined just as thoroughly. If guys like Orr (whether he withheld what he was feeling or wasn't aware of it at all) can be suffering from concussion cases for the past few years and it goes undiagnosed until now, it shows the league needs to take their testing of all players (from talent-top to bottom) more seriously.

[wingslogo19]

This is really sad to hear, hope he can recover even if he never plays hockey again. His health is far more important than to play again

[commadore183]

With the millions and millions of dollars that the NHL teams pay for their players, you would think they would get the most out of their investments by making sure they are as healthy as they can be during the length of their contract. They would be doing a huge disservice to their team's success, their finances and to their fans by not doing all they can to ensure their players can play as many games as they can. But, what makes it so hard is that, despite decades of research, we still don't have a damn idea about how the human brain reacts to injuries, especially concussions.

People react and recover from concussions differently from person to person, and there are so many factors into 1) how severe a concussion can be and 2) how they recover; it's not like a broken leg when you know when the bone has regrown and repaired itself (usually 4-6 weeks or so), but with a concussion, you might as well use a dartboard to determine when they will recover, if at all. Obviously, being young (like Crosby) has a chance of returning to his old form after two confirmed concussions (who knows how many he has sustained not only in his NHL career, but his entire hockey playing life), but with Orr, despite being in his 20s, has had (apparently) multiple concussions in a short period of time, and that's going to mess him up not only now, but further down in his life.

The money that will go towards his health care later in life would most likely be much, much more than what Orr makes. Everyone would benefit in the long run when the teams better manage with concussed players, and when the player drop that bulls*** "macho" attitude when it comes to their health, especially in regards to concussions.

What I posted here would be a good starting point for discussions in the NHL on how to detect concussions during a game.

[Detroit # 1 Fan]

Terrible news. Orr was one of those goons who could play the game, I loved whenever he'd play Pittsburgh because he'd be nailing Crosby with clean checks everytime he could. Damn shame, wish him all the best.

[dropkickshanahans]

Speaking of concussions, there's a Bill Simmons podcast still up on the main page of ESPN where he talks to Chris Nowinski for an hour about concussions. Pretty informative. Chris really gets on how parents should really monitor their kids in youth sports, or avoid the risk altogether, as the possibilities of suffering a concussion would be worse for a less developed youth's brain than a fully developed brain (as we've all seen how dangerous it still is, for example Orr and Crosby) and how that can really affect that person later in life.

They also mention how they believe Chris Benoit's concussions probably had a lot more to do with him freaking out one day and murdering his family, then killing himself, than the steroids usage that the media determined.

Another tidbit-- I guess soccer has a very high concussion rate, behind American football and boxing, due to the headers players take during games and in practice. Taking headers always hurt like hell for me when I played and I was always reluctant to take them (would rather chest it down then take a kick) and I always wondered how they could do it consistently being that professionals kick a hell of a lot harder than high schoolers ever could.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

Wish him the best and hope to see him back on the ice. One of the toughest players in today's game.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

The Toronto sun is reporting Orr could be back by the end of the season. Supposedly he's been symptom-free for a good amount of time. Good for him and hope to see him back

[Crymson]

They also mention how they believe Chris Benoit's concussions probably had a lot more to do with him freaking out one day and murdering his family, then killing himself, than the steroids usage that the media determined.

His brain was a hash. The neurosurgeon who did the autopsy said it resembled that of an 80 year-old with severe dementia.

[WorkingOvertime]

The Toronto sun is reporting Orr could be back by the end of the season. Supposedly he's been symptom-free for a good amount of time. Good for him and hope to see him back

Doubt he'll be back unless the Leafs start losing again. This is great news and I hope he can come back full time next season and be injury free.