February 7, 2011 – http://hilltimes.com/page/printpage/crosby-02-07-2011
By NDP MP GLENN THIBEAULT
Our nation has a storied history of amateur sporting achievements, with the record breaking gold medal performance by Canada’s athletes at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics serving as a unifying force in fostering the Canadian national identity. For years to come, Canadians across the country will remember where they were when Sidney Crosby scored the “Golden Goal” in the men’s hockey final.
In addition to its cultural importance, sports and physical recreation are a vital part of healthy living and an active lifestyle. Currently, more than 23 million Canadians actively participate in sport and physical activity, representing approximately 59 per cent of our population.
This number unfortunately also represents a 20 per cent decrease from the 1992 rates, coinciding with a rise in obesity rates over this interval.
However, recent research indicates that declining participation rates are not the only concern facing Canada’s sport community. In fact, the latest findings have revealed a silent epidemic of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. Of even greater concern is the rising incidence of these injuries and the cumulative and long-lasting effects they can have on memory, judgment, social conduct, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination.
“Post-concussion syndrome” involves a prolonged recovery phase, and sometimes even a life-long disability, during which symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, light and sound sensitivity, and memory and concentration impairment.
Even more worrisome is the evidence which suggests a strong causal relationship between an athlete sustaining multiple concussions and exhibiting Alzheimer-like symptoms. Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) occurs when an athlete sustains a second head injury prior to the first injury being resolved. Because the effects of SIS are even more devastating than a single concussion, coordinated action is needed to ensure that youth and amateur athletes are not negligently exposed to a second concussion while still recovering from the initial injury.
The effects which injuries of this type produce are not to be downplayed or marginalized. Rather, concussions can often have serious long term consequences for both the individual athlete involved, as well as on society more broadly through the substantial costs associated with treating the injured athlete. Athletes who have received multiple concussions often suffer from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) a term current research uses to describe the condition arising from multiple concussions. CTE is a condition most commonly found among boxers and can be characterized by a decline in mental and physical abilities which can include cognitive impairment, ataxia, behavioural changes, Parkinsonism and dementia.
Moreover, not only does recent research show the serious long term neurological effects sports derived concussions can have; it also demonstrates that the prevalence of these injuries is significantly higher than previously thought. The 2010 study by the Hockey Concussion Education Project concluded that concussion incidence rates for participants in amateur hockey were approximately seven times greater than the previously estimated rate. Clearly, we have merely hit the tip of the iceberg in our attempts to properly classify and curtail incidence rates of sport-related concussions.
While the full scope and severity of the concussion epidemic has begun to be revealed, federal government funding for sports injury research has actually declined. In fact, the Canadian Institute of Health Research saw its funding cut by 38 per cent in 2009/10. The reduction in funding for this type of important research is extremely discouraging. The research community and the public at large are just beginning to understand the far-reaching consequences of concussions. With incidents on the rise, we should be funding more research on the subject. In order to sustain future participation rates in amateur athletics in Canada, we need to show our nation’s athletic community that reducing sport related concussions is a priority.
Finally, in addition to the effects sport related concussions can have on the individual athlete; these types of injuries also constitute a substantial economic cost which has yet to be accurately tabulated. Smartrisk’s 2009 Economic Burden of Injuries Report found that being struck by sports equipment cost the Canadian health care system approximately $188-million in direct and indirect costs.
However, this only offers a snapshot of the economic impact as the report exclusively identifies hospital reported injuries and doesn’t account for all sports-related injuries. If one factors in unaccounted doctor’s visits, rehabilitation costs, and the spinoff costs faced by provincial education systems this figure would likely amount to billions of dollars in economic costs directly resulting from these serious types of sports injuries. In order to accurately gauge the economic costs shouldered by our health and education system as a direct result of serious sport related injuries a more expansive system of data collection is needed.
Prior to becoming involved in politics I worked with persons suffering from debilitating neurological injuries, while also volunteering my time as a local hockey referee.
Serving in these capacities, I have seen the long-term impact these types of injuries can have. I have also seen youth needlessly carted off the ice as a result of devastating injuries sustained during the course of a game. Having witnessed first-hand how these injuries occur, in addition to their long-term effects, I know it’s imperative that we take substantive action to reduce concussion incidence rates in amateur sports. The government can no longer be a spectator while our athletes sustain permanent and long lasting injuries. The time for a coordinated response is now.
This silent epidemic of sports incurred concussions and other serious injuries constitute a public health crisis which merits some form coordination from the federal government. This is the approach taken by the United States. Australia is another nation who has taken decisive action in this regard. The Oceanic country’s New South Wales Government established the Sports Research and Injury Prevention Scheme in 1991 to provide funding to support organizations and research institutions in their efforts to increase safer participation in sport and recreational activities. Canada should not be left behind.
We should learn from the action taken by the U.S. and Australia and establish our own method of addressing this serious concern. Canada’s amateur athletes should not be unduly placed in jeopardy by the threat of long term cognitive impairment stemming from an on-ice or on-field injury. It is imperative that we create a safe space for our children, within the context of promoting physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.
It’s time for the Conservative government to step up to the plate and recognize the severity of the concussion epidemic. To shrug off the issue by simply stating that youth athletes wear helmets, as Minister of State for Sport Gary Lunn did during Question Period in November, is irresponsible and ignores the severity and scope of the issue.
What is desperately needed is a formal consultation process which brings together stakeholders from the academic, medical and athletic communities, as well as provincial and territorial ministers of Health, with the federal government playing a facilitating role. Such a process would grant all stakeholders a voice in determining the most appropriate course of action to stem the growing public health crisis which sport-incurred concussions have become.
Bringing together all stakeholders for such a consultative process would allow us to better understand serious sports injuries and their implications, set up a comprehensive sports injury surveillance and monitoring system, put in place a sufficient deterrent mechanism for ensuring athletes are not prematurely exposed to a second concussion, raise public awareness on the severity and scope of the crisis, allow for the creation of a standardized injury prevention education program and most importantly, work towards implementing tangible solutions that address the stark realities which 21st century sports medicine has revealed.
NDP MP Glenn Thibeault, who represents Sudbury, Ont., is his party’s consumer protection and sport critic.
The Hill Times
