|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Spearing Football's dirty tackle a dangerous game to play
A "spear," according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is a weapon consisting of a long shaft with a sharply pointed head. In football terms, that's the human body with a helmet. "Spearing," in football, happens when players collide with their opponents, head first, using the helmet as a weapon. Helmets are designed to absorb energy and to prevent soft tissue and skeletal injury to the skull. Even the best fitting helmet will not prevent the brain from moving around inside the skull. A player should not be fooled into thinking that wearing a helmet makes him invincible. Helmets do not prevent neck injuries. And neck injuries can be serious business. They can result in sprains, strains, fractures, dislocations, subluxations and even complete tears of the spinal cord. Only X-rays can rule out a spinal injury. A player who experiences an injury and has an altered mental state, complaining of neck pain or tenderness or any type of tingling into the arms should be stabilized and transported to the hospital. Many of these types of injuries in football, rugby and hockey are avoidable. A catastrophic injury involving the cervical spine is not a freak injury. It is preventable. In football, it has to do with a player's tackling technique. When a tackler's head is up and back, it has a natural curve to the cervical spine, which helps dissipate the force of the tackle. But when the head is tucked down and bent forward, the spine straightens out and looks exactly like a spear. The spinal cord cannot handle the force placed upon the spine. The act of the player lowering his head when making contact causes what is known as "axial loading," or pressure on or along an axis. The result can be a fractured or dislocated cervical spine. The spinal cord gets crumpled between the head and the body and the result can be paralysis or quadriplegia. This type of injury is a medical emergency. In 1976 there were 35 deaths due to head and neck injuries. This forced the NCAA and the National Federation and State Association of Football Rules to change their rules involving the way a player can tackle. The NCAA changed their rules in reading:
The National Federation of State Association of Football Rules made these changes:
There has been a dramatic decrease in catastrophic cervical spine injuries over the past 20 years, from 35 in 1976 to an average of 5-10 for the past four years. It also should be recognized that 80 percent of these injuries occur to defensive players when they are making tackles. They are at greater risk because of the demands of the position. The responsibility for preventing these catastrophic injuries rests on athletic trainers and coaches who must teach proper tackling technique. The responsibility also rests on the players, who have to listen. And some responsibility rests with the officials in enforcing the rules. Finally, for youth leagues, it is up to the parents to monitor the coaches, athletic trainers, their children and the officials to ensure that any tackling technique exposing the player to this type of injury is not tolerated. Note: A physical ailment cannot be properly evaluated without a full medical examination by a licensed physician. The above is not represented to be a substitute for such and examination. The PFATS and CNNSI.com recommend and encourage you to consult with a physician before beginning any course of treatment for any physical ailment.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
