Our new rehabilitation space geared towards young athletes to help simulate their sports environment opened today at the Children's Specialty Care Center in Town and Country. We were featured on KSDK as shown below
http://www.ksdk.com/article/sports/young-athlete-center-opening-at-st-louis-childrens-hospital/63-493042119
Monday, November 20, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
What does the recent CTE study mean for your young football player?
What does the recent CTE study mean for your young football player?
by Mark Halstead, MD (Director, Sports Concussion Clinic & Medical Director, Young Athlete Center)
A recent study that was published in the medical journal JAMA entitled "Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football" by Dr. Jesse Mez and colleagues at Boston University once again elevated the attention of the nation to ever growing concerns about the sport of American football. I witnessed report after report published online and featured on news and sports networks about this article and I felt it was necessary to talk the readers of this blog through it a bit to give you a hopefully balanced perspective about what this study tells us, what it doesn't tell us, some take away points and hopefully where we all need to go from here.
First, this study is a case series. What that means is a group of individuals with a known condition, in this case patients who were exposed to the sport of American football, had their brains evaluated after they died and were evaluated for a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also commonly referred to as CTE. This is not a type of study that is often referred to as the gold standard study called a randomized controlled trial, where a group of patients are chosen randomly so that one person would play football, the other does not and then follow them to address who ends up with CTE down the road. Obviously this type of study is not practical for this type of condition as it would take an extremely long time to do as we'd have to wait until all the players died and hopefully keep any other variables that could account for CTE to a minimum. Another type of study that would be preferred and more practical is a case controlled study where we compare the brains of individuals(ideally with similar age/sex/race, etc) who had exposure to football and others that did not and see how many of each group have CTE. That also was not how this study was done. Because of that, it limits some of the conclusions we can draw about the findings in the study.
So what is CTE? CTE is a condition where there is an abnormal accumulation of tau protein in specific areas in the brain. It actually took until 2015 for a consensus group sponsored by the National Institute of Health to come up with an agreed upon definition of what actually defines CTE from trauma itself. Why is this important? Well, there are several other medical conditions out there that can build up tau in the brain including the commonly known problem called Alzheimer's disease. Interestingly a recent study in 2016 also found abnormal tau in the brains of patients with epilepsy, which is a condition where the patient suffers from seizures, in individuals as young as 4 months! If we don't have a way of distinguishing these conditions from each other, then it is much harder to determine potential cause and effect.
The modern day definition of CTE has been referred to by other names in the past, such as dementia pugilistica and the punch-drunk syndrome, and was first described and studied in boxers. It has only been in the last decade or so that attention has been raised about this condition existing in other athletes. I bring this up as this problem has been known for close to 100 years and I certainly do not deny it's existence. The problem we currently have is that we can only diagnose CTE after someone has died. This means we also currently don't have a way to determine that if someone who is suffering from a particular problem or symptom while they are alive, whether or not that is related to potential CTE findings in their brain, or something else and I will come back to this a bit later.
So what about the findings of the study itself? First, 81% of the brains examined in this study were obtained through the next of kin approaching the Brain Bank around the time of death. I will come back to this when we talk about the results affecting those who only played high school football. Second, the group obtained information about concussion history primarily through information provided by the next of kin through questionnaires. This may limit some of the accuracy of the data information from the history that was obtained. Certainly I've been involved with many patients who provide one story of the events and a family member may provide a very different interpretation. Third, the study talks about discrepancies in the interpretation of the brain findings were solved by discussion and consensus of the group. We don't actually know how many cases there were that resulted in discussions. If it is high, that could be concerning, and would lend itself to the consideration of an outside independent evaluator.
So the focus in the media was the fact that CTE was found in 110 of 111 (99%) of former NFL players, 48 of 53 (91%) of college players, 7 of 8 (88%) of former CFL players, and 9 of 14 (64%) of semiprofessional players. These were all players who played at a minimum of one game in that level of sport and that was the highest level of sport attained. Obviously those are some eye-popping statistics.
However, in the age group I deal with the most, high school aged athletes and under, CTE was found in only 3 of 14 (21%) of individuals who did not play beyond high school. In these former players, the 3 that were found to have CTE all had the mildest form. In those that stopped play prior to high school, none (0 of 2) were found to have CTE.
Why is this important? First, this would imply that 4 out of 5 players who play football through the high school level are unlikely to develop CTE, and if so, it is the mildest form possible. Granted, these are small numbers when looking at these statistics (only 14 total patients) but likely that 21% they found with mild CTE is likely lower since this was a self selected sample.
The frightening thing to me about this finding is not the high number who did NOT have findings of CTE. The concern to me is that 11 of 14 of individuals in this study likely had their brains donated because the family had concerns the person had CTE, yet they didn't. Why is that important? It means that the vast majority of these individuals likely had some other condition, very likely a common mental health issue such as depression or anxiety, that was likely not recognized, not evaluated, not treated, or attributed to being CTE. We have created great fear in this country about the prospects of getting CTE by playing football or having had concussions. I routinely hear former athletes saying they have CTE, including young athletes. My concern is we have created a problem where former athletes who had concussions now are thinking all of their problems are because of possible CTE or their concussions, and in reality they may have depression or anxiety or some other mental health issue and are avoiding evaluation or treatment. We already have a problem with mental health issues being a large stigma to patients and especially athletes seeing it as a sign of weakness and denying it. We also have a huge discrepancy in health care coverage and access to mental health professionals to patients in this country.
So I don't want this to be something that people feel I am endorsing football or the NFL. I am not. I am also NOT saying that you cannot get mental health issues or problems from repetitive head trauma. It is possible. But perspective is needed by all. I also am NOT endorsing tackle football in young athletes. I am of the belief tackle football is not the best option for kids under 12.
I would let my boys play if they wanted to (currently they don't). Football is a violent sport and many kids do get hurt, as they do in other sports. Some sustain serious orthopedic injuries, some sustain concussions. But I also have young patients doing extreme sports, riding bulls, participating in motocross (before they can legally get a drivers license), and there are high risks there as well. I could easily pick on those sports as much as is done with football. But those sports aren't on TV multiple days a week in the fall garnering billions of dollars in revenue. So I get the attention to football.
Some other concerning/interesting parts of the study....
1.The patients with mild CTE were 5 times more likely to die from suicide than those with the most severe form of CTE. Why? That doesn't make sense with what is talked about with this condition.
2. The most severe form of CTE was found in those that started football at an older age (10-14) than those with the mildest form (8-14). Raises doubt to the studies that have argued that younger starts of football are more concerning. This finding doesn't make a lot of sense unless those with mild CTE stopped football earlier and just didn't have the continued exposure. Clearly this study implies a significant dose response to developing CTE.
3. There were a much higher number of former military veterans in the severe CTE group (30%) compared to only 11% in the mild CTE group. Probably some coexisting contribution from military exposure such as blast injuries. The military has been investigating traumatic brain injury as much as is done in the sports world.
4. Those with the mildest CTE died at an average age of 44, those with severe CTE died at and average age 71. Wait...what? We know that tau deposition can increase with age. That may account for some of that. But why are patients with mild CTE dying, on average 3 decades sooner than those with severe CTE. In fact, the study broke the CTE into stages and those found to have CTE stage 1 (the mildest form) died, on average, at age 36....stage 2 at age 49, stage 3 at age 67 and stage 4, the most severe, at age 76! Compelling and interesting data.
5. The study found behavioral or mood symptoms at a slightly higher rate (96%) in the mild CTE group than the severe CTE group (89%).
6. Substance abuse disorders were present in 67% of patients with findings of mild CTE.
So what to take away from this. Your likelihood of developing CTE if you only play football through high school is low, and if you develop CTE it is mild. We still don't know what the CTE findings actually mean for that person while they are alive. If mild CTE patients are 5 times more likely to commit suicide, is it because of the CTE, or because of fear of the having the problem, or from something else. We don't know. We still have a lot more research to do about this condition. We still have a culture to change of getting kids to stop playing through possible concussions and coaches/parents/athletes recognizing that their own health is more important in the long run than the game in which they are participating. Thanks for reading.
Note: The above post is the opinion and interpretation by Dr. Mark Halstead of this recent study and does not reflect the opinion of all physicians at St Louis Children's Hospital or the Young Athlete Center.
by Mark Halstead, MD (Director, Sports Concussion Clinic & Medical Director, Young Athlete Center)
A recent study that was published in the medical journal JAMA entitled "Clinicopathological Evaluation of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Players of American Football" by Dr. Jesse Mez and colleagues at Boston University once again elevated the attention of the nation to ever growing concerns about the sport of American football. I witnessed report after report published online and featured on news and sports networks about this article and I felt it was necessary to talk the readers of this blog through it a bit to give you a hopefully balanced perspective about what this study tells us, what it doesn't tell us, some take away points and hopefully where we all need to go from here.
First, this study is a case series. What that means is a group of individuals with a known condition, in this case patients who were exposed to the sport of American football, had their brains evaluated after they died and were evaluated for a condition known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also commonly referred to as CTE. This is not a type of study that is often referred to as the gold standard study called a randomized controlled trial, where a group of patients are chosen randomly so that one person would play football, the other does not and then follow them to address who ends up with CTE down the road. Obviously this type of study is not practical for this type of condition as it would take an extremely long time to do as we'd have to wait until all the players died and hopefully keep any other variables that could account for CTE to a minimum. Another type of study that would be preferred and more practical is a case controlled study where we compare the brains of individuals(ideally with similar age/sex/race, etc) who had exposure to football and others that did not and see how many of each group have CTE. That also was not how this study was done. Because of that, it limits some of the conclusions we can draw about the findings in the study.
So what is CTE? CTE is a condition where there is an abnormal accumulation of tau protein in specific areas in the brain. It actually took until 2015 for a consensus group sponsored by the National Institute of Health to come up with an agreed upon definition of what actually defines CTE from trauma itself. Why is this important? Well, there are several other medical conditions out there that can build up tau in the brain including the commonly known problem called Alzheimer's disease. Interestingly a recent study in 2016 also found abnormal tau in the brains of patients with epilepsy, which is a condition where the patient suffers from seizures, in individuals as young as 4 months! If we don't have a way of distinguishing these conditions from each other, then it is much harder to determine potential cause and effect.
The modern day definition of CTE has been referred to by other names in the past, such as dementia pugilistica and the punch-drunk syndrome, and was first described and studied in boxers. It has only been in the last decade or so that attention has been raised about this condition existing in other athletes. I bring this up as this problem has been known for close to 100 years and I certainly do not deny it's existence. The problem we currently have is that we can only diagnose CTE after someone has died. This means we also currently don't have a way to determine that if someone who is suffering from a particular problem or symptom while they are alive, whether or not that is related to potential CTE findings in their brain, or something else and I will come back to this a bit later.
So what about the findings of the study itself? First, 81% of the brains examined in this study were obtained through the next of kin approaching the Brain Bank around the time of death. I will come back to this when we talk about the results affecting those who only played high school football. Second, the group obtained information about concussion history primarily through information provided by the next of kin through questionnaires. This may limit some of the accuracy of the data information from the history that was obtained. Certainly I've been involved with many patients who provide one story of the events and a family member may provide a very different interpretation. Third, the study talks about discrepancies in the interpretation of the brain findings were solved by discussion and consensus of the group. We don't actually know how many cases there were that resulted in discussions. If it is high, that could be concerning, and would lend itself to the consideration of an outside independent evaluator.
So the focus in the media was the fact that CTE was found in 110 of 111 (99%) of former NFL players, 48 of 53 (91%) of college players, 7 of 8 (88%) of former CFL players, and 9 of 14 (64%) of semiprofessional players. These were all players who played at a minimum of one game in that level of sport and that was the highest level of sport attained. Obviously those are some eye-popping statistics.
However, in the age group I deal with the most, high school aged athletes and under, CTE was found in only 3 of 14 (21%) of individuals who did not play beyond high school. In these former players, the 3 that were found to have CTE all had the mildest form. In those that stopped play prior to high school, none (0 of 2) were found to have CTE.
Why is this important? First, this would imply that 4 out of 5 players who play football through the high school level are unlikely to develop CTE, and if so, it is the mildest form possible. Granted, these are small numbers when looking at these statistics (only 14 total patients) but likely that 21% they found with mild CTE is likely lower since this was a self selected sample.
The frightening thing to me about this finding is not the high number who did NOT have findings of CTE. The concern to me is that 11 of 14 of individuals in this study likely had their brains donated because the family had concerns the person had CTE, yet they didn't. Why is that important? It means that the vast majority of these individuals likely had some other condition, very likely a common mental health issue such as depression or anxiety, that was likely not recognized, not evaluated, not treated, or attributed to being CTE. We have created great fear in this country about the prospects of getting CTE by playing football or having had concussions. I routinely hear former athletes saying they have CTE, including young athletes. My concern is we have created a problem where former athletes who had concussions now are thinking all of their problems are because of possible CTE or their concussions, and in reality they may have depression or anxiety or some other mental health issue and are avoiding evaluation or treatment. We already have a problem with mental health issues being a large stigma to patients and especially athletes seeing it as a sign of weakness and denying it. We also have a huge discrepancy in health care coverage and access to mental health professionals to patients in this country.
So I don't want this to be something that people feel I am endorsing football or the NFL. I am not. I am also NOT saying that you cannot get mental health issues or problems from repetitive head trauma. It is possible. But perspective is needed by all. I also am NOT endorsing tackle football in young athletes. I am of the belief tackle football is not the best option for kids under 12.
I would let my boys play if they wanted to (currently they don't). Football is a violent sport and many kids do get hurt, as they do in other sports. Some sustain serious orthopedic injuries, some sustain concussions. But I also have young patients doing extreme sports, riding bulls, participating in motocross (before they can legally get a drivers license), and there are high risks there as well. I could easily pick on those sports as much as is done with football. But those sports aren't on TV multiple days a week in the fall garnering billions of dollars in revenue. So I get the attention to football.
Some other concerning/interesting parts of the study....
1.The patients with mild CTE were 5 times more likely to die from suicide than those with the most severe form of CTE. Why? That doesn't make sense with what is talked about with this condition.
2. The most severe form of CTE was found in those that started football at an older age (10-14) than those with the mildest form (8-14). Raises doubt to the studies that have argued that younger starts of football are more concerning. This finding doesn't make a lot of sense unless those with mild CTE stopped football earlier and just didn't have the continued exposure. Clearly this study implies a significant dose response to developing CTE.
3. There were a much higher number of former military veterans in the severe CTE group (30%) compared to only 11% in the mild CTE group. Probably some coexisting contribution from military exposure such as blast injuries. The military has been investigating traumatic brain injury as much as is done in the sports world.
4. Those with the mildest CTE died at an average age of 44, those with severe CTE died at and average age 71. Wait...what? We know that tau deposition can increase with age. That may account for some of that. But why are patients with mild CTE dying, on average 3 decades sooner than those with severe CTE. In fact, the study broke the CTE into stages and those found to have CTE stage 1 (the mildest form) died, on average, at age 36....stage 2 at age 49, stage 3 at age 67 and stage 4, the most severe, at age 76! Compelling and interesting data.
5. The study found behavioral or mood symptoms at a slightly higher rate (96%) in the mild CTE group than the severe CTE group (89%).
6. Substance abuse disorders were present in 67% of patients with findings of mild CTE.
So what to take away from this. Your likelihood of developing CTE if you only play football through high school is low, and if you develop CTE it is mild. We still don't know what the CTE findings actually mean for that person while they are alive. If mild CTE patients are 5 times more likely to commit suicide, is it because of the CTE, or because of fear of the having the problem, or from something else. We don't know. We still have a lot more research to do about this condition. We still have a culture to change of getting kids to stop playing through possible concussions and coaches/parents/athletes recognizing that their own health is more important in the long run than the game in which they are participating. Thanks for reading.
Note: The above post is the opinion and interpretation by Dr. Mark Halstead of this recent study and does not reflect the opinion of all physicians at St Louis Children's Hospital or the Young Athlete Center.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Clavicle Fractures in Adolescents: Big Kids or Little Adults?
By Jeffrey J. Nepple
Summer brings great opportunities for children and
adolescents to be active outdoors.
Whether it be sports camps or exploring outdoors on their bike, many
sports injuries are most common during the summer. Clavicle (also known as collarbone) fractures
are among the most common type of fractures in adolescents. Most commonly these injuries are the result
of falling directly on the shoulder (picture flying over the front of your
bike’s handlebars) or trying to catch yourself after a similar accident. Breaking your clavicle generally causes
fairly severe pain initially are often leads to a trip to an injury clinic or
emergency room that day. The clavicle is
located very close to vital structures including the lung, large blood vessels,
and important nerves. Shortness of
breath (difficulty and breathing) or numbness or weakness in your arm would be
a reason to seek immediate medical care.
 |
| Top. An adolescent patient with a displaced left clavicle mid-shaft fracture. Bottom. Same patient treated non-surgically, 3 months after the initial injury. The white substance between the two ends of the clavicle is new bone formation, indicating healing of the fracture. |
The treatment of clavicle fractures is currently a very
controversial topic. Traditionally,
clavicle fractures have always been treated conservatively, or without surgery,
except for rare circumstances. Recent
studies have questioned if everyone with a clavicle fracture really does as
well as once thought. Although rare in
children and adolescents, 5-10% of displaced clavicle fractures fail to heal
(nonunion) in adults. Severe clavicle
fractures often result in significant overlap (shortening) due to the muscular
forces on the fracture fragments, and in some cases prominence on the overlying
skin. This overlap of fracture fragments
does not change during healing (termed malunion) and is generally permanent
since the clavicle (unlike many other bones) has limited remodeling potential. While many patients have no problems with
this shortening, recent studies demonstrate that when the overlap is greater
than 2 cm in adults, issues including pain and shoulder weakness are commonly
present. Surgical treatment with a plate
and screw generally restores the anatomy of the clavicle, but also has
potential rare complications. These
landmarks studies have swung the pendulum towards treating clavicle fractures
with surgery in adults.
 | |
| Top. An adolescent patient with a displaced left mid-shaft clavicle fracture. Bottom. The same patient with a surgically reduced clavicle using a plate and screws. |
However, these studies fail to inform our decisions in
children and adolescents. Are children
and adolescents just “little adults” and should be treated similarly? Should we be more or less likely to treat
them with surgery? We really don’t know
….. yet. Ongoing research may someday answer
that question. Washington University and
Young Athlete Center providers are currently recruiting 10 to 18 year old
patients with clavicle fractures to answer this question as part of a large
multicenter study. The study will track
the outcomes of patients regardless which treatment the patient, family, and
physician decide on. It will likely take
thousands of clavicle fractures to answer these questions and tell us what the
ideal treatment of clavicle fractures is in the young athlete. The good news is we are only a few years
away!
Monday, August 8, 2016
Combating Dehydration and Heat Illness
by Terra Blatnik, MD
August is usually the month where fall sports kick
into high gear. Kids return from summer
vacation and are immediately thrown into very high intensity activities that
often happen in very hot temperatures.
Everyone always dreads “two-a-day” practices! These aren’t as common as they used to be but
still occur in some sports. The addition
of high levels of activity and hot temperatures can put kids at risk for
dehydration and heat illness. It is
important for parents and coaches to be aware of how to best keep young
athletes hydrated and to recognize the signs of heat injury.
Here are a few tips for hydration for all athletes,
young and old:
- Hydrate before, during, and after! Getting in enough fluid during all of these times is key. Athletes should begin hydrating several hours before practice or games. They should have a water bottle handy or access to water during practices and drink every 15-20 minutes. After practice or games, the goal is to replace all of the fluid that was lost. A good rule of thumb is 20-24 oz for every pound lost.
- Water is the best choice if activity is less than 60 minutes—Activities under 60 minutes do not deplete electrolytes enough to require a sports drink like Gatorade. If practice or games go beyond the one hour mark, you can use an electrolyte/carbohydrate containing drinks to replace these electrolytes and sugars.
- Rehydrate between activities—It is important that if kids are involved in two-a-days or have different sports on the same day that they need to be fully rehydrated before starting that second practice. Starting a second practice without recovering from the first one can lead to further dehydration, poor performance, cramping, etc.
The first few days of practice in the heat are
usually the hardest and put your athlete most at risk for heat illness (i.e.
heat related cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke). It is best to gradually increase activity in
hot temperatures so that the body can get adapted. Proper hydration is important and it can also
be helpful for kids to wear loose fitting, light colored, and moisture wicking
clothing.
Most importantly, coaches, parents, and athletes
need to understand and recognize the early signs of heat illness so that they
can treat these young athletes appropriately.
Common signs of heat illness include:
·
Headaches
·
Nausea/abdominal pain
·
Cramping (calf muscles are the most common)
·
Dry or sticky mouthy
·
Fatigue
If athletes are experiencing these symptoms during
practice or games (or more severe symptoms like confusion), they should be
pulled off the field, encouraged to start drinking fluids, and put into a shady
area. Further action (like calling 911)
should be considered if symptoms worsen or if the athlete isn’t able to drink
on her own.
The most important thing you can do is encourage
lots of fluids and closely monitor all practices and games when the
temperatures are high to ensure that your young athlete stays hydrated and
healthy!
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