Jan. 29--After the NFL released injury data Friday showing an increase in concussion incidence in 2015, several league officials and team doctors partly attributed the spike to greater awareness about concussions, improved diagnostic methods and intensified elements of the league's concussion protocol.
"I see culture change," said Richard Ellenbogen, co-chairman of the NFL's Head, Neck and Spine Committee and Chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington. "Being on the sideline as an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant, the culture has changed. I see coaches report players and pull them out of the game. I see players report themselves. I see players report each other. That's certainly new and different."
According to the NFL, concussions this past season increased 32 percent from 2014, up to 271 from 206. The 2015 total was the greatest in a four-year span for which the league released data.
Concussions resulting from helmet-to-helmet hits increased 59 percent from 2014 to this past season, up to 92 from 58.
"I think the education is working," Ellenbogen said in a conference call hosted by the league. "I think we're lowering the threshold. Clearly we've lowered the threshold for diagnosing a concussion, for pulling players out and evaluating them. We've got better tools and we've become...more sophisticated, and we're now looking at this through a microscope. I think these are all good trends. They're expected."
Data released Friday came from the league's injury and surveillance analytics program, which has been headed since 2011 by Quintiles, a healthcare and research company.
rcampbell@tribpub.com
