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The Truth About Concussions: What You Need To Know Now · Voices for Voices®

• 0:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Hi everyone, it's Justin here with Voices for Voices.
• 0:05
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Thank you so much for watching and listening.
• 0:07
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If you're here in the United States or across the world, welcome to the Voices for Voices family.
• 0:14
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And we really appreciate you taking time out of your day to join us.
• 0:21
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• 0:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And if you have your phone out, and even if you don't have your phone out, get that phone and share the Voices for Voices uh podcast with 25, 50, 100, 200 contacts in your phone.
• 0:50
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Help us reach that goal of reaching and helping at least 3 billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond.
• 1:00
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh, we're well on our way, and it's just because of you, nobody else.
• 1:05
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I'm just a vessel uh that is sharing uh my experiences in the hopes to help uh help people, uh whether that is something big or whether it's something small.
• 1:24
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Same thing with our guests that they they come on to share their perspective on life and what they're what they're up to and how they are helping others uh with football season uh here in the United States, American football here in the United States, um as has kicked off uh the last couple of weeks here, and so we're we're uh we're moving right along.
• 1:56
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so I just wanted to talk about TBIs, uh traumatic brain injuries, uh concussions.
• 2:06
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I think they're close to being one and the same, but uh you don't have to be playing American football to get a traumatic brain injury, um, is the way to think about it.
• 2:22
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So when I'm teaching in the classroom, there are a lot of athletes in in my my classes.
• 2:34
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh it just so happens that the times of my classes work with the practice weightlifting uh game schedules of a lot of a lot of sports.
• 2:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And there are sometimes I I get notified that one of my students um may not be coming to class for a week because they're being evaluated or they have been evaluated and have a concussion, traumatic brain injury.
• 3:25
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh and and so with that, there are some restrictions.
• 3:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So as much as we love our screens, uh, when you have a concussion, uh traumatic brain injury, it it can be not good uh for the recovery of from the the concussion.
• 3:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I guess we'll just talk about concussion in general.
• 3:55
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh and so the student will be missing you know a week's worth of class or so, and in that week the student is student student athlete is evaluated uh for how the recovery is going, and just like anything, you know, are they are they cleared to play?
• 4:23
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Are they cleared to practice?
• 4:25
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Are they cleared uh to to go onto their screens?
• 4:29
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um and so it's a it's a very real thing that unfortunately happens sometimes, and having been a part of I'd say the the administrative process of having students in in the past who have had concussions uh playing their their uh their sport, and and so as an instructor, uh we have to be flexible because if there's a an assignment or a project that is due in that particular week for that class, and then that student, uh yeah, we're we're flexible in getting that uh rescheduled for the student because again, it it's a concussion.
• 5:31
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um medically they're not cleared, and and so we we figure out uh a date and time uh to get them caught up after they've been cleared to uh to be able to use their screens.
• 5:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And I don't know this for a fact, but I would assume they're using their screens a lot sooner than what a doctor mentions.
• 5:59
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But I I don't know.
• 6:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: That's that's just I don't know, that's just something that it's gone through my head that if I was in that position, that that would be the first thing.
• 6:14
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But it might not feel like a screen could impact negatively on that, on a person who's had a concussion, uh, but that's that's something the medical folks uh that's a higher pay grade than I'm at, so they make they make the call in in those situations.
• 6:43
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so this can happen at really all levels of sport, uh you know, whether it's college or university, uh, whether it's you know professional, whether it is high school, grades you know, nine to twelve, whether it's you know middle school, anytime you're having you know impact on you know having a helmet on, in some sports you don't have a helmet, but in American football you do, and the teams are trying to win the game, and they win the game by having the highest score or number.
• 7:45
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So if the two numbers are five and two, the team with the five wins in American football.
• 7:54
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It'd be rare to have five because uh you'd have to to get five, you'd have to kick a field goal, so you have to kick the American football through the yellow uh goal post, and then you'd have to get a safety, so tackle the other team in there and zone.
• 8:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Not to say it doesn't happen.
• 8:22
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um, it's just a little bit rare as opposed to you know a touchdown field goal is not not that rare because it you only get three points, but it's still three points, it's not zero points.
• 8:44
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And and so it's just it's just very important that if you or somebody you know has a concussion or traumatic brain injury, to please follow the the medical uh medical orders of what you can and can't do and and make sure that you're able to uh work in your uh your visits, like your your your next visit to the doctor to be evaluated.
• 9:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh because that that that's the only way you're gonna get through that medically, and with sports, I'm pretty sure that's the only way you can get cleared to play.
• 9:48
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So I don't know this 100% for sure, but I think it's like getting a note from a parent.
• 9:57
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Like, I'll have to leave early of a dentist appointment, orthonis appointment, doctor appointment.
• 10:04
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So it would be the person would go to the doctor, they'd be evaluated, and if they were cleared, then there would be some kind of note and or email from the doctor to the coaching staff, letting them know that this player, that player, they're able to play and able to like before playing the actual game, you know, able to practice first just to get get back into it.
• 10:44
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh you know, it can be frustrating because in the past there's been in American football is uh what I'm mainly referring to in this particular reference, that I'm not sure exactly when concussions really started to come to the forefront.
• 11:16
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh meaning that if a player gets a concussion and gets tested, if they are asked to do three different things, I don't know if it's like if they don't if they don't do two of them good or they don't do all three of them.
• 11:34
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: I don't know how they're tested, but they're tested somehow in the middle of the game.
• 11:40
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And if a doctor says, nope, you're not going back in, then the player's not going back in.
• 11:49
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh and with American football, it's you know, this macho sport, right?
• 11:58
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: You're you got the helmets and these pad shoulder pads and knee pads, and you know, they're throwing the football, they're running with it, they're being tackled, they're uh you know, some could again be hit in the head, they could fall on their head, they could uh there's a so many types of injuries, unfortunately, that come can come in that that sport, American football.
• 12:28
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And at some point, American football, the commissioner decided that we need to take this seriously.
• 12:40
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: There's a lot of evidence because all the teams want to win the game.
• 12:47
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: All the teams or play, they want to have the highest score at the end of the game.
• 12:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so if it's a team's best player and they get injured and they're not able to come back into game because they're not medically cleared, then that team could be looked at as having a disadvantage uh for that the rest of the game.
• 13:19
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And a lot of times, like I said, with it being the macho type macho sport, and you know, the you know, being real tough, um it's hard to take people out of a game when they're like, no, coach, put me in, I'm fine, and let's go, I'm ready to go.
• 13:38
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so that was happening for many, many, many, many, many, many years.
• 13:45
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh and I'm just talking about the concussions, there's other parts that we may get into on a different show.
• 13:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: But with the concussion part, at some point there was enough evidence that the American football, the NFL National Football League Commissioner, and their staff came to the conclusion that we need to take this more seriously.
• 14:23
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Even if it means that a team isn't gonna win a game, win that game, or they're gonna be in a disadvantage and they still might win the game.
• 14:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um, but that health of that individual player, because the more and more than that happens, and they get hit in the head, and another concussion, another concussion, it just makes whatever the activity on the brain is during the concussion, it's like that over and over and over again, like boxing or MMA, uh UFC, you know, when they're constantly getting hit in the head, it's having an effect on the brain.
• 15:13
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Like it, I don't I don't know all the specifics, uh, but it's just not something that's good.
• 15:25
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And over time, again, if you're doing the same thing over and over and over again, the after effects it's gonna take longer to heal and may get to a point where it doesn't heal if there's too many concussions.
• 15:46
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And I and I think it was at that point when that medical research was was shown to the commissioner that a I it may uh it may be the best player, maybe the whatever position helps the team the most.
• 16:11
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Maybe it's certain wide receiver, maybe it's maybe it's the quarterback, maybe it's the running back, maybe it's a tight end or a lineman.
• 16:22
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um but we got to treat people as human instead of we have we want to win the game because we want to have the best chance to go to the Super Bowl, which is what a lot of people are knowing of American football uh is the Super Bowl, and then the Super Bowl halftime show, and so I I I can only imagine what it's like uh if that would happen to me.
• 17:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It's like no coach, put me put me back in, like I'm good.
• 17:08
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Yeah, they the the terminology that is used like oh they got their bell rung.
• 17:15
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Bell basically like got their brain wrong, like it got hit.
• 17:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um that's not good uh for any anything.
• 17:26
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And and so that's why I started the episode by talking about how it affects collegiate athletes that I've personally had experience with who have had concussions, and the more years go on, it seemed that seems like there's more more concussions are happening.
• 18:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So I don't I don't know if we're just getting better at detecting them or what the case may be.
• 18:13
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um all I know is I I remember, I think, I'm trying to recall in my mind the first time that I was notified that one of one of my students uh was was gonna be missing class for the week because they had sustained the concussion.
• 18:35
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh the first time I was like, oh, okay, so starting to take this seriously.
• 18:43
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And and I don't work at a huge university, so uh that that's what made it big to me.
• 18:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It's like, oh, okay.
• 18:54
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Uh they're they're starting to take this seriously.
• 18:58
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um and then it seemed after that first student, I'm not saying there was 10 or 20 or more, but the number seemed to be increasing uh in uh in concussions as opposed to so many years went by.
• 19:27
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: It was just, yeah, you're good to go, get back in the game and uh and I think along with the research that came the actual data points, the numbers, when people who have had multiple, multiple concussions over the years, they would be interviewed and and talked to and it can it can make life pretty pretty tough if somebody has acquired uh many concussions, and so we have to look at things at the human level, like we we do with all the things that we talk about.
• 20:26
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: That yeah, we want to win the game, yes, we want to win the game, yes, we want to win the championship.
• 20:33
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: We don't want to look like, you know, oh well Justin's not going back in the game, so he can't take it.
• 20:41
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: He's whatever, insert the the adjective.
• 20:46
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Um and and so that's that that's kind of like the hard part is in the type of sport that it is people are like, oh come on, just put them back in the game or put her her back in the game.
• 21:06
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If it you know, w women's girls sport too.
• 21:12
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: You know, they can get concussions as well.
• 21:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so I like the fact that they're getting whether they're student athletes or professional athletes or just amateur athletes, uh, you know, playing in second grade, uh a cheerleader that they have hoisted up, and then somehow she gets dropped, or you know, they get dropped and or slips and falls, and uh, you know, it can happen the same same thing, could could have an effect on on their brain.
• 22:01
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So I think it's a good thing.
• 22:04
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: A lot of people get mad when they're not going back in the game or they're not going back to participate in whatever it is that they were participating.
• 22:15
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And but at the end of the day, a sport is only gonna go for so long.
• 22:23
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Like football, I think the average football, the average American football player is like three years or four years.
• 22:36
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Well, what about what happens after that?
• 22:39
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So let's say they get drafted at age 22, and they're at the average four years.
• 22:48
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: That's 26 years old.
• 22:51
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: There's a lot of life left living, left to live.
• 23:03
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And so that's where the importance of yeah, we want to win the game, but I don't want to have the rest of my life be defined because of these concussions, and so we're just a big proponent of the human being, first off, and then that goes on to that next layer of the sport, that if somebody's exhibiting signs of some type of injury, that they may not be able to finish the game, the match, the depending on what the activity is, they might not be able to do that.
• 24:02
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: And we have to be okay as fans, as family, as friends, as classmates, members of the community, advertisers.
• 24:20
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Not a lot of people are gonna watch this game because the best player on this team isn't gonna be playing because of a concussion.
• 24:39
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So less people are gonna watch it.
• 24:41
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So less people are gonna see the advertisement, the promotion for our product, and so then you start looking at this.
• 24:50
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: This is the money, not only betting, the casinos and the sports books, and then you have the advertisers, and that's where I think a lot of pushback comes.
• 25:13
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Where in the past coaches were inclined to say, just get it back in the game.
• 25:18
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: He says he's okay, so he's okay.
• 25:27
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: If the medical staff says they're okay, as long as it's an objective medical staff, that they're not spying and actually want the other team to win, that it's an independent doctor, so they don't have anything to gain or lose if a certain player isn't able to finish the rest of the game or is out for the following game because of a diagnosis they gave.
• 26:10
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Or when the player came in for their follow-up, that they uh they still weren't cleared to play, so they had to set out an extra week, an extra game, an extra two games.
• 26:34
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: The almighty dollar.
• 26:37
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So we can choose health and humanity or the almighty dollar, and so we would recommend choosing human humans, humanity, and trying to make money still, even if a player and one player is not gonna be playing, and the game's on in prime time, and a lot of people are gonna tune in.
• 27:23
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So there's just a lot of variables that go on, but I just wanted to bring it down to the level where I'm at as an instructor, as a teacher, and how these activities, these injuries uh can really affect anybody that's playing any sport or any activity.
• 28:00
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So I hope this has been beneficial, a little educational is educational for me as always as we're going through the episode.
• 28:12
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So if you can give us a thumbs up, like, follow, subscribe, share, reshare, repost, word of mouth, uh, pull out that phone if your phone's not already out.
• 28:22
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Share the Voices for Voices podcast with 25, 50, 100, 200, 500 connections.
• 28:32
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Help us greatly reach and help at least 3 billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond.
• 28:40
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: So until next time, let's celebrate all the voices in the world and let's be a voice for not only ourselves, but somebody else in need as well.
• 28:53
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: We'll see you next time.
• 28:55
  Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: Bye bye.