This pic’s difficult to look at…& it’s meant to be. What transpired over the last wk, w Tua Tagovailoa, starting QB of the Miami Dolphins is NOT OK – w respect to how we’re treating brain HEALTH in sports.
Short version: Tua, a star QB from Alabama, just 2 wks ago threw for a career-high 469 yds & a Dolphins record-tying 6 TDs against the Ravens.
The nxt wk, last Sunday, the back of Tua’s head hit the turf hard during Miami’s win over the Bills, & he staggered & fell while trying to walk off the field. The Dolphins put him thru in-game concussion protocols & initially announced it as a head injury, only to declare it a BACK injury a short time later, & allowed Tua to re-enter the game!!
That led to an even scarier injury when Tua again had the back of his head slung to the ground, this time by the Bengals’ Josh Tupou on Thursday (only 4 days after the last head injury). The result was a concussion severe enough that his fingers stiffened awkwardly (like this pic), & he was removed on a stretcher.
According to a neuro doc on our alliance, Dr Gruttadauria (sure, opinion): that result is called decorticate posture (due to impact to the electrical circuitry of the brain) & there are scarily times when a brain that experiences this, results in death. We can all be so thankful that wasn’t the outcome.
Getting personal here: I’ve had the SPECT scan at Doc Amen’s. Been told I have 7 TBIs sustained from my own sports career. Never experienced what Tua went thru, BUT, watching that film & seeing this pic, I had eery flashbacks.
When my MH feels majorly “off” – one of my symptoms is, my right side feels weaker/less attuned to movements my brain “wants,” than my left.
Brain HEALTH is MH. Doesn’t matter the stressor. We need to treat impact to the brain in the collective – esp since inflammation is common regardless of that stressor.
Changes need to be made to prioritize brain health. Glad that trauma consultant was held accountable for letting Tua play. Glad the NFL/PA are going to make more changes to the concussion protocol (➡️slide).
But that’s not enough. This is BRAIN health. Lives are more impt than W & L’s.
