The truth about child concussions, straight from an NFL trainer: 'It's not worth it'



An NFL trainer warns that new data is revealing more about concussions than was ever known before.

Myths surrounding concussion assessment and recovery still persist to this day, and they can stand in the way of getting proper treatment.

'It is not necessarily an emergency situation.'

Kayla Parker, an athletic trainer with the Denver Broncos and official trainer of the NFL team's cheerleaders, wants parents to know that risking brain trauma to participate in youth athletics is going to have more negative lingering effects than actually sitting out to recover.

Parker spoke with Blaze News and revealed that a lot of discussion and amateur analysis surrounding head injuries can be much further off the mark than some may realize.

"If you even suspect you have a concussion, sit it out. It's not worth it," Parker advised.

If a child, or adult, is indeed concussed and gets hit a second time within a 48-hour window, Parker warns that the brain can suffer from "second-impact syndrome," which could potentially result in death.

The faster an athlete is removed from activity following a suspected concussion, the faster he typically comes back, Parker explained.

Concussion myths

It's not always an emergency.

"If you suspect your kiddo or yourself have a concussion, it is not necessarily an emergency situation. You don't need to rush off to the emergency room," the trainer detailed.

A typical concussion protocol in an emergency room will include a CT scan, but that is to rule out a possible brain bleed.

"Outside of that, they don't have anything else for them," Parker said.

RELATED: The 'youth sports industrial complex' is destroying young bodies — NFL doctor speaks out

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Another long-held myth is to never let a concussed person fall asleep.

"That is definitely a myth," Parker said in response. "When we suspect a concussion, they are absolutely allowed to go to sleep."

At the same time, Parker said that a loss of consciousness is actually only prevalent in around 10% of concussions. Moreover, it is not an indication of seriousness either.

"It really doesn't dictate how fast they're going to come back from that concussion. We've seen those athletes come back faster than the ones that never lost consciousness at all. It's going to be the previous medical history that's really going to dictate how well they do coming back from the concussion."

With concussion history and existing medical conditions as main drivers of ongoing health problems in many professional athletes, Parker said concussion prevention is the obvious goal for both kids and adults. However, "There is nothing that will 100% prevent a concussion."

Another myth, one perpetuated in recent years, is that increased padding on the outside of a football helmet can help reduce concussions. This has been seen with the use of Guardian Caps.

But this is giving a "false sense of security," the trainer said.

Chiefly, Parker added, "We are very concerned about preventing brain bleeds and skull fractures, and that is truly what helmets were originally designed to do."

RELATED: 'Just follow the money': NFL doctor reveals why so many players are getting injured

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

New knowledge

Parker's work with the Broncos cheer team has expanded her depth of knowledge for different types of injuries. In that same vein, an important part of the job for the trainer is keeping up with new data and information surrounding concussions.

With that has come a new understanding of how young athletes are growing up and the possible effects screen time is having on their brain.

Vision problems have been consistently tracked as part of head trauma recovery, with recent studies — cited by Parker — suggesting that prolonged screen exposure has been "associated with symptoms such as visual fatigue, dizziness, and imbalance."

When asked directly if excessive screen use can make a person more susceptible to a concussion, Parker replied:

"That is yes, that's essentially what I'm saying. ... It is something that they're currently studying."

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'He feels an obligation': Dolphins star Tua Tagovailoa reportedly dead set on return despite concussion history



Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will reportedly attempt another comeback after sustaining a brutal concussion on the field.

Tagovailoa suffered his third concussion at the NFL level on September 12 against the Buffalo Bills and has since been placed on injured reserve by the Dolphins. At the time, the team announced the quarterback would seek opinions from multiple independent neurologists.

According to USA Today, this marked Tagovailoa's fourth concussion dating back to his college career at Alabama. The quarterback has also suffered a fractured pelvis, dislocated hip, and broken nose, and he injured his back in what has been called an injury-plagued career.

Despite this, close friend and former linebacker Manti Te'o said that Tagovailoa has decided he wants to make another return to football.

Tua is "going to try to get back," Te'o said in an airport interview at LAX.

Te'o claimed he spoke to the quarterback's father over the phone and wasn't shocked at all when he heard the news.

"It's no surprise to me that he's going to try to do so," Te'o told TMZ. "That's just Tua being Tua. He loves the game. He feels an obligation to his teammates. That's just who he is. He plays hurt."

If the information is accurate, that would mean it took just three weeks (or less) for the 26-year-old to decide to return following the brain injury.

"Tua's a grown man now," Te'o continued. "He has a family of his own. I think everybody just wants the best for him — whatever that is."

This seemingly confirms earlier reports from just days after Tagovailoa's injury that claimed he had no plans to stop playing permanently.

"Tua Tagovailoa has no plans to retire, sources say," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said in a video on X.

"The goal is to get on the field when he is ready. That's one reason [coach] Mike McDaniel would not put a timeline on it. Wouldn't even address it. Timelines lead to anxiety," Rapoport added.

Dolphins coach McDaniel had said at the time that he was simply concerned about "the human being," not his football career.

"I think I'll let Tua be the champion of his own career and speak on that," McDaniel said.

In 2024, Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million contract extension with the Dolphins that included a $42 million signing bonus.

The renewal came after two concussions at the NFL level, but the quarterback had such a stellar year in 2023 that he was given $167 million in guaranteed money, averaging out to an annual salary of just over $53 million.

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NFL to allow padding on helmets for 2024 season in effort to reduce concussions



The NFL has authorized the use of Guardian Caps, a layer of padding for the outside of a football helmet, to be used during games for the 2024 season.

The caps are meant to "reduce player risk and continue driving innovations in equipment technology," the league said in an announcement.

"Guardian Caps have been authorized for in-game use this season," the league added.

The NFL has identified two specific areas where there have been an unnecessary amount of head injuries. The first being practice and training camps.

"We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season," said Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president overseeing player health and safety.

After introducing the Guardian Caps during training camps in 2022, the NFL then mandated them during 2023 preseason practices and every regular-season and postseason practice with contact.

The league cited a reduction in force from head contact by 10% if one player is wearing a cap and 20% if all players involved in a play are wearing them.

To reduce player risk and continue driving innovations in equipment technology, Guardian Caps have been authorized for in-game use this season.\n\nHear more from @NFL Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Allen Sills: https://t.co/PpqOBxEiHl
— (@)

Kickoffs are another area of concern. With players running into each other in a full sprint all over the field, kickoffs had two times the amount of concussions as a regular football play, the NFL found.

"For several years, Player Health & Safety has been tracking kickoff injury data, so it's been an area of focus," Chief Football Administrative Officer Dawn Aponte stated.

"We've had discussions with the Competition Committee, with Owners Health & Safety Committee, and it was something specifically related to concussions, that that injury rate was showing up as 2x the injury rate of a play from scrimmage."

The NFL is allowing Guardian Caps for games this year, thoughts?
— (@)

Dr. Ann Bailey Good, asenior mechanical engineer at Biocore, explained that typically there had been one or two new helmet designs that showed progress toward fewer head injuries. "This year," she stated, "with five, it really speaks to the new technology that's been built into [the helmets]."

The NFL then announced that there are a total of 12 new helmets for players to choose from in 2024, including eight specifically for linemen and quarterbacks.

"There are new helmets this year that provide as much – if not more – protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players," EVP Miller added.

As for the Guardian Caps at practices, they were mandated for players in positions that engage in significant amounts of contact on most plays: running backs, fullbacks, linemen, and linebackers.

This left just kickers, punters, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive backs as those who weren't required to wear them.

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'I’m the greatest fighter that has ever lived': Ex-UFC champion Ronda Rousey says she only lost fights due to concussions
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'I’m the greatest fighter that has ever lived': Ex-UFC champion Ronda Rousey says she only lost fights due to concussions



Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey coined herself as the greatest fighter of all time, along with claims that she wasn't promoted very much by the UFC.

Rousey became the UFC bantamweight champion in December 2012 after fight promotion Strikeforce was absorbed by the UFC. She remained champion for over 1,000 days and had six title defenses before suffering her first loss in a fight to Holly Holm in November 2015.

It was more than 13 months before Rousey fought again, losing to title holder Amanda Nunes, who remained champion for nearly 2,000 days and won seven title fights over two tenures.

During an interview with podcaster Valeria Lipovetsky, Rousey explained why she felt she lost her final two bouts and attributed much of her poor performance to neurological issues from concussions.

At the same time she said that she had "never been so much better than everybody else," but unfortunately her concussions stood in her way.

"I had taken punishment and taken punishment until I couldn't take it any more," she continued. "I know that I'm the greatest fighter that has ever lived, but when it got to a point where I'd just taken so much neurological damage that I couldn't take it any more ... suddenly everything that I accomplished meant nothing."

Ronda Rousey: I know, that like, I'm the greatest fighter that has ever lived.
— (@)

"I was so done fighting after that [first] loss. I'd had so many concussions I literally couldn't take a jab without getting a concussion at that point," Rousey explained. "My body and mind started to fall apart, and when I couldn't give anything any more, they hated me for it, but you couldn't even tell them why."

Rousey also told the host that her "mouth guard was bad" during her first loss and that she had recently suffered a concussion from "slipping down some stairs." This, coupled with a "terrible weight cut" meant she was out on her feet the entire fight, she claimed, which lasted a total of five minutes and 59 seconds against Holm.

For her return fight against Nunes, Rousey said she "owed it to the fans" and perhaps needed to "give them an example of overcoming diversity."

She lost that fight by TKO in 48 seconds.

Ronda Rousey on how #concussions ended her career. \n"Your brain doesn't callus. It doesn't heal back stronger after a break." \n"I had taken so much neurological damage, I couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly everything I accomplished meant nothing."
— (@)

The Californian also discussed how she tried to use sex appeal to her advantage "as much as possible."

"I got to start putting an effort out there, and I just figured that the guys didn't have sex appeal to sell their fights, but the women could; at least the women that had something to sell," she joked. "I tried cleaning up a bit and ... when I came into MMA, I was like, all right, I need to try my best to look gorgeous."

Rousey noted that she has felt that when others complain about lack of promotion from the UFC, she didn't get that privilege either.

"I promoted! I was doing the promoting! It wasn't them paying for commercials; I was working to promote those fights as hard as I was working to train for them."

The perfect scenario, Rousey described, was like the reality television shows about housewives. She tried to emulate this when she coached on "The Ultimate Fighter" against rival Miesha Tate.

"Gorgeous women that are bickering with each other. What if there was a fight at the end of the season?"

"These gorgeous women that are creating drama and there's a fight at the end. Everyone would buy that," she explained. "That was what I was trying to create."

Despite all her injuries at the time, Rousey still signed with the WWE in 2017 and continued wrestling outside the organization through 2023.

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