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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 1984)
Wednesday, March 14, 1G34 Daily Nebraskan Pago 11 n .. )J ) 1 1 i o dDii iDiPjinijgr m maM t M ' By Terry Hyland A cool, damp November night. A great night for a football game. A championship game. Wfiat goes through the mind of a player like Henderson's Jerry Ediger? Concentrate. Hit hard. Remember the defenses, lliis is a big game. Don't mess up. He is probably nervous. Thisisthebig game the undefeated Henderson Huskies playing the Hast ings St, Cecilia Blue Hawks for the Class C I state championship. Everyone wants toplay well Everyone wants to be a champion. The opening kickeff. Edigcr's on the kickojf team. The ball is in the air and he's running down the field. The return man has the ball. He's coming Edigcr's way. Only a few more steps. They hit, helmet to helmet, and go down. The return man gets up. Ediger lies motionless on the field. Football has always been a violent sport. From the first organized contests in the 1860s, when players butted bare heads, injuries and occasionally death have been part of the game. Since 1931 , when national records were first kept, 572 high school players have died from injuries directly related to football. Another 279 players died from indirect causes such as heatstroke and heart failure. Since 1971, 1 59 players have sustained catastrophic injuries from football These types of injuries, defined as spinal cord damage resulting in paralysis, were not documented before 1971. How dangerous is high school football today and how has Nebraska triad to make the game safer for approximately 9,000 boys who play at the varsity and junior varsity levels? The answer vcn by most high school sports ofndais is that an aeaumed rielr cf serious injury to Cm! liahA'ts, prcbdtly will never hz elir d completely. I. cilieiiis zzy tha rhk cf catastrophic injuries and fatalities will remain in high school football because there are so many athletes playing a game bsed on frequent, violent contact. ' - But modern equipment, new rules and improved coachfcg teenr-i-ues have helped males the game safer. Administrators, players, coaches and parents are more aware of the risks of injuries and how to prevent them. And though the potential for injury still exists, these measures have had a positive effect. ' "Safety is the number one priority," sid Jim Riley, executive director of the Nebraska School Activities Association. Te have an obligation to protect the players." Serious injuries and deaths occur infrequently in Nebraska high school footbalL Although no state agency keeps records of fatalities or injuries, news paper clippings indicate the last football-related death was in 1976. Nationally, the risk of death and serious injury is low, according to the Annual Survey of Football Injury Research released in February. The study shows that from 1977 to 1C33, the national average incidence rate of catastrophic injury for 100,00 athletes was 0.71. The incidence rate for deaths was 0.47. Thcee figures are based on the 1.3 million high school athletes who play football each year. They show that less than one serious injury or death occurred for every 100,000 players. Football's low incident rates are reflected in the reduced numbers of deaths and injuries directly Tin 6- JtJ ( . ....... .,..., . . l . .' 7 . -' . .. f ." . ' - s V . ! - 1 , - : V v ' j - . ' . Vv r . I V -c o'' .v. v. X " ''. , - -:." . ' - X 1 -' Catastrophic injuries in football also have shown an overall decline. Eleven injuries were reported in 1C33, up from seven in 1C32. But 04 injuries occurred rtur.ate part cf a popular contact sport and from 1976 to G3, compared to 95 recorded from 1971 to 1975. YtkaX goes through a placer's mind when he tries togctupandcan?VhtMpp7wd?IMdIviakethe tzckle? Y$liy can II get up? Am I hurt? Why does my neck hurt? ..0 - Yihat does he feel when they put him on a stretcher? When they carry him to an ambulance and roll the stretcher in? Pain? Confusion? Is he scared? There ere other people around him. But does he notice them? He knows he is hurt The pain tells him that But how bad? He probably wonders where he's going. To the hospital? Yhat about the game? In the hospital room, the doctors examine Jerry. They take X-rays. Their diagnosis is somber. He has dislocated two vertebrae in his neck; one is broken, another cracked on both sides. Just awhile ago, he was in the championship game. He should be out on the field now.' The hospital must seem cold and lonely. The game goes on. Jerry 's teammates are worried about him. They play a good game. Jerry gets to listen to the finish on the radio. Henderson wins, , 28-0. Everyone gets a medal Jerry was a champion. In Nebraska, there has been a progressive effort to reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities on the football field. V Equipment and rule changes have had the greatest impact, officials say. Since 1 970, the National Feder- related to the mine in the last eirrht vears. The study ation of State High School Associations has imple- shows that B4 high school players were killed mented numerous measures to cut down on injuries playing football from 1970 to 1975. That number (See table on Page 12.) dropped to 60 between 1976 to 1933. Four deaths Since head and neck injuries cause most deaths were reported in 1933, compared to seven in 1932. and paralyzing injuries, one major theme seems to In comparison, 326 males aged 15 tq 19 died in dominate the rules-makers thinking protect the traffic accidents in Nebraska alone between 1977 head and keep it out of contaet. and 1933. Helmet improvements have had a major impact in head protection. In 1930, the NFSIISA mandated a football helmet standards ruling. The ruling called for all helmets worn by high school players to be approved by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment(NOCSAE). Nebraska's Riley said all state schools have complied with helmet requirements and all players are equip ped with approved helmets. . Richard Schindler, an assistant director of the NFSHSA, said helmets used by meet h!h schools have interiors that are foam-padded, inflatable or lined with pockets of liquid. He said today's helmets, are "state of the art" equipment designed for the best protection. But the increased protection can cause another kind of proBlem. As the helmets get better, there is a tendency to use that equipment as a contact point, he said, because the player feels he is well protected and has no fear of using his head. Schindler said players need to constantly be made aware of the danger of using the head and progress has been made. A solution to the problem would be to make any kind of head contact illegal, he said. But that kind of rule would be impractical "It's easy to say, but what rule would guarantee keeping the head out of play," Schindler said. He said NOCSAE continually reasearches new helmet innovations. Keeping the neck and head stable is the most important function of headgear, he said. Future designs may include a helmet shoulder pad combination that protects the neck and head from the shock of collisions. A T) m ' Urania w. otmqi pamm Prcgrees in providing full-time medical care for Netrci!;a high school athletes has been slow. Every school requires players to have medical exr.n:ineticn3 before they participate". in sports.:. Schools usually arrange for an emergency before they p.;.:rt:ci:,te in sports. Schools usually arrange " for an emergency unit, a paramedic or a doctor to be at a game. But problems arise when an athlete r.eedj medical care and a doctor or hospital is 50 miles gwey. - Eoras officials say the, best solution to the problem would be for every school to have its own athletic trainer. - - :- Theysey an athletic trainer could help condition players to prevent injuries and care for injuries during recovery. Trainers would ensure-that a trained professional was at every game and practice to handle emergencies..- But few schools have their own trainer or doctor because they don't have the money to hire another full-time employee, said Dr. Michael Walsh, director of sports medicine at the Univer sity of Nebraska Medical Center. "In many cases, they don't understand the economics involved he said. "They're looking at an athletic trainer as an additional expense." Walsh said a trainer could be hired on the same basis as an assistant coach and work for the school in both roles. Roland "Duke"LaRue, director of athletic train ing at the UNL Health Center, said trainers could get hired by obtaining a teaching certificate. Both men agree there are plenty of trainers to serve Nebraska high schools. The problem now, LaRue said, is to promote the idea "to get the music going and hope people start dancing to it." LaRue said UNL's trainers' program has been actively pursuing that goal Workshops and presen tations directed to parents, coaches and school - administrators have been part of the campaign. " The doctors in Hastings straightened Jerry 's spine. That's when thepain went away. They did it the same night he got hurt To keep his neck stable, they attached a halo cast to his head with screws. The screws went into his temples. What does a person think about when he cant move? When he has a piece of metal attached to his head and he has to be away from school, his family and friends? He must think about the future, about how long it will be before he 's back on his feet Maybe he wonders how such a thing could happen to him playing football Maybe he wonders why. He might have never thought about getting hurt, A especially getting hurt this bad. After all, it was only a game. Rex Jones, an NSSA associate director, said posters and helmet warning labels have been distributed statewide to ensure that helmets are fitted and used properly. He said the labels remind players and coaches of the danger of using the helmet as the initial point of contact. That technique, which includes spearing ramming an opponent with the helmet head-butt blocking and face blocking, was made illegal in 1976. A high number of catastrophic injuries occurred until 1975, Jones said. When the new rule was introduced, injuries decreased. Jones, a member of the national rules committee, said that despite improvements, the search for safety is never complete. "There is a feeling that we haven't done everything we could as long as there is one fatality." '' Coritinued cn Pags 12'