My Memphis Rolliln' Grizzlies Experience

            Last night, our class had the privilege to watch a Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies wheelchair basketball team practice. This experience was truly enlightening and these athletes have my utmost respect. In talking with the coach, we learned a little about each of the players, the rules of the game and how they differ from “normal” basketball, and other unique aspects of the game. For instance, each player is given a score based on his degree of injury. The higher the score, the lower the degree of injury. For example, a player with a single leg amputation who does not have any balance issues would have a higher score than a player with a lumbar spinal cord injury who struggles with balance. At any point in a game, there is a limit to team’s total scores of the players. This way, one team cannot have an unfair advantage because all of their players have very minor injuries while the other team has very severe injuries. I thought that this was a very interesting and important rule to keep the games fair and safe.

            One thing that I believe surprised all of us was that some of the players do not need a wheelchair or adaptive equipment when they are not playing the game. Two of the players walked into and out of the game. This is because their ability to walk has not been compromised, but it is not safe for them to play “normal” basketball because it could be life threatening should their spine get injured. This is a concept I had not considered before this experience.

            My final take away from this practice is that shooting a basketball from a wheelchair is much more difficult that shooting from standing. After practice, the players were kind enough to let us sit in their wheelchairs and try out the game. While the chairs were easier to maneuver than an average wheelchair, because they were made to be agile in athletic events, shooting the basketball was a different story. I had never thought about how much we use our legs and hips in shooting a basketball. When you are seated, all of that leverage and “umph” is gone. I found myself trying to jump while I was seated which, clearly, did not work. Not only are you further away from the basket, you are relying solely on your arms to shoot the ball. And I was sitting stationary in the middle of the court without anyone attempting to take the ball away! I am so thankful for this experience and I have the greatest admiration for wheelchair sports everywhere!

Neuro Note #3

For my third neuro note, I watched a TED Talk on post-concussion syndrome and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The talk was given by Chris Nowinski, titled Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE. Nowinski is a former Harvard football player as well as a former WWE performer. During both of these high-impact sport careers, Nowinski experienced multiple concussions and was diagnosed with permanent post-concussion symptoms. This lead to the end of his athletic career but the beginning of his scientific journey to learn all he can about CTE and to share it with the world.

CTE is a degenerative brain disease caused by reoccurring brain trauma. A brain with CTE forms Tau protein clumps throughout the brain which kill living brain cells. Not surprisingly, CTE is most commonly found in athletes and military veterans, due to repetitive brain trauma. CTE is commonly referred to as “punch drunk” because boxers often experienced symptoms after being hit in the head during a match. Symptoms of CTE include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement and progressive dementia. These symptoms lead to mood and behavior changes, sometimes leading to suicide.

Chris Nowinski started the Concussion Legacy Foundation, the first center focused on CTE. They started the first ever brain bank – a “bank” of brains dedicated to CTE research. They also started a brain donation registry for athletes to publically pledge to donate brains to science. So far, over 2,5000 athletes have registered. While there is no way to detect CTE in a living person, Nowinski reminds us that we can prevent it – if we stop hitting ourselves in the head!

CTE and post-concussion syndrome are personal to me because I have known multiple individuals who I believe have experienced too many hits to the head. Specifically, my high school football team. I was very close to many of the players, my best friend being one of the captains, a running back. Particularly in his position, he was taught to dodge and dive through small openings between defensive players, often leading to hits in the head. On multiple occasions, I saw his helmet break loose and roll across the field after a tackle. It seemed like every other week, he was diagnosed with a concussion, given a day off, and then put right back into practice.

He was naturally short-tempered, impulsive, and easily distracted. Or at least at the time, I believed these were natural qualities of his personality. Now, after our neuro aspects class and after watching this TED Talk, I am more inclined to believe that these behaviors were directly linked to repeated blows to the head.  While I find this topic very interesting, I also look back at those teenage boys on our football team, risking their health, damaging their brains, and affecting the rest of their lives without knowing it. I am glad that this topic is getting more public awareness and that individuals like Chris Nowinski and the Concussion Legacy Foundation are making steps towards studying and preventing post-concussion syndrome and CTE. Click on the link below for more information

Concussion Legacy Foundation website:

https://concussionfoundation.org/

References:

Concussion Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved May 23, 2018, from https://concussionfoundation.org/

Nowinski, C. (2017, November). Chris Nowinski: Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/