Protecting the brain against concussion

Neuropsychologist Kim Gorgens makes the case for better protecting our brains against the risk of concussion -- with a compelling pitch for putting helmets on kids.

So, a funny thing happened

on my way to becoming a brilliant,
world-class neuropsychologist:

I had a baby.

And that's not to say

I ever went on to become a brilliant,
world-class neuropsychologist.

Sorry, TED.

But I did go on to be a reasonably astute,

arguably world-class worrier.

One of my girlfriends
in graduate school, Marie,

said, "Kim, I figured it out.

It's not that you're more neurotic
than everyone else;

it's just that you're more honest
about how neurotic you are."

So in the spirit of full disclosure,

I brought some pictures to share.

Awwww.

(Laughter)

I'll just say: July.

(Laughter)

Zip!

(Laughter)

For safety.

(Laughter)

Water wings --

an inch of water.

And then, finally, all suited up

for the 90-minute drive
to Copper Mountain.

So you can get kind of a feel for this.

So my baby, Vander,
is eight years old now.

And, despite being cursed
with my athletic inability,

he plays soccer.

He's interested in playing football.

He wants to learn how to ride a unicycle.

So why would I worry?

Because this is what I do.
This is what I teach.

It's what I study. It's what I treat.

And I know that kids
get concussed every year.

In fact, more than four million people
sustain a concussion every year,

and these data are just
among kids under 14

who were seen in emergency rooms.

And so when kids sustain a concussion,

we talk about them getting dinged
or getting their bell rung,

but what is it that
we're really talking about?

Let's take a look.

[Concussive Force]

"Starsky and Hutch"? Arguably, yes.

So, a car accident.

Forty miles an hour into a fixed barrier:

35 Gs.

A heavyweight boxer punches
you straight in the face:

58 Gs.

(Music)

In case you missed it, we'll look again.

So look to the right-hand
side of the screen.

(Music)

What would you say?

How many Gs?

Close.

Seventy-two?

Would it be crazy to know:

103 Gs?

The average concussive impact

is 95 Gs.

Now, when the kid
on the right doesn't get up,

we know they've had a concussion.

But how about the kid on the left,

or the athlete that leaves
the field of play?

How do we know if he or she
has sustained a concussion?

How do we know

that legislation that would require
they be pulled from play,

cleared for return to play,

applies to them?

The definition of concussion

doesn't actually require
a loss of consciousness.

It requires only a change
in consciousness,

and that can be any one
or a number of symptoms,

including feeling foggy, feeling dizzy,

hearing a ringing in your ear,

being more impulsive
or hostile than usual.

So given all of that and given
how darn neurotic I am,

how do I get any sleep at all?

Because I know our brains are resilient.

They're designed to recover
from an injury.

If -- God forbid --

any of us left here tonight
and sustained a concussion,

most of us would go on to fully recover
inside of a couple hours

to a couple of weeks.

But kids are more vulnerable
to brain injury.

In fact, high-school athletes
are three times more likely

to sustain catastrophic injuries

relative even to their college-age peers,

and it takes them longer
to return to a symptom-free baseline.

After that first injury,

their risk for second injury
is exponentially greater.

From there, their risk for a third injury,
greater still, and so on.

And here's the really alarming part:

We don't fully understand
the long-term impact of multiple injuries.

You guys may be familiar
with this research

that's coming out of the NFL.

In a nutshell,
this research suggests that,

among retired NFL players
with three or more career concussions,

the incidence of early-onset
dementing disease

is much greater than it
is for the general population.

So you've all seen that --
New York Times, you've seen it.

What you may not be familiar with

is that this research was spearheaded
by NFL wives who said,

"Isn't it weird
that my 46-year-old husband

is forever losing his keys?"

"Isn't it weird that
my 47-year-old husband

is forever losing the car?"

"Isn't it weird that
my 48-year-old husband

is forever losing his way home

in the car, from the driveway?"

I may have forgotten to mention
that my son is an only child.

So it's going to be really important

that he be able to drive
me around someday.

(Laughter)

So, how do we guarantee
the safety of our kids?

How can we 100 percent
guarantee the safety of our kids?

Let me tell you what I've come up with.

(Laughter)

If only.

My little boy's right there,
and he's like, "She's not kidding.

She's totally not kidding."

So in all seriousness:

Should my kid play football?

Should your kid play football?

I don't know.

But I do know there are
three things you can do.

The first: study up.

You have to be familiar with the issues
we're talking about today.

There are some great resources out there.

The CDC has a program, HEADS UP.

It's at CDC.gov.

HEADS UP is specific
to concussion in kids.

The second is a resource
I'm personally really proud of.

We've just rolled this out
in the last couple months --

CO Kids With Brain Injury.

This is a great resource
for student athletes,

teachers, parents, professionals,
athletic and coaching staff.

It's a great place to start
if you have questions.

The second thing is: speak up.

Just two weeks ago,

a bill introduced by Senator Kefalas

that would have required
athletes, kids under 18,

to wear a helmet
when they're riding their bike,

died in committee.

It died, in large part,

because it lacked constituent buy-in;

it lacked stakeholder traction.

Now, I'm not here to tell you

what kind of legislation
you should or shouldn't support,

but I am going to tell you
that, if it matters to you,

your legislators need to know that.

Speak up also with coaching staff.

Ask about what kind
of protective equipment is available.

What's the budget
for protective equipment?

How old it is?

Maybe offer to spearhead
a fundraiser to buy new gear.

Which brings us to: suit up.

Wear a helmet.

The only way to prevent a bad outcome

is to prevent that first injury
from happening.

Recently, one of my graduate
students, Tom, said,

"Kim, I've decided to wear a bike helmet
on the way to class."

And Tom knows that that little bit
of foam in a bike helmet

can reduce the g-force of impact by half.

Now, I thought it was because I have
this totally compelling helmet crusade,

this epiphany of Tom's.

As it turns out, it occurred
to Tom that a $20 helmet

is a good way to protect
a $100,000 graduate education.

(Laughter)

So ...

Should Vander play football?

I can't say no,

but I can guarantee that every time
he leaves the house,

that kid's wearing a helmet --

like, to the car,

or at school.

So whether athlete, scholar,

overprotected kid, neurotic mom,

or otherwise,

here's my baby, Vander,

reminding you

to mind your matter.

Thank you.

(Applause)