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5 | TheBucknerClarion.com February 2016 contact practices for starters. He also urges athletes never to return to play after a concussion until they have been fully cleared by a medical professional who has experience with the condition. When asked if he has seen more concussions over the past decade, Canty said yes. However, he said it's not necessarily because more athletes are having more concussions. Instead, he says there is more awareness and recognition of how a concussion presents. Canty believes even with the concern and fear about the condition, medicine has to push for better ways to diagnose concussions and find out if concussions are related to CTE, or if it is just a couple of peoples' opinions who have really big microphones. "I worry that there is some risk to these athletes who have hit their heads over and over and over again – but we don't know yet," he said. "On the other hand, there's a lot of benefit to sports and games that these kids play and there are a lot of life lessons. Kids rank their quality of life better if they are involved in these sports, so we want to keep them active and playing. We just want to find the safest way to do that." As for CTE, Canty said for the most part, the descriptions of people with the condition have been mostly older-aged athletes. How that applies to the 16-or 17-year- old athlete, he says there are still questions. "There have been some descriptions of young athletes who passed away and had their brain examined and demonstrated signs of having CTE – but again, CTE remains a bit controversial and highly debated." (The slides depict the four stages of CTE that have been identified by neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee. The slides were displayed on Frontline.com.) Comment on this article at: Canty also said there is a large population of people with mental illness and depression that can be treated. He also noted that people can forget things and have a completely normal memory. Unfortunately, he says CTE fear can sometimes become a "self-fulfilling prophecy and they see themselves on a slow, gradual decline and they do things not understanding the real lack of medical knowledge about the disease." There may be some mitigating factors, Canty describes, for depressed athletes besides CTE, especially after they retire. "For some, it is because of random steroid use; for others, it may be the fact that they used to be a superstar but they are not any longer. And for others, divorce and bankruptcy may play a role in depression." Canty said these stressors and life changes are not necessarily a result of head trauma."There are other forms of dementia, other forms of depression and other types of illnesses that can present with very similar symptoms as to what people suspect they are having when they have a post-concussion or chronic head injury." However, a recent study published by Frontline concluded that 95.6 percent of deceased NFL players tested positive for CTE. Specifically, the research concluded that on almost 100 deceased NFL players, over 95 percent tested positive for CTE. The research was carried out by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University. "People think that we are blowing this out of proportion, that this is a very rare disease and that we are sensationalizing it," McKee told CBS Sports. "My response is that where I sit, this is a very real disease. We have had no problems identifying it in hundreds of players." To add insult to injury, the study noted new evidence that suggests that minor head trauma that occurs regularly in football may pose a greater risk than the more pronounced concussion that comes with high impact. Canty said concern is necessary, but it is important for the medical community to look for more answers. "I do have concern for kids who hit their heads too much, or have a concussion and go back and play prematurely," he said. "I worry about those things. I also worry about my kids driving a car, texting on their phone – you worry about a lot of things. So when you look at the relative risks in life, sports are still safe." Quality of life among athletes is something that Canty said shouldn't be overlooked. He said there are many positive lifestyle characteristics that have a direct correlation with sports involvement, but agrees it is also imperative to find ways to make all sports safer. Some precautions have already taken shape. Canty notes moves to eliminate unnecessary contact to the head and limiting the number of 95.6 percent of deceased NFL players tested Continued from page 4

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