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Kasey Carrier didn’t plan to end his career this way.
Against Colorado State on Nov. 16, New Mexico’s senior running back received a concussion in the first half that would end his season. According to mayoclinic.com, a concussion is “a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain operates.”
Carrier said that was his first concussion that he received during his time at UNM, but he did suffer one when he played high school football.
“I didn’t remember playing. I didn’t remember until the next day. I woke up and I was back into my normal self. I was out of it,” he said. “It’s a tough pill to swallow especially since it was my last game on this field (University Stadium). I wanted another game under my belt to remember my college career.”
Concussions have gained national attention in all contact sports, but mainly in football, because of a lawsuit filed against the NFL in 2011 by former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling. In the lawsuit, he claimed that the NFL made a “concerted effort of deception and denial” about concussions. Easterling would later be joined by 4,500 other former players. On Aug. 29 of this year, the league settled the lawsuit for $765 million.
On Oct. 9, the University announced a partnership with the nonprofit Mind Research Network to introduce Brain Safe, a concussion assessment program that is designed to study the impact of brain injuries in NCAA contact sports.
At the beginning of every academic year, more than 200 UNM athletes will receive a noninvasive Magnetic Resonance Imaging brain scan of the brain structure, chemistry, connectivity and function. Athletes will continue to receive MRI scans at the start of each year, and will also have one if the individual suffers a head injury.
Kent Kiehl, director of the Brain Safe Project, said the men’s and women’s basketball, and diving teams have already been scanned, or more than 90 athletes when last contacted on Nov. 20. He said scans of football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball teams are all in progress.
Kiehl said the MRI scans will be a part of the athletes’ physical examinations and will be compared to their last scans. He added that the project will cost about $1 million a year to keep running, and that UNM and MRN are splitting the cost.
“I really think it’s likely to change the way we understand concussions and change the way we manage them. Someday it might change the rules of different games, “he said. “There are a lot of different implications from these studies … It’s quite exciting, actually.”
Head athletic trainer Bob Waller said concussions are becoming more identifiable because of the research, the education of concussions and because the severity of the long-term issues associated with them has made athletes more aware of the dangers.
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Concussions are a unique injury because everyone’s symptoms are different and there is no exact timetable for when an athlete returns from a concussion, Waller said. According to Waller, concussion symptoms range from being depressed to feeling nauseated.
Waller said as soon as someone is suspected of having concussion symptoms, the training staff does a baseline test. The UNM training staff implements the SCAt3 for its baseline test.
Due to the issues surrounding concussions, the UNM training staff is not allowed to diagnose them. Instead, the UNM training staff refers anyone with concussion symptoms to one of the physicians on staff. There are seven doctors on staff because of a partnership that UNM has with UNMH, Waller said.
Despite multiple attempts, the Daily Lobo was unable to interview any of the seven doctors on staff by press time.
“Concussions are such a hot topic and there’s so much unknown with concussions still,” Waller said. “It’s probably the best practice of the certified trainer to refer to the physician. The best thing we can do is protect the student athlete and not allow them to return to play, refer them to the physician ASAP.”
The best treatment for a concussion is still up for debate, but research has shown that right now that rest is the best course of action, Waller said.
Waller said the entire training staff is feeling more pressure to notice the signs of concussions.
Carrier said he knew there was an inherent risk playing football, but hopes that he won’t suffer any long term effects because of the game.
“Right now playing and being a young adult you always think about the now and not our future,” Carrier said. “My future is something that I’m worried about. I want to grow old and live life. It’s serious.”
