Concussions in NFL Continue Rising
In 2017, NFL players were given concussion diagnosis’ more time than in any previous season since the league started sharing that data back in 2012, showed information the league released on Friday.
Reported concussions reached 281 for both the preseason and regular season combined including practices. The previous high was in 2015 when 275 were reported.
League executives speaking on Friday said they were concerned about the amount of concussions and attributed the majority of the increase to the increase in practice concussions during the preseason.
In 2017, 56 concussions were reported by teams during practices. In 2016 that number was just 32 and averaged 44 for the years 2012 through 2015. Out of the 56 concussions during practice in 2017, 45 were during the preseason.
The league is currently analyzing the details about the drills in which the players were taking part when they suffered concussions. It is preparing a document and it will transmit to each team of the individualized results.
The results might lead to new policies and guidelines for the upcoming season especially when it pertains to training camp.
Concussions during NFL games also increased to 225 in 2017 from 2011 during 2016. Some of the increase was attributed to an increase in players self-reporting. Data released showed that 28% of the evaluations for concussions during games had been prompted by players reporting symptoms. In 2016 that figure was just 18.4%.
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The data from the league also showed that for just the first time in four years, injury rates were higher for night games on Thursday than during Sunday or Monday night games. The average number of injuries per game was 6.9 on Thursday and 6.3 for other days.
The NFL has defended Thursday night games during the season, which has players back playing after just three days of rest by stressing that they have not produced any significant difference in the number of injuries, but 2017 proved that theory wrong.
The injuries to the primary knee ligaments (2) in 2017 were unchanged compared to 2016. In 2017, 54 ACLs were torn and in 2016 that number was 56. In 2016 there were 147 torn MCLs while in 2016 there were 143.
