Just a few days after a 24 year-old linebacker retired from the NFL for fear of his safety, the NFL is telling the public the game has never been safer.
Joseph Maroon, MD, the neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a board-certificated clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center spoke with Dan Hellie on "Total Access," saying;
"We came up with 63 total cases of CTE [and] in the last two years a few more. But there have been 30-40 million kids who have played football during that period of time. It's a rare phenomena. We have no idea the incidence. There are … more injuries to kids falling off bikes, scooters, falling in playgrounds than there are in youth football. I think again, it's never been safer. Can we improve? Yes. We have to do better all the time to make it safer," reports The Washington Post.
Dr. Maroon also says the game is safer because of rules changes like safer tackling techniques and better management of concussions.
Read more on sports medicine...
Yu Darvish to undergo Tommy John surgery — Dr. James Andrews will perform
Sports medicine Dr. Brandon Kakos specialist joins Mercy Health
Dr. Robert LaPrade performs knee surgery on University of Minnesota hockey player