Concussion Specialist Believes Crosby's Ready for Contact & Day 1 Quotes
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Concussion specialist, Ted Carrick, believes Sidney Crosby is ready for contact. Speaking on Pittsburgh radio station, WDVE, Mr. Carrick said Friday that Crosby is ready to go.
“He's probably as ready [for contact] as most hockey players are," Carrick told the radio station about Crosby. "He certainly is a different person than he was when we saw him a few weeks ago. He does not have any sequelae. I expect he will be back in the game pretty quick, quicker than any people would have thought." (Sequlae means afteraffects.)
Mr. Carrick attended Crosby’s press conference Sept. 7, along with Penguins GM Ray Shero, fellow concussion specialist Mickey Collins, and Crosby.
Neither Mr. Carrick nor Mr. Collins is a medical doctor. They’re both reputed concussion specialists, with Mr. Carrick’s background in chiropractics and Mr. Collins in neuropsychology.
The Penguins organization has been careful to take Crosby’s recovery slow. GM Shero has stated on numerous occasions that Crosby won’t be allowed to take contact until he’s 100 percent symptom free.
In other words, Carrick’s opinion represents a break from the organizational stance and is unlikely to be a popular opinion.
The team’s other concussion specialist, Mr. Collins, is employed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). The media relations director for UPMC, Susan Manko, fired off an email to the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Friday night, clarifying the health provider’s opinion on Mr. Collins.
"I know it can be confusing for people to differentiate between M.D.s and Ph.D.s and who's qualified to do what. When it comes to concussions, it truly depends on the doctor's specific training. An M.D. may or may not be the most qualified person to evaluate and manage a concussion. As a credentialed clinical neuropsychologist (which comes with a Ph.D.) with unquestionable formal training in sports concussion management, Dr. Collins IS most qualified. Since the type of brain injury we're talking about here is an injury affecting neuro-cognitive function, it IS most appropriate and desirable for the patient to be evaluated and managed by a neuropsychologist who is trained in managing sports-related concussion. In fact, almost ALL of Dr. Collins' patients are referred to him by M.D.s. In other words, most of Dr. Collins' patients are first seen by their own doctors (M.D.s), who then refer to Dr. Collins because they themselves are not as qualified as Dr. Collins in the specifics of concussion management. That is why Dr. Collins' clinic is full every day. As director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Program, he himself sees about 4,000 patients a year. The other neuropsychologists at the UPMC program see an additional 6,000 patients. At 10,000 patients/year, the UPMC program is the nation's largest clinical practice for sports-related concussion. And they know what they're doing. UPMC has served as a model for the development of many other sports medicine concussion programs around the world.
"You should also know that the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program encompasses a team of specialists, including M.D.s. While patient privacy laws prohibit me from discussing specific patients, please understand that when patients come to UPMC to see Dr. Collins, often times they're not just seeing him. They're seeing the whole team of specialists, including several M.D.s. Other UPMC clinic team members include credentialed physical therapists who are vestibular specialists, medication specialists, neuro-diagnostic imaging specialists, neurologists, neurosurgeons...for whatever particular expertise is needed. But, Dr. Collins is most qualified to oversee the team.
"It's really important to note also that during his nearly 20-year career, Dr. Collins has authored or co-authored 62 clinical research studies on the clinical management of sports-related concussions that have been published in top peer-reviewed scientific journals (many of them involving groundbreaking research), in addition to numerous books and book chapters. All of his and UPMC's clinical treatment protocols are based on published scientific evidence. He also, by invitation, co-authored the CDC's Concussion Tool Kit series, and has served as a consultant to many professional athletic organizations.
"You may also be interested in knowing about the formal two-year fellowship training program in sports-related concussion that neuropsychologists can complete if they want to call themselves experts in sports-related concussion. Of course, Dr. Collins completed his fellowship training years ago at Henry Ford Health System with Dr. Mark Lovell before they were recruited to UPMC to begin the first sports concussion clinic and research program of its kind. Twelve years later, Dr. Collins now conducts UPMC's fellowship training program, having trained dozens of "fellows" himself from around the world."
The Penguins probably wish Mr. Carrick would have kept his opinion on Sidney Crosby to himself instead of going on a local radio station and saying what he did. Regardless, the team will likely continue exercising supreme care with the NHL’s most visible player.
*****
Penguins Training Camp, Day 1: What We Learned
James Neal on playing with Sidney Crosby:
I got to skate with him here at the start before camp. You know how good he is and what he does on the ice, it’s unbelievable. It would definitely be an unbelievable chance to be able to play with him and hopefully we can do well together.
Paul Martin is ready for 2011-12:
I feel a lot better, it's an extra year under your belt. You’re a lot more comfortable and know what's expected with things like tests and you know what's going with systems. You get along a lot better with the guys, so it's good.
Pascal Dupuis supports concussion awareness:
All the players are stepping forward to take headshots out of the game right now and hopefully that will show in the pre-season and when the season starts as well.
Chris Kunitz on where he will play:
We haven't really talked about it yet. Just that net front presence, if you can be around the net looking for rebounds. It's kind of cliché, but if the puck goes there and no one's at the net, it's tough to score on a goalie from 90 feet from the net.
Richard Park compares the organization now and then:
The one common thing is that since I've known Pittsburgh, they've always had winners here. Mario (Lemieux), Ronnie Francis, and Jaromir (Jagr) and those guys when I was here originally, now you look around and it's obviously Crosby, Malkin, Staal. I could sit here and mention all the young guys, but they've got a great young core group of players. They win. There’s certain organizations just go out and win and Pittsburgh's one of those organizations.
Evgeni Malkin speaks about his possible role without Sidney Crosby in the lineup:
Yeah, I’m going to try to play at the same level I played at three years before. We hope Sid comes back and begins the season with us. We’re a good team and we have 25 good players, not just me. We have Staalsy and Flower. I’m just going to try to play 100 percent.
Malkin on his surgically-repaired knee and its soreness:
It’s all gone. My knee is 90 percent ready. But we have time. It’s 20 more days till the start of the season.
Malkin doesn’t see much change on the man advantage, contrary to coach Dan Bylsma:
I think we’ll play the same guys. Me, Sid, maybe (James Neal). We have a couple options. We play the same system. Nothing changed.
Matt Cooke looks to play within the rules:
I've made some changes and I can sit here and talk to you about it all until I'm blue in the face, but it's my job to go out and prove it and I'm prepared to do that.
Coach Bylsma on when Crosby might come back:
There is not a realistic expectation. There’s no prediction, no idea of a prediction. It’s not really something we talk about in terms of putting a prediction or timeline on it. He’s doing well. He’s doing better. You see him on the ice participating. You’re going to see a guy that looks like Sidney Crosby on the ice. He’s a talented player and you can see it when he’s on the ice. That’s a positive thing. We aren’t able and aren’t trying to put any timeline or expectation on when the next step might be.
Zbynek Michalek on Jaromir Jagr:
I was kind of hoping that he was gonna end up here in Pittsburgh and he had to do what's best for him. Playing at the World Championships and the Olympics, he played really well for our team and I thought he could help our team, but in the end, for whatever reason, he didn't choose our team and that's his decision.
I only saw him at the World Championships and after that I didn't even talk to him. At the time of the World Championships I didn't know there was a chance he might come back to the NHL, so I didn't talk to him about it.
I was surprised because there was always speculation about us or Montreal or maybe some other team, but he ended up with Philly. So I was surprised because of what he did here with our organization and he went to our biggest rival. But like I said, it's only his decision and we'll see how it's gonna work out.
Simon Despres on whether offense or defense is harder:
I think offense is more of a confidence issue, but you're always tested on can you be good offensively if you're not good defensively, so focus on defense first.
Eric Tangradi on his expectations:
To be honest I'm not expecting anything. I'm going in with an attitude and mindset that whatever opportunity I'm given, I'm gonna fly with it. It they need me to be a fourth line grinder or a power-play guy, I can play all these roles. Whatever opportunity I'm put in, I'm willing to work with.
Dustin Jeffrey on his knee’s health:
It's feeling really well and obviously we're quite a long way aways from where we were last season, but coming into camp here I hope that I'll just be fully right off the start anyways. It's just a matter of seeing the doctor and coming back to the trainers and hopefully see what will happen. Maybe I'll be able to go in a full practice.
Deryk Engelland on his mindset:
I feel a little bit better. There's a lot of competition there and you still gotta bring your A-game everyday and it's tough positions to get.
Ben Lovejoy looking forward to Saturday with the fans:
It's exciting, it's going to be the first day on the ice with everybody, so everybody's going to be flying. If it's anything like last year there will be a ton of people in the crowd watching and planning the team in their minds and hopefully envisioning good things to come.
Sidney Crosby referencing his status via communication with doctors:
I really don’t know. As far as communication with doctors and things like that, I’ve been just kind of waiting to see what’s going to be day 1 of camp and what their feeling was and telling them how I feel. So I haven’t gotten that far. I hope that everything goes well the next little bit and I’m not ruling that out at all. But I think at this point, I’m just kind of worried about this step and just getting through it.
Crosby on if he has been without headaches for a while:
Yeah, fairly. Whatever symptoms I’ve had have been pretty minimal. To be able to get cleared to do this is good.
<>Injury Updates Per Coach Bylsma
Brooks Orpik – “Cleared to practice and we'll see as he goes along the level he's comfortable with. He hasn't really put together days where he's been in contact and in the bustle of practice. We'll see as he goes along, but he'll be out there participating.”
Craig Adams – “Further along. He's almost at a full go. He will be participating as well.”
Dustin Jeffrey –“Similar to Sidney. He's cleared for practice, but not for contact. That's a pretty positive thing for him in the last couple of weeks. It's been good. We'll see him on the ice as well.”
Boris Valabik – “In a rehab situation. He will not be on the ice to start camp. Knee injury.”
Robert Bortuzzo – “I don't have a specific word on him. He's not participating. He's in a rehab mode right now on his injury."
Stick tap to the
Penguins’ Web site for player quotes and injury updates.
Have a great weekend!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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