PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Over the past decade, concussions have become a focal point in sports.
Many elite athletes from around the world now come to Pittsburgh for treatment.
Fox Chapel native Chip Ganassi has been around the sport for decades as a driver and current team owner. He has seen the evolution of concussion care during that time.
“I think it’s the test and what we know and what we don’t know,” he said.
Over the past two decades, UPMC has become a world leader in addiction treatment and treatment, and Ganassi has seen the benefits of the treatment program at UPMC’s South Side office.
“The good news is that Pittsburgh is the place to go for this type of injury. That’s a real feather in the cap that I think Pittsburghers are from here,” Ganassi said.
Dr. Micky Collins is the architect of UPMC’s concussion program. He said it was the first in the world when it started in 2000.
“We don’t interfere with it. That’s all we do,” Collins said.
Collins said a concussion is a common injury and is caused by the brain moving in the skull. Think of your brain as an egg yolk inside an egg shell. When your brain is overstimulated, it can become damaged.
“We now know there are six types of concussions, so it’s not one size fits all,” Collins said.
Different types of concussions are based on different causes. A person may have only one or six types. According to Collins, there are now about 2 million to 3.5 million concussions in sports each year, affecting a variety of athletes, including car driver.
“The running of the race is mass acceleration and that’s what caused the collision,” Collins said.
“We’re really good at building bones and building organs,” Ganassi said. “One area I think is in the body there are a lot of questions about the brain.”
Ganassi said the racing world is now paying more attention to this injury. They better monitor past incidents and driver safety developments and work on future preventative measures.
“I think we’re going to go a long way to where I think we’re headed now,” Ganassi said.
Collins said that with advances in concussion treatment, most of the time they can get drivers back on the road, and he said that thanks to the research that has been done here in Pittsburgh over the past two decades, ” nothing was more certain. for there to be a commotion”.
“We’re getting more knowledge, and applying it better every year. We’re getting better,” Collins said.
Collins said his team continues to research and learn more about the 20,000 people a year who come to Pittsburgh from around the world for concussion treatment.
“We learn by seeing a lot of patients. No one has written a book about it. All the research and everything that has been done on it has been done for decades,” said Collins.
Collins said he wants to make Pittsburgh and UPMC zero for scrimmages, and while he believes they’ve accomplished their mission, he’s still surprised by how far they’ve come.
“I would be lying if I thought it would get to this point,” he said.
“Pittsburgh has a way of doing the right thing and putting the right group of people and giving the right opportunity. or the way, which always speaks louder than words.
Today, athletes around the world can continue to do what they love with little fear of concussions thanks to another pioneering group of medical professionals in Pittsburgh.
Chris Hoffman
