>In the confirmed presence of brain damage or subdural hematoma the athlete must not be permitted to return to any contact sports involving frequent blows to the head or rotation of the head (especially boxing, karate, judo, sumo, rugby, American football, soccer, ice hockey, snowboarding) even if the symptoms have cleared and the lesions are no longer visible on neuro-images.16) In the literature on sports-related head injuries published in Japan, Europe, and the USA we found no clear guidelines on whether and when athletes with organic brain lesions such as intracranial bleeding can be allowed to RTP if their symptoms have resolved and abnormalities on neuro-images have disappeared.
>There are no clear guidelines on how to proceed after an athlete has sustained a small brain hemorrhage, brain contusion, or presents with an organic intracranial lesion such as arachnoid cyst, or has just undergone a craniotomy procedure. For now, such cases should be dealt with on an individual basis and the best approach should be chosen after information-sharing and discussions among medical professionals, the athlete, and his/her parents, coaches, and instructors.
>Most patients with consciousness deterioration require surgery including a variety of decompression craniotomies with, in most cases, subdural hematoma removal.5,15) Among 94 American football players with ASDH, 8 (8.5%) died as a result of the injury, 46 (48.9%) suffered permanent neurologic deficits, and 36 (38.3%) recovered completely from their serious injuries with intracranial pressure monitoring.5) Of 30 judo participants with ASDH,15 (50%) died and 7 (23.3%) remained in a persistent vegetative state; the outcome was poor in most patients even after decompression surgery.15)
shibata is basically walking an unwalked path. we can only assume tony has had him go through thorough testing and his doctors have cleared him to work, but obviously everyone is trying not to clonk his noggin too hard in case he croaks
