Horizons Fall 2015

S tudent-athletes who play football and other contact sports often take hard hits. Diving tackles on opposing runners can result in head-on collisions with other players and sometimes being knocked out. And often, the after-affect is a concussion, which NSU’s Stephen A. Russo, Ph.D., defined as an intense “rattling of the brain.” “If you suffered another concussion, soon after, you could have been in serious danger,” said Russo, who treats athletes in NSU’s Sports Medicine Clinic. Russo bridges two colleges as an associate professor in NSU’s College of Psychology and as director of sport psychology in NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. Head injuries and concussion protocols have made national headlines in recent years as the dangers in contact sports have been better understood. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) instituted guidelines. The National Football League (NFL) followed. BY JOHN DOLEN Saving Players the