撞頭，請注意！

Football is in upheaval over concussions -- not because the game has become more dangerous， but because we now know things we didnt a few decades ago. In a nutshell， blows to the head come with an evolving list of medical risks including a collection of life-altering short-， medium- and long-term health problems， including headaches， depression and dementia. The suicide rates are alarming.

在腦震蕩這個問題上，橄欖球無疑是最先要被提及的。不是因為這項運動更危險，而是因為我們比幾十年前有了更多的認識。概括地說，腦部受到沖擊會導致一系列醫學上的病害，包括改變人生的短期、中期和長期的健康問題，其中包括頭痛、抑郁以及癡呆。自殺率也令人擔憂。

Easy solutions are not good； good solutions are not easy. The implications for the sport are profound enough that some --Malcolm Gladwell① comes to mind -- have predicted footballs demise， or close to it.

簡單的處理不夠好，好的處理又不簡單。這對這項運動所產生的影響已經足夠深遠，以致有人已經預見到了橄欖球的消亡，或者說接近消亡，比如說馬爾科姆·格拉德維爾。

By and large， basketball has seen all this from afar and breathed a sigh of relief. Studies have shown many sports have profound issues to wrestle with here， but basketball has not made the list.

總體上說，籃球很早就預見到了這一點，并從中脫身。研究表明，很多運動都會導致嚴重的腦震蕩問題，但是籃球并沒有上榜。

Even so， the league has been proactive， having contracted with respected University of Michigan neurologist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher， who has served as a sports concussion expert in testimony before Congress as well as in various roles at the American Academy of Neurology， Michigan NeuroSport and at the NFL. Kutcher is leading the implementation of new head injury protocols to keep players safer-- by increasing the likelihood head injuries are detected and treated， and to keep concussed players from taking the floor.

即便如此，聯盟對此依舊相當積極謹慎，他們和廣受贊譽的密歇根大學神經學家杰弗里·庫徹博士簽訂合約，后者曾經作為體育腦震蕩方面的專家在美國國會作證，同時在美國神經學院、密歇根體育神經中心以及美國橄欖球聯賽中擔任多項職務。庫徹作為帶頭人，目前正在制訂新的頭部受傷規定——通過增加檢查和治療措施，以及讓出現腦震蕩的球員得以休息的方法，讓球員處于更安全的環境下。

The more experts learn about blows to the head， the more they learn how hard it is to classify any as without long-term health implications.

當專家們對頭部受沖擊了解得越多，他們就越明白，如果沒有長期觀察，很難對腦震蕩進行明確劃分。

NBA players， says Kutcher， "are not taking the repetitive hits like they are in football or in hockey， but they do get hit， quite a bit. They may be mild bumps， those kinds of things， but certain brains are susceptible to trauma more than others and to be able to monitor brain health over the course of the season and a career is something that we have to do regardless of the level of impact."

庫徹表示，NBA球員“不像橄欖球和冰球運動員那樣持續受到撞擊，但他們也會時常面對沖撞。這些沖撞也許只是輕微一碰，但有些人的大腦會更容易受到損害。無論撞擊程度多嚴重，我們該在整個賽季或球員的職業生涯中都關注他們的大腦健康”。……