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John Platten & Concussion

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rdhopkins2

rdhopkins2

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Psycho Footy Nut A Star Wars Fan Footy Club Survivor 4: Hawks Threepeat Veteran 10k Posts Wordler Hawthorn Hawks - Conor Nash Player Sponsor 2021 Hawthorn Hawks - James Cousins Player Sponsor 2021
Oct 1, 2002
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It puts things into perspective when his greatest wish is to see is grand children and to remember their names. It is a chilling thought that the courageous acts he displayed on the field would someday lead to possible early-onset Alzheimer's. Yes, I do remember Hocking knocking him out in the first quarter of the '89 GF, just one among countless incidents of violence and courage in Rat's career. Rat embodied the Jeans style of play. John Platten streaming down the wing - ball in hand, hair flowing - is an indelible picture of a great era for our Club. To think that he may be losing his own memories, not just of his footballing past but of his family is very, very sad indeed. Thank you for my childhood football memories, Platts. I wish you only the best where your own memories are concerned.
 
The daily telegraph link works, but here is the guts of it:

Former footballer John Platten fears he could have early onset dementia due to the 40 concussions he suffered during his career.
The 52-year-old told the Herald Sun he had about two concussions a year during the 18 years he played AFL.

The former Hawthorn player now forgets the names of his children's friends, repeats himself and sometimes even forgets conversations all together.
'It happens with my kids' friends. I meet them, and then I see them the next week and I can't remember meeting them,' Platten told the newspaper.
'I don't want to be seen as a whinger, because it's the consequences of playing the game.
'But I want to be able to see my grand kids and remember them.'

His wife first notice the issue six months ago and following a conversation with the AFL Player Association, Platten decided it was time to see a specialist and seek help.

Platten played for Central Districts for four years and then joined Hawthorn in 1986, playing with the club for 11 years. During the 1989 Grand Final Platten suffered his worst ever concussion - he didn't know the score or if he had even played, and he has no recollection of the match.

Platten is due to see a concussion specialist to investigate the extent of his injuries.


The wiki has a pretty good, and somewhat scary article about chronic brain injury :https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy but this article from the MJA is a little more balanced - https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/196/9/does-football-cause-brain-damage
 
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Good luck to The Rat.

It seems concussion is a timebomb we will be hearing more about. Even if the AFL measures in the last few years are making an impact, we will be hearing more about it from older players.

I shudder to think of the NFL with their mega impacts, using their heads as the tip of a spear to hammer into each other.

NRL would be worse too.
 
A cracking fella and a brilliant family as a whole. Welcoming and generous with his time, last year's GF BBQ with the family is something I'll always remember.

On field, what an absolute champion someone who was happy to 'pay the price' for his club, for his mates. All the best John, hoping for some positive news.

Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk
 
Champion player and champion bloke - one of our greatest players.

I hope he ends up suing Steven Hocking, who punched him out in the 1989 Grand Final.
 
Davo23 said:
Champion player and champion bloke - one of our greatest players.

I hope he ends up suing Steven Hocking, who punched him out in the 1989 Grand Final.
Click to expand...

Garry Hocking.
 

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Not that it will do much good for Platts but I often wonder why the AFL and Player's Assoc haven't made the use of helmets compulsory. You could argue that some helmets don't do enough to protect against concussion and that's possibly true but why can't they develop a better one that meets the 'standard' set by the medical profession as being likely to protect or at least reduce the effect of the head knock. Hopefully it doesn't take a Phil Hughes style incident for it to happen.
 
HigginsHawk said:
Not that it will do much good for Platts but I often wonder why the AFL and Player's Assoc haven't made the use of helmets compulsory. You could argue that some helmets don't do enough to protect against concussion and that's possibly true but why can't they develop a better one that meets the 'standard' set by the medical profession as being likely to protect or at least reduce the effect of the head knock. Hopefully it doesn't take a Phil Hughes style incident for it to happen.
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(Popped into the thread due to my respect for the Rat)

Helmets do nought to prevent concussion. Nothing. The impact doesn't cause concussion. It's the sudden stop. Helmets protect against things like skull fractures, but they're useless for concussions.

There's a school of thought that helmets actually INCREASE the risk of concussion. As people in them feel more confident to be more reckless thinking they're protected.
 
This is why the AFL has to suspend players for all head high contacts that are not pure accidents, including elbows and forearms to the face by protected species like Fyfe.

All non-accidental high contact has to be banned and strictly enforced via the standing joke that is the MRP.

Otherwise we'll end up a bit like the gridiron players in the USA where the evidence for concussive brain damage from there sport is overwhelming and is growing as fast as doctors and medical researchers can investigate it.

FFS contact players cop enough brutal accidental contacts with head on head clashes as it is without any one adding to do by getting away with wacks to the head poorly disguised as spoils e.g. Lewis on Goldstein.

Of course the AFL, being corrupt self satisfied avaricious scumbags, will not act on any of this unless a few lawyers actually start suing them for failing to provide a safe work place etc. Only when their piles of cash are under threat will the AFL start to act.

Platten should lawyer up and get the ball rolling if only to spare some future footballers from his predicament.
 
I have it on good authority from a family member that platts is fine and he is simply raising awareness to the dangers of concussion. He has apparently gone on radio in adelaide and said for everyone to calm down.
 
Davo23 said:
Champion player and champion bloke - one of our greatest players.

I hope he ends up suing Steven Hocking, who punched him out in the 1989 Grand Final.
Click to expand...
Was there anyone Geelong players didn't try to kill that day? It was utterly disgraceful what they did yet the Hawks stuck to plan and played the ball.
 

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All the best Rat! One of my favourites, loved watching you play
 
Adelaide Hawk once posted on here that Platten is a strange bloke, he said that he knew him quite well from being around the club in the 80s and in later years back in Adelaide he'd see him and go up and say hello and Platten would act like he didn't know him.

Actually that now would make sense in the context of this article, rather than the implication that he was being a dick he probably just didn't remember him.

The reality is that if he has been concussed 40 times then it would be almost impossible not to experience more than moderate brain function degeneration in later life. Although there are now means to resolve these kind of issues using low level light therapy in the form of infra red light shone into the brain at wavelengths between 810-860nm, although you'd probably have to search quite hard to find a doctor that is knowledgeable, not that medical lasers are necessary, you could purchase a CCTV infra red LED from Amazon for about $10 and do it yourself and in all probability see improvements in a month or two. The plasticity of the brain is what allows physical or emotional traumas to have such a deleterious effect but the flip side is that it's amazing the recovery that can be achieved when the aim is to heal rather than medicate for symptom minimisation.
 
JoeHawk said:
Was there anyone Geelong players didn't try to kill that day? It was utterly disgraceful what they did yet the Hawks stuck to plan and played the ball.
Click to expand...
Cats did it in subsequent Grand Finals (92, 94-95) too, and it backfired on them every time.

This is a serious issue for the Rat (who was also one of my favourites - even cheered for him during Origin, even though I was barracking for the Vics). Hope he gets all the help he needs.
 
HigginsHawk said:
Not that it will do much good for Platts but I often wonder why the AFL and Player's Assoc haven't made the use of helmets compulsory. You could argue that some helmets don't do enough to protect against concussion and that's possibly true but why can't they develop a better one that meets the 'standard' set by the medical profession as being likely to protect or at least reduce the effect of the head knock. Hopefully it doesn't take a Phil Hughes style incident for it to happen.
Click to expand...
Concussion occurs mainly when the brain, which floats in a fluid sack, hits the inside of the skull. Helmets can't do anything to stop that. In fact, by giving a false sense of security, they can increase the risk of concussion.
 

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John Platten & Concussion

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