Expert: Recovery Time Varies For Concussions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Fan message boards and social media sites are rife with rumors about injured Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Fans are predicting the worst – that Sid is out for the season and or even longer despite the team's denials.
"That really has not been a topic of conversation or a thought," Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said.
Tuesday, the team denied a tweet from hockey columnist Mike Brophy that Sid tried to skate and saw "black dots and stars."
The team continues to say that they expect Sid to return before too long, even though they had expected him back by now.
"You know when the doctor told us he had a mild concussion, we were expecting this not to last this long," Bylsma said, "and we certainly are concerned about making sure health is full when he gets back to play."
Dr. Mark Lovell is an internationally-known concussion expert who has consulted both the NHL and NFL on their treatment and prevention.
He says that every concussion is different and that fans should not draw any conclusions from the length of Sid's recovery.
"The vast majority of athletes recover from having a concussion," Dr. Lovell said. "How long that takes can be quite variable depending on the individual."
Even though Lovell is not Sid's doctor, he sees no reason why he or anyone else would suffer permanent damage.
"We see here at UPMC about 200 people a week with concussions and the vast majority of people get better," he said. "Just everybody's on their own individual time line in terms of how long that takes."
