IS BUYING CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
The doctors who examined Eagles running back Brian Westbrook today in Pittsburgh reported in a statement that his symptoms have improved significantly since Sunday's second concussion and they expect a full recovery. He will be re-tested in 2-3 weeks, they said.
Westbrook was examined at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center by sports concussion specialists Dr. Joseph Maroon and Dr. Michael Collins.
“We are very encouraged by Brian’s progress, we believe that he has an excellent prognosis and we expect a full recovery,” Maroon and Collins said in the joint statement. “We developed a comprehensive physical rehab plan for Brian, and we will repeat the detailed testing in the next two to three weeks.”
As part of his visit today, the doctors said Westbrook was "re-tested today with a battery of neuro-cognitive tests, including ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing), a computerized tool that is used by all NFL teams for evaluating injury recovery. He also underwent comprehensive physical and neurological exam, results of which were favorable."
The statement said Westbrook was cleared completely from his symptoms after the initial concussion against Washington before sustaining the second concussion Sunday against San Diego. The doctors described the second as a "much milder concussion which was not related to loss of consciousness but associated only with dizziness and headache." Westbrook was knocked unconscious from the initial blow against Washington.
“We commend the Eagles athletic training and medical staff for their diligent and conservative care in this particular case as well as their historical excellence in managing these types of injuries,” added Dr. Mark Lovell, director of the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program.
Maroon is a UPMC neurosurgeon and longtime team neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dr. Collins is a UPMC neuropsychologist at the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program.
For our previous posts from today, click here.
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
