Leopold on concussions: 'It’s a really weird injury' - 03-10-11

Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold was on the wrong end of a devastating hit last season in the playoffs when as a member of the Penguins, he was run over by former Senators defenseman Andy Sutton:

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Leopold suffered a concussion on the play. Despite being knocked out cold, he only missed five games. In contrast, his former teammate Sidney Crosby has been sidelined for more than two months after what appeared to be - on the surface at least - a less violent collision with former Capitals forward David Steckel in the Winter Classic:

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Having suffered a handful of concussions throughout his career, Leopold has a better vantage point than most when discussing the treatment, recovery and unpredictability of this injury. Tuesday, he shed some light on the subject:

On concussions in general:

"The head is the one thing that runs your whole body. If it’s not feeling right, you’re not going to go out there and play. There’s no need to put yourself at risk. Every player is different. Every situation is different. I know the media wants to speculate how hard the hit looked. That has nothing to do with hit. It has to do with how the guy feels. He’s going to be able to tell you when he’s ready to play or not. I’ve had a few in my past. It’s a day to day thing. Some days you feel great. Then the next day you feel bad. It’s an emotional roller coaster as it is a physical roller coaster with how you feel every day. It’s one of those things that just takes time and needs rest."

On the medical treament for concussions:

"You got check in and see how your symptoms every day. Some days their better. Some days they aren’t. It’s a slow progression. But once you get that progression where you been feeling good for a few days and you get back on the bike and doing stuff. If all goes well, you keep progressing. From my experiences in the past, it’s all situational. It’s frustrating as a player to go through that because it’s an emotional disconnect from your teammates. You feel the pressure from either the media or yourself to get back on the ice. Let time heal and sometime’s rest is the best thing for it. It’s a really weird injury."

 There's really no way to rehab this injury?

"Like I said, your head runs your whole body and if that’s not functioning right, your whole body’s not functioning right. I think you need to be extra cautious and extra careful with how you approach the treatment of that. It’s one of those things, as an injured player, you have to know the signs that you are ready. Obviously in the past with me, some have been short and quick to heal and others have taken quite longer."

Does the league need to make any changes with regards to blows to the head?

"Quite honestly, I haven’t looked too deep into what rule change will make a difference. Maybe it’s just the awareness that players have had over the past years on concussions. Of course, it brings more attention to it when a high profile player gets injured such as Sid. The numbers are up. Don’t know if there’s a reason why. It’s something for the competition committee to look at."

(Photos: First-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Second-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)