Doctor who cleared Bryan says no evidence of brain damage

[Deleted]

Too much to put in a title. Not sure how credible these guys are but just putting it out there.

Wow...

Exclusive: Doctor Who Cleared WWE's Daniel Bryan For Wrestling Return Says He Shows No Evidence of Prior Brain Injury
By Tufayel Ahmed On 3/23/18 at 12:19 PM

The unlikely comeback story of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) favorite Daniel Bryan shook the grappling world this week. Two years after emotionally announcing his retirement from the ring, WWE said Tuesday the former world heavyweight champion, real name Bryan Danielson, has been cleared to compete again. Like his underdog character on WWE shows Raw and SmackDown Live, the real-life Danielson has seemingly overcome insurmountable odds. Upon retiring in February 2016, Danielson told ESPN he had suffered at least 10 documented concussions during his 16-year career and had even experienced post-concussion seizures “that I hid for a long time.”

But three top neurological doctors, and WWE’s own medical director Dr. Joseph Maroon, have given the veteran grappler the all-clear.

WWE said in a statement Tuesday that Danielson, 36, underwent “extensive evaluations” during his two years of retirement. “[Danielson] underwent a full review of his medical history and received comprehensive neurological and physical evaluations independent of WWE.”

One of the doctors that greenlit Danielson for an in-ring return is no stranger to dealing with athletes. Neurosurgeon Dr. Robert Cantu is a leading expert in concussions who consults with teams across the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL). He also has his own concussion treatment center at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Massachusetts.

Cantu tells Newsweek that upon evaluation of Danielson’s medical records in February, he found no sign of concussion-related injuries precluding the wrestler from returning to the ring.

“I evaluated Bryan for a neurological opinion on return to WWE on February 26, 2018. Included in his medical records were multiple evaluations by renowned concussion clinicians,” says Cantu by email.

“I determined that Bryan is currently asymptomatic, has a normal detailed neurological and cognitive neuropsychological examination, normal EEG, and an MRI that showed no definite evidence of a prior brain injury. It is my medical opinion that there is no absolute contraindication to his return to in-ring action in WWE."

Cantu is also one of the foremost experts in chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain disease that has been found in athletes and army veterans who are at risk of repeat head trauma. Currently, the most definitive diagnosis of CTE is during an autopsy of the brain after death. However, symptoms of CTE can be diagnosed in the living, including depression, aggressive behavior and dementia.

In 2007, Cantu was one of three neurological experts who diagnosed what is said to be the first case of CTE in professional wrestling in Chris Benoit.

www.newsweek.com/exclusive-doctor-who-cleared-wwes-daniel-bryan-wrestling-return-says-he-shows-858934

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

At this point, this pretty much ends the "But he has a family, dammit!" objections to his comeback, yes? Like...this is crazy news.

[Malcolm]

I dunno. Didn't WWE's doctors misdiagnose Punk's staph infection?
Edit: NVM. I thought the diagnosis came from a WWE doctor.

[DiBiase is Good]

I’m sure even with this news Bryan’s smart enough to tone his style accordingly. But if he even hints at doing a flying headbutt I’ll be on the first plane over to kick him in the bollocks!

[cjh]

Mar 23, 2018 17:15:09 GMT -5 Malcolm said:

I dunno. Didn't WWE's doctors misdiagnose Punk's staph infection?

Bryan asked Dr. Maroon who the best concussion doctors in the country are and went to them.  They passed him, so Maroon, who wouldn't pass Bryan previously, finally did.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Mar 23, 2018 17:15:09 GMT -5 Malcolm said:

I dunno. Didn't WWE's doctors misdiagnose Punk's staph infection?

Yes, but this isn't coming from WWE's doctors.

[axebomber]

Cool! I wonder if he used the sonic screwdriver.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Mar 23, 2018 17:19:38 GMT -5 cjh said:

Mar 23, 2018 17:15:09 GMT -5 Malcolm said:

I dunno. Didn't WWE's doctors misdiagnose Punk's staph infection?

Bryan asked Dr. Maroon who the best concussion doctors in the country are and went to them.  They passed him, so Maroon, who wouldn't pass Bryan previously, finally did.

In other words....

[Deleted]

Mar 23, 2018 17:11:42 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

At this point, this pretty much ends the "But he has a family, dammit!" objections to his comeback, yes? Like...this is crazy news.

Yep I think so.

Another note, apparently Meltzer had an amazing piece in WON this week regarding this. Apparently one of the doctors felt so strongly about Bryan's case that he was aggressively trying to get all the doctors seen by Bryan to work together and present a united front to pressure Maroon so he would clear him. I wonder if this guy's the guy.

[ben:friendship frog]

Very interesting and I hope they look into the new age treatments that Bryan was trying. This could potentially help lots of people, not just getting back into the ring but imagine if this stuff could help Mick Foley in any way.

[Deleted]

I'm curious how it's gonna play out with Bryan getting tested after every performance. If he shows signs of damage over time that would get him pulled, how many other wrestlers would hold up under the same scrutiny? I think a time is gonna come where the wrestling schedule will have to be re-evaluated. I don't necessarily think they need an off-season but I think it would be cool if they could find a way to get people on a rotation so no one is going as non-stop as a regular full-timer is.

[Perd]

Wasn’t the story always the the only doctors that wouldn’t clear Bryan, were ones employed by WWE? If that’s the case, and with what this doctor is saying, the “WWE only sidelined Bryan so he wouldn’t overshadow Roman” theories are only going to become more prevalent. I mean, no sign of brain damage is pretty incredible. And from what I understand, there’s no cure for CTE. Once you have it, you have it. It’s just all rather curious. He just happens to get cleared before the biggest show of the year, in a year when his contract is up. Not says I 100% believe this. But I certainly don’t dismiss it.

[Sparkybob]

Mar 23, 2018 17:22:36 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Mar 23, 2018 17:19:38 GMT -5 cjh said:

Bryan asked Dr. Maroon who the best concussion doctors in the country are and went to them.  They passed him, so Maroon, who wouldn't pass Bryan previously, finally did.

In other words....

Well Dr.Maroon is answering to Vince. Those other Doctors are not. They have different thresholds for acceptance.

[Hit Girl]

Brie healed him with her love.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

Mar 23, 2018 17:41:42 GMT -5 Sparkybob said:

Mar 23, 2018 17:22:36 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

In other words....

Well Dr.Maroon is answering to Vince. Those other Doctors are not. They have different thresholds for acceptance.

At what point is "no evidence of brain damage" not the definitive threshold? These three doctors just made Maroon look like a quack, and WWE idiots for employing him.

[KobashiChop]

Mar 23, 2018 17:11:42 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

At this point, this pretty much ends the "But he has a family, dammit!" objections to his comeback, yes? Like...this is crazy news.

As one of those objectors, I'm happy to accept it. But to be fair, this wasn't the case back he retired.

[Sparkybob]

Mar 23, 2018 17:50:38 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Mar 23, 2018 17:41:42 GMT -5 Sparkybob said:

Well Dr.Maroon is answering to Vince. Those other Doctors are not. They have different thresholds for acceptance.

At what point is "no evidence of brain damage" not the definitive threshold? These three doctors just made Maroon look like a quack, and WWE idiots for employing him.

If Daniel Bryan gets seriously hurt again the blood is going to be on the WWE's hands and not those other doctors. Bryan can say he is going to work a safer style but last time he said it he last about 3 months before getting hurt again. So I can totally get their hesitation to have him back in the ring.

[Big DSR Energy]

Mar 23, 2018 17:22:11 GMT -5 axebomber said:

Cool! I wonder if he used the sonic screwdriver.

When asked to comment, The Doctor said he thought Daniel's brain was

[Tenshigure]

Mar 23, 2018 17:50:38 GMT -5 2coldMack is even more baffled said:

Mar 23, 2018 17:41:42 GMT -5 Sparkybob said:

Well Dr.Maroon is answering to Vince. Those other Doctors are not. They have different thresholds for acceptance.

At what point is "no evidence of brain damage" not the definitive threshold? These three doctors just made Maroon look like a quack, and WWE idiots for employing him.

I wouldn't go that far (even if I'm no fan of him either). If anything, I'd say this falls under misdiagnosis, which does happen unfortunately. They took the words of certain studies and, combined with his history of lying about concussions in the past (and the ramping up of that concussion case headed by former workers), spooked both the WWE and Maroon most likely. 

I'm no expert, but incidentally the place I've been working at the last year or so helped me understand that medical terminology can be somewhat vague from time to time. Case in point, the term "lesion" does not actually mean physical damage such as a cut, but is used as an all-encompassing term that identifies something is there. In this case, what I've read is that he had a slower reflex compared to other athletes tested in the same way. 

Also, bear in mind that DBD isn't the first guy who has used hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat his brain injuries (lesions by medical definition are not cuts, simply that something is there). There were stories in the past about several people being able to successfully reverse brain damage using the same method (the very reason why Bryan started doing it), and as a result of him being a case that likely wasn't as bad to begin with, he's in even BETTER condition than many of his peers as a result of undergoing these processes. This would definitely lead to the credence that John Cena called him "the healthiest guy in the WWE right now". 

I'm sure as a fan, many hate the fact he lost two years off the prime of his career. On the other, the WWE as a company never abandoned him from a financial and business perspective, and while likely working in their best interest by keeping him out of action during the timeframe, is doing the right thing by letting him wrestle yet again. I'd rather they'd have been wrong and he be healthy than be proven right and have him jeopardize his health in the ring (see the staph infections of the past).

***

EDIT: I also wanted to add a bit more to my previous post: bear in mind that Bryan openly admitted to having seizures and memory loss, and the was also losing strength in his neck, back, and arm due to severe nerve damage. These all were addressed with therapy and the aforementioned hyperbaric treatments. Let's not just assume the "no brain damage" thing was the only reason why the WWE refused to clear him from a medical perspective.

[abjordans]

This is awesome. Is everyone’s brain just different? I mean, if you have had AT LEAST 10 concussions, how many do you have to have to start getting brain damage? I should definitely read up on this, but it is crazy to think he has had that many concussions and his brain is perfect. Makes me wonder how many guys like Aaron Hernandez or Chris Benoit had.