When did we become so frail a species?

As far as I can remember from growing up in the 70s and 80s, the world didn't seem so full of danger. It was just called being a little boy and growing up.
 
I seem to wake up in this new century where the slightest shock to your head might mean concussion. For anyone who grew up playing hockey and practicing martial arts, listening to doctors and specialists in 2015, it's a miracle that more of us aren't in a vegetative state.
 
Seems impossible to even just bump your head against a cabinet door w/o suffering from a concucssion.
 
How many time have I been smashed and have I smashed others head first on the Tatami? Usually, unless you loss consciousness, no one thought much of it. Last thing I remember from my last judo competition is landing head first on the mat while warming up w/ a fellow. Oops... Happens. I was stunned I guess. I don't remember much of the fight. But ironically, I remember that it's the first time I heard of "concussions" on the bus afterwards because one guy had taken quite a beating and was on an ambulance with a concussion and bleeding...
 
The reason I ask is that I just came back from the doctor and finally got my MRI results - radiculopathy at cervical level in 3 spots. Pinched nerves If I understand correctly. 
 
And I'm thinking of the accident and trying to put that into perpective in terms of shock compared to say, being put in check playing hockey, or falling down skateboarding or just being a boy growing up. It seems incredible that I managed through all those hits and blows and that I am alive and relatively well today.
 
But I can't deny that a hit that seemed manageable by comparison at firsthand definitely caused actual damage and that I must undergo treatment... Months later, I still can't train or play my bigger guitars - and if I omit anti-inflammatory for a day or two, my body lets me know... 
 
It's odd.

dubdisciple
Still wrapping my mind around restless leg syndrome.

Now I can't get that picture out of my head.

Knowledge is a dangerous thing. Or not.

I guess so. :)
 
The good news is that I'm starting physiotherapy tomorrow (well, today actually). The doctor first suggested a procedure that implied putting me to sleep and injecting stuff in my neck but I thought we could maybe start with something a bit less intrusive.
 
My physiotherapist did wonders for my lower back problems in a single session last fall, and I trust that she may be able to help me big time once again. Having needles messing in my neck where there are so many nerves and all seemed a tad radical as a first treatment.

I used to ride bikes without helmets, we drank from the water hose,  rode skateboards with out pads, rode in cars with no seat-belts which also had metal dashboards, played with real bows and arrows in the woods, shot BB guns in the basement, played with mercury on our desks, inhaled second hand smoke everywhere, and so many more things........ somehow, I survived all that.....
 
Now however, if you don't bake a cake for me and place upon it the words " Guitarists are the best musicians in the world" and a plastic statue of a rock star with a guitar...... because you think that only bass guitarists qualify in that respect, I will find a lawyer and sue you into oblivion and you will wish you had studied the oboe instead.

Lol Bubba.....
 
I like the 'old school' mentality........it builds character.

I think there's a lot of things in play here.... and one of them is the "lottery mentality".... I mean, come on, it's easier to sue someone else for your own stupidity than it is to accept responsibility for yourself.  The big start to this was the lady who spilled hot coffee on herself then sued Micky Dee's because they didn't tell her the coffee was hot.  She won the lawsuit. In another time, she would have been laughed at for the dolt she was. "Couldn't hold it dearie?" Bwahahahahahahaha.....
 
So now, just act like you're offended because of something that 10 years ago you would have been laughed at for even mentioning and if you get the right lawyer and jury, you can retire to a tropical island on the winnings. Maybe they'll even name a new law after you so others won't suffer that same indignity.

Well said Steve.
    I also agree that people don't like to take responsibility for their actions and always looking for a scapegoat/escape route. Also this widely promoted new fad of being "sensitive or offensive" to others takes away from the rough & tumble ways we were used to when growing up. No one made much of a big deal when we used to get slightly hurt as that was all part of growing up (mentally & physically). Men nowadays aren't as 'manly' as they used to be and tend to be much more feminine in mannerisms/dressware than they did in the not so distant past.......the "good old days".
 
My wife & I do make a concious effort in not 'babying' our children (especially when getting minor scrapes/cuts) as they'll need to be tough when/if something serious happens. Mustn't sweat the small stuff. While typing this, my wife just called and said my 4 yr. old son fell and scraped his knee playing outside.....remedy was to wash it with the garden hose and sending him back to play. He was simply happy to get back to the yard.          
 

Could it be the sports simply are more dangerous today?
Even junior ice hockey players are today faster than the adults 50 years ago, and the helmets and other protective gear gives you false sense of safety. The head-tackles are a big thing now because the speed and size of the players is what it is.
 
Also, already ten year old kids snowboarding or skateboarding, they don't just "try things". They really test their limits trying to do what they see on TV, performing life threatening tricks all day long. Plus downhill biking, parkour and the likes. The tricks you see the teenagers do in Youtube and wherever are unbelievable, but often also unbelievably stupid.

Kalle Rantaaho
Could it be the sports simply are more dangerous today?
Even junior ice hockey players are today faster than the adults 50 years ago, and the helmets and other protective gear gives you false sense of safety. The head-tackles are a big thing now because the speed and size of the players is what it is.
 
Also, already ten year old kids snowboarding or skateboarding, they don't just "try things". They really test their limits trying to do what they see on TV, performing life threatening tricks all day long. Plus downhill biking, parkour and the likes. The tricks you see the teenagers do in Youtube and wherever are unbelievable, but often also unbelievably stupid.

Common sense is also severly lacking today..........if it's going to be 'life threatening', it may not be the best thing to do just for a trick.
When growing up, I used to do all those crazy stuff on skateboards, racing downhill on 10 speed bikes without a helmut, crazy stunts on BMX bikes (no helmut), playing almost every sport etc....but, we all learned very quickly what can and cannot do........after a few falls/cuts/scrapes. Of course, we didn't have that mentality to do these sports or stunts in 'extreme' as common sense always prevailed.
What was that Clint Eastwood quote? "man must know his limititations".    

Agreed with pretty much everything that's been said.
 
The whole idea of suing people doesn't really come as naturally to us. Back home, people turn to their government for any and everything and protest if that doesn't work. Or just put up w/ things, unless it's something really major.
 
Which is why Jury Duty is practically unheard of and we don't have people waiting in line outside the hall of justice every morning I suppose...
 
Having been through an accident however, we did have to find lawyers. But I don't think we went anywhere beyond reasonable stating our case to them. Then again, you need to be careful because the other party may be just as quick to try and settle for less. And that's what I hate... The notions of good will and good faith were at the very core of the way I was brought up. But those notion rarely seem to apply in today's world... 
 
The irony of it all is that, at heart, I am a self-confessed individualist.

bitflipper
I question this thread's premise...YouTube will show you what imaginative (if stupid) people do with skateboards, bicycles and snowmobiles, causing one to question whether or not we're really evolving into a more cautious species.
 

That's when the old "problem taking care of itself" paradigm fails...

Been involved in emergency services for over 30 years. We have a saying that about sums this up...
"Folks don't call 9-1-1 cause they did something intelligent!"

Of course our ancestors from 10,000 years ago are dead!  Duh.  Heck, even our ancestors from 100 years ago are mostly dead.