[needle]

Easterbrook's column was the first place I read someone really questioning the widespread use of painkilling injections in the NFL:

A sports orthopedist with football experience told TMQ, "At some teams, the team doctor freely injects players. At others, the team doctor is conservative. If a coach tries to order the team doctor to inject a player so that he can perform, the doctor may say no -- coaches shouldn't give medical advice. But if a player asks the doctor for a shot, the answer will usually be yes because it is a physician's duty to treat pain." On many teams, the doctor said, players are quietly given to understand that the request for local anesthesia shots must come from them. The player asking, rather than the physician offering, satisfies the ethical qualms some doctors might feel. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...iew/070814

The latest news involves former NFL players suing because of widespread use of painkillers of all kinds at NFL training tables:

Former offensive lineman Jeremy Newberry describes lining up in the San Francisco 49ers' locker room with other players to receive powerful anti-inflammatory injections in their buttocks shortly before kickoff. Newberry played for San Francisco from 1998 to 2006, including one season in which played in every game but never practiced because of pain from his injuries, according to the lawsuit.

He retired in 2009, and because of the drugs he took while playing, he now suffers from renal failure, high blood pressure and violent headaches, the lawsuit says.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/109581...llege-suit

[needle]

Easterbrook's column was the first place I read someone really questioning the widespread use of painkilling injections in the NFL:

A sports orthopedist with football experience told TMQ, "At some teams, the team doctor freely injects players. At others, the team doctor is conservative. If a coach tries to order the team doctor to inject a player so that he can perform, the doctor may say no -- coaches shouldn't give medical advice. But if a player asks the doctor for a shot, the answer will usually be yes because it is a physician's duty to treat pain." On many teams, the doctor said, players are quietly given to understand that the request for local anesthesia shots must come from them. The player asking, rather than the physician offering, satisfies the ethical qualms some doctors might feel. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto...iew/070814

The latest news involves former NFL players suing because of widespread use of painkillers of all kinds at NFL training tables:

Former offensive lineman Jeremy Newberry describes lining up in the San Francisco 49ers' locker room with other players to receive powerful anti-inflammatory injections in their buttocks shortly before kickoff. Newberry played for San Francisco from 1998 to 2006, including one season in which played in every game but never practiced because of pain from his injuries, according to the lawsuit.

He retired in 2009, and because of the drugs he took while playing, he now suffers from renal failure, high blood pressure and violent headaches, the lawsuit says.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/109581...llege-suit