October 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 10
FP accepts challenge as NFL head team physician
BY SHERI PORTER
(Above) Andrew Tucker, M.D., head team physician of the 2001 world champion Baltimore Ravens, conducts tests on defensive end Rob Burnett, during a midweek clinic. (Below) Tucker keeps watch on the sidelines during every Ravens game.No one can confirm that Andrew Tucker, M.D., of Baltimore is the first FP to claim the title of head team physician in the NFL. But most agree that his accomplishment is unusual. "It's not been real common," says Tucker, who started the 2001 NFL football preseason as head team physician for the Baltimore Ravens. "Usually, in the NFL, the head of the medical team is an orthopedic surgeon."
Tucker, who's starting his 11th year with the organization (formerly the Cleveland Browns), previously was the team's primary care physician. He takes his new role in stride. "My day-to-day job hasn't changed much," he says. "The challenge is making good decisions, quick decisions, about whether someone can continue to play."
During football season, Tucker's NFL duties "take up about 20 percent of my time and 90 percent of my worries," he says. "The nature of the business is to keep guys healthy and on the field -- it's a high-stress kind of environment."
Tucker also is director of the University of Maryland's Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship. In addition, he serves as team physician for two Baltimore colleges and sees private patients.
FPs are uniquely qualified to position themselves at the forefront of sports medicine because of their ability to treat orthopedic as well as medical problems, says Tucker. In July, the latter was spotlighted when Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer died after collapsing from heat stroke. "Tragedies are fortunately pretty rare, but when they do occur, shock waves reverberate throughout the whole country," says Tucker. After Stringer's death, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue ordered all NFL teams to evaluate policies and procedures relating to the diagnosis and treatment of heat injury. "It's certainly got a lot of us working to figure out -- quite simply -- are there things we could do better," says Tucker.
He's also concerned about head injuries. "Concussions are a common injury in football, whether you're talking about high school, college or professional," he says. "The issue of chronic deficits in athletes as a result of repeated concussions is a major concern." Tucker says standard neuropsychological testing has only recently been tapped as a resource to help evaluate when an athlete can safely return to play (see related story below).
Also commanding the attention of team physicians is the proliferation of supplements and performance-enhancing agents. "There are health issues related to supplements and ethical issues about taking performance-enhancing agents," says Tucker. Manufacturers' claims regarding enhanced performance are seldom substantiated by scientific data. "Do these substances work, and more importantly, are they safe?" he says.
The summer of 2001 saw a rash of deaths on the playing field, including high school, college and professional football players. The tragedies have physicians such as Tucker wondering if there is a connection between some of those deaths and the escalation of unregulated supplements and performance-enhancing agents among players. "We're trying to find out how much is being used -- which is probably considerable -- by athletes at all different levels," says Tucker. "We need some good research in this area."
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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