(WXYZ) — Most of us have seen the scary scene on the field for Detroit Lions safety Morice Norris – after a hard hit during the team’s second pre-season game and video shows him appearing to experience a seizure.
Watch Keenan's report in the video player below
The Lions say Norris has movement in all of his extremities which, of course, is a relief. But I wanted to dig deeper. So I reached out to Corewell Health neurologist Dr. Andrew Zillgitt, who says that Norris suffered what is called a tonic-clonic seizure.
"It's where the body gets very stiff," Dr. Zillgett said. "That's called the tonic phase. And then there are rhythmic jerking movements of the extremities, which we call the clonic phase. That whole event is called, in general terms, a grand mal seizures. But at its core, it's abnormal electrical activity in the brain."
Zillgitt says these seizures can happen to anyone after a major head injury — even without a prior history of seizure. That includes not just professional athletes with their larger size and greater speed, but also high school and college players, and even victims of car accidents or other head trauma where the head is whipped forward then back.
"Sounds like sort of whiplash that you can get in any sort of a variety of activity," I pointed out to Dr. Zillgitt.
"Yeah, absolutely, so what you just described is what we call a coup and countercoup injury where the head moves forward and then backwards very quickly, or the head and neck move forward and backwards very quick. And those type of impacts can happen outside of contact sports. They can happen, as you pointed out, from a motor vehicle crash or even, you know. Falling down the stairs."
Zillgitt says an isolated seizure after a head injury doesn’t necessarily mean long-term problems — but ongoing monitoring is key to keeping players safe.
Anyone experiencing lingering headaches, nausea, personality changes, and memory loss should seek medical evaluation and testing.
Watch our previous coverage on Norris' injury, including an interview with former Lion Mike Utley
