Preventing Concussions in Sports According to concussiontreatment.com, 1.6 to 3.8 million males and females suffer from concussions due to sports every year. Ways to improve these concussions could be by having medical checks before sports games, because in case the player gets injured, at least nothing else is affecting them. Another way to improve the number of concussions in sport players could be by improving helmets and making them safer for the game. In sports preventing concussions can be as easy as simple changes. Statistics show that forty-seven percent of concussions occur in high school football games (HeadCase Company). This article does not explain the idea of not playing high school sports just trying and avoid them from happening as frequent.
In agreement to editon.cnn.com they stated when switiching players from one club to another in sports like soccer, football, and hockey medical checks are necessary to make sure nothing will affect their game later in the season. It also states that before the game medical examinations should be conducted but don’t happen due to lack of time. In the article by nfl.com they reveal, “The process begins before the season with team doctors performing examinations to clinically assess functions
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Medical checks and helmets may reduce the number of concussions people acquire each year but will not stop this injury from happening. There are many ways to try and avoid concussions from happening, including creating less contact in sports but overall there are already many regulations that control how much players can have contact and more will change everything. Every year about 3.8 million people suffer from a concussion this number is only in sports so even though the helmets and rule changing may only bring the number down by a couple at least one person doesn’t have to get a concussion because of little fixes to regular day
Another way is changing the culture of football by training coaches to educate players about the safety and dangers of head concussions. From a three-point stance to a two-point stance, this can benefit players to reduce the head concussions, since the majority are position upright. Bringing independent doctors on the sideline prevents players from continuing to play with an injury, lowering the risk of further damage. Letting players lose weight helps reduce the impact while maintaining their strength conditionally. Last, is to bring football into the 21st century by providing referees with sensors to monitor every player for potential head-on collision.
Injuries caused from head contact need to be eliminated. Concussions and traumatic brain injuries are a very high percentage of the injuries that high school athletes sustain every year. Football is the most common sport for traumatic brain injury with 29.1% of the injuries being treated and released at the emergency room. The percent that is admitted to the emergency room is 24.7% for these brain injuries from playing football. ("Concussion Statistics for High School Sports", Lindsey Barton Straus, JD.
To decrease the number of concussions a year the National Football League must issue more rules and better quality equipment. Despite the tackling and wanting to " knock out " an opponent of the other team, football players need to transition their mindsets to a different objective. Instead of wanting to hurt the opponent or lay them out, just focus on getting them down. Football players must have the mindset to keep their healthy bodies and prevent injuries so that they can continue to entertain, perform, but to mostly importantly win. Football without concussions and even injuries can make the sport more enjoyable for the parent, wives, and children of the players.
Concussions have always been a problem in contact sports. Unfortunately, high school football is no exception. In fact, high school football is the worst of all contact sports when dealing with concussions. According to “Sports Concussion Statistics,” 47% of all reported sports concussions occur during high school football. This is an alarming statistic that has caused companies like Riddell to search for a solution.
Football is the most American of all of the sports we play. We have good memories of playing catch and watching games with our friends, however, there is a darker side to this all-American sport, the damage done to the brains of the players. While the NFL has attempted to make great strides in preventing further damage to players on the field suffering from concussions, the rates of concussions continue to rise. In 2014, 206 concussions were diagnosed, while in 2015, that number rose to 271 concussions. If these new regulations truly had an effect upon the safety of the players, we would instead see little growth, if not a decline, of diagnosed concussions.
This will allow for athletes to take cation of the serious head injury. Stefan Duma states “ The concern is if we don't teach kids how to hit in practices, they’re going to get blown away in the games” (Concussion study makes case for reducing contact drills for youth players). Meaning if we don’t teach athletes how to hit during football then athletes will suffer concussions during games. Teaching our athletes to hit during game is one of the many ways on how we can prevent concussions during games. In the 2012 Official Pop Warner Rule book Two new rules were added in aid of preventing concussions during football.
It is no doubt that athletes are getting bigger, faster, and stronger as the year’s progress. This is leading to more physical and faster gameplay, especially in high contact sports like football and hockey. It should be mandatory that all high school athletes, no matter what the sport or gender, take a concussion test providing a baseline score to help diagnose concussions, the severity of the injury, and recovery time. A new form of technology was released around five years ago; however, not enough high schools in America are putting it to use.
Although there is a lot more work to be done, the NFL and other leagues have taken a stance on the egregious situation that befalls those with concussions. There has been a recent decrease in the concussion rate due to the latest concussion protocol that the NFL and many other leagues have implemented that allow for professional trainers to look over players that are suspected of being concussed. Those players are not allowed to go back into the game if they still seem like they have a concussion, increasing the safety of those players who are unwilling to report a concussion for the purpose of being able to continue play. The enhanced detection and examination protocols have led to an 11.3 percent decrease in concussion rate. However, as stated previously, there is much more to do to eradicate concussions once and for all.
Concussion can usually be treated at a hospital or doctor's office right a way however some patients may have to stay overnight or in trauma cases there may be bleeding inside the skull. Concussion recover depends on many things such as age, where the blow to the head was,how hard the head was hit, and how healthy the person was before the hit. The concern with football players is the constant blows to the head that sometimes create concussion and multiple concussions with a person is showing long term effects such as difficulty with concentration and memory and sometimes physical coordination. A study of American high school and college players confirmed 94 catastrophic head injuries in a 13 year period, 71 percents of the high school cases had had a concussion in the same season with 39 percent playing with residual
The main change that could easily be made to help with the problem is to better the quality of the helmets used in the sport. It would not be too hard because new helmets are already being made just for the concussion cases. After this, changes could be made to the sport for safety. There will always be some dangers in the sport because it is a very high contact sport. “Despite the best efforts of the leagues, the players, and the medical and engineering communities, the incidence of injury at all levels of the game continues to increase” (Solving football’s).
Concussions have always been an issue in sports. Many sports can cause a concussion. However, the main sports are either football or soccer. Most of the coach's in these sports trey to help with the issue but do not fully understand the process of helping. "
As long as the player follows the rules and wears the correct protective gear. Also, parents and coaches should practice and inform the players of good sportsmanship to lower unnecessary aggression on the field or ice. Another way to prevent players to not get hurt is to teach good technique on how to hit or check not making big mistakes to hurt themselves or other players. These are just some of the reasons why we should have sports players take concussion tests regularly, and teach them how to be safe. Doctors should also teach trainers on the symptoms of concussions to try to stop
In the high school sports community, concussions remain a high threat to the athletes who do not receive sufficient awareness and the knowledge they need about concussions. Even though sports, such as football, are implementing penalties and different policies to try to reduce the amount of concussions that occur, high school student-athletes still suffer concussions at an alarming rate. Concussions remain a serious public health concern, as approximately 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related concussions are estimated to occur each year. (Covassin, Elbin, Sarmiento 2012). However, North Carolina has taken the initiative to increase the student-athlete 's education of concussions within the high school community.
This alarming percentage shows the more attention is required to keeping young athletes safe during game and in practice. By understanding the role of concussions can play in high school sports, the coaches and the athletes can take the right the steps to help prevent these problems from happening.
"By the time they get to high school, kids have a 5% chance of sustaining a concussion for each season they play" (Zimmerman). If they choose to keep playing football then they will eventually end up with a brain concussion or brain damage. Over the years 65-80% of head injuries go unnoticed ("Stopping the..."58). Football player ignore the fact that it is just a headache. Hospitals took 150,000 in 2001 to 250,000 in 2009 dramatically increased because of concussions ("Injuries in...").