Brain Injury in Professional Football A reportable concussion had been described as change in brain function induced by trauma. It was demonstrated by: first, altered consciousness, including being amnesic, confused, or rendered insentient. Second, symptoms and signs usually accompanying post-concussion syndrome, such as, persistent headaches, impaired balance, syncope, cognitive dysfunction, hearing loss, blurred vision, drowsiness, lethargy, fatigue, memory disturbance, and difficulty in carrying out routine activities (Casson, Viano and Powell 471). The Concussion Legacy Foundation disclosed that CTE, a degenerative brain disease caused by brain trauma, had been diagnosed among football players from more than 100 college football programs (Concussion Legacy Foundation).
Concussions in Sports In sports, concussions occur frequently across all age groups. From little leagues to high school sports to the professional leagues, concussions pose a high risk of long term Traumatic brain injuries. Because of the high rate of concussions in sports more attention should be paid to protocols and treatment to prevent traumatic brain injuries. High school athletes that partake in a sport that requires intense physical activity are the most vulnerable to concussion and need more time to recover. According to the Head Case “High school football accounts for 47 percent of all reported sports concussions, with 33 percent of concussions occurring during practice.”
When it comes to playing sports, it can be both fun and dangerous. Playing sports is not all that it is cracked up to be, it can have serious consequences that could affect a person’s entire life. No matter what sport anyone signs up for, they are taking a risk of getting seriously injured. Anyone can get seriously injured during sports, no matter what age and gender. Everyone deserves to have fun while playing the sport they love while also taking safety into precaution. Studies have shown that when it comes to playing football or any other contact sport, both children and adult athletes have suffered serious injuries like concussions that not only affects their mental health, but in some cases, have also caused death.
Concussions in Sports “You get a concussion. It could take 30, 40 days until that starts to come to life where you 're in agony. Ask any doctor. (Gest, David)” This quote was spoken by David Gest, meaning that it may take 30 to 40 days to be cleared of a concussion, or in some cases it could take a few months or a year.
THE INCREASING NUMBER OF CONCUSSION IN ATHLETES ARE DETRIMENTAL TO THE FUTURE OF SPORTS In the recent years, concussions have become a common accident related to various types of sports around the globe. A concussion is a traumatic injury of the brain, they can also be as a result of a sudden blow on the body. Such a blow may cause the head to jerk back and forth in a rapid motion. This may cause a bounce or twist within the skull, which may over stretch the brain, cause cell damage and alter chemical functioning within the brain.
Because many doctors and researchers were part of the NFL teams, they could not defy the NFL and were forced to forge the data. In order to fix the forgery, independent researchers and physicians who are not affiliated with the NFL must conduct a transparent research to show actual research on concussions in the NFL. Since concussion issues are newly introduced, more reliable and thorough information is needed for players to safely prevent long-term brain injuries. With NFL’s pseudo logical data, the prevention and
Many of the famous sports today are played with great enjoyment, however, contact injuries can always occur at any time. Many of these injuries are concussions. Couple of years back studies showed concussions were not a major subject to be dealt with, but until later this idea was proven wrong. A simple Concussion can change many things in your life even the way you act. Many have died due to multiple major concussions even famous athletes. Young high school athletes are starting their sports journey and face these same injuries and when it happens it should be dealt with very seriously.
An NFL football player will endure somewhere between 900 to 1500 blows to their head over the course of a single season. With an immense amount of blows like this comes an immense amount of damage to a player’s brain. This extensive amount of brain damage has been decided, by Dr. Bennet Omalu, to result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Over the course of these discoveries and much controversy, the NFL has been targeted, denied all accusations, done very few things to lessen the risk of concussions in football, and the risks and number of concussions have steadily increased throughout the league’s
Recently over the previous decades, concussions have increasingly received attention in the world of sports. A concussion is a serious head injury that can happen to any player, and in just about any sport. Indeed, it has been happening to a countless number of athletes for centuries. However, it is also important to note that a concussion can also take place outside of sports, meaning it can happen to anybody. For instance, there have been incidents where a person tripped while running, fell, and the impact of their head’s contact with the ground has caused a concussion. Or, in a car accident many front-seat passengers, or even the driver, have slammed their heads against the dashboard/steering wheel, also possibly resulting in a concussion.
More now than ever athletes are being watched out for when there is trauma to the brain. After multiple cases of poor treatment to concussions parents and doctors are cracking down on letting concussions not be a big deal. As more studies advance, it is discovered that every case is different. The range is created by severity, past experience with trauma, and how the patient heals. Concussions in sports can range in severity, and how they affect each individual over time depending on times of impact.
Rewind to the NFL Wild Card Round earlier this year. The date was January 9th; The Pittsburgh Steelers were facing off against the Cincinnati Bengals in an intense conference matchup for the first playoff round. This game was special since both teams are in the AFC North conference, so both teams were playing with a chip on their shoulder. The game was a hard-fought battle that came right down to the end. On the last gasp drive made by the Steelers to try and win the game something extraordinary happened. Big Ben Roethlisberger drops back, throws the ball over the middle to star wide receiver Antonio Brown and goes right through his hands. As Antonio is coming down from his leap in the air Vontaze Burfict comes in late and makes head to head
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. "Thousands of known cases were believed to not even report in 1990" (Sports Journal, 2002). Dr. Goldstein called concussions "a silent epidemic" (Sports Journal, 2002) "An estimated 300,000 sports related concussion occur annually in the U.S., and more then 64,000 of these were football injures"(Sports Journal, 2002). Even though concussions are hard to detect. It is even hard to identify them with out knowing what they are.
Imagine being the MVP of an all star sports team, then suffering a concussion from a very competitive game or tournament. No matter what sport an athlete plays or how skilled they are at it, there is always going to be a possibility of injury. Concussions are an injury with serious side effects and can permanently end any star's career. Today, many young athletes suffer from sport related concussions. An estimated 3.8 million recreational and athletic concussions occur annually in the United States, according to statistics in 2012 (Concussion and Sports). Concussions are high on the rise and make athletes very vulnerable and prone to them. Among male athletes, sports resulting in the most concussions include football, ice hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, and soccer. For female athletes, soccer, lacrosse, and basketball were recorded for the sports that resulted in the most concussions. Youth athletes who have suffered one concussion, onset greater chances of experiencing more.
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.
It is not new news learning that concussions are a common occurrence throughout the sport of football. It just so happens that throughout the last two decades, former NFL players have or have threatened the NFL with lawsuits regarding their personal health, specifically brain injuries. Many experts and players also question if the latest technology used to prevent concussions from occurring are effective. Modern day CT scans can rule out bleeding in the brain, they however do not diagnose concussions. This causes many concussions to go unseen due to the lack of advancements in the use of CT equipment.