More now than before, athletes are being extremely cautious when there is trauma to the brain. After multiple cases of poor treatment, parents and doctors are taking control of an epidemic of untreated concussions. As more studies advance, it is discovered that every case is different. The range of seriousness 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. A concussion can be defined as a mild traumatic brain injury caused by excessive impact to the head. The word concussion comes from the Latin word concutere, which means "to shake violently." The injury is caused by the brain moving forcefully back and forth. The brain is made up of soft tissue and protected by spinal fluid and encased in the protective shell of the skull. The rapid movement can cause chemical changes in the brain and can sometimes stretch and damage brain cells or nerves. Moreover, it’s a bruise on the brain that alters mental state. Things like car and bicycle accidents, falls while playing sports or at work, and fighting are some of the leading sources of concussions. When being examined by a doctor first the signs and symptoms will be evaluated, then the medical history will be under review, and finally …show more content…
Some of the symptoms include: headaches, dizziness, difficulty concentrating or completing tasks, Irritability, and the sense that you “just don’t feel like yourself”. According to Dr. Maryse Lassonde, “even when the symptoms of a concussion appear to have gone, the brain is still not yet 100 percent normal.” In a study done on athletes that had concussions 30 years past then now have symptoms of parkinson's. Also further tests showed that past athletes who had a concussion experienced a thinning of the cortex in the same part of the brain that Alzheimer's
First it is important to know what a concussion is. A concussion is a traumatic injury to the small tissue of the brain. Effects are usually temporary but can include headaches and problems with concentration, memory, balance and coordination. Although concussions usually are caused by a blow to the head, they can also occur when the head and upper body are violently shaken.
First concussions are caused from jolts, bumps, and blows to the head. Did you know that 43,000 to 67,000 high schoolers have a concussion per year. Concussions are happening a lot more often dew to fast powerful hits. You might say that helmets should protect you from concussions right, well they do a nice job protecting the exterior but concussions occur inside the cranium.(“Time Magazine”) After that, some of the long term effects are depression, aggression,
A concussion is a tramatic brain injury that alters the way your brain function. Although the effects are usually temporary the effects can be delayed for hours or days and can last days to months. The effects include: headaches, and problems with concentration, memory loss, balance and coordination. Concussions are usually caused caused by a blow to the head or neck or upper part of the body. The cause of a concussion can be from a contact sport, a car accident, or even a kid falling on a playground.
Concussions are generally related to a direct impact to the head that is generally from a collision, a fall or being hit by an object (Seifert, 2013). Due to the likely-hood of having short and long-term effects on an individual, concussions in sport are a public health issues, and if they are not correctly attended to, they could damage an individual’s life permanently (Tator, 2012).
Simple concussions, which are mild and relatively common among children and adolescents, gradually resolve within a week to 10 days. As long as another head injury is not sustained, mild concussions usually do not result in complications or long-term health risks. Complex concussions, on the contrary, do result in tenacious symptoms and can affect brain function long term. The expansions risk for complications, such as swelling or bleeding in the brain, seizures, and post-concussion syndrome (e.g., persistent headache, dizziness, or blurred vision), is seen with complex concussions.
When a concussion occurs, the brain is slammed against the inside of the skull and can be bruised. The brain tissue can tear due to different parts moving at different speeds. The ion and chemical ratio becomes unbalanced, causing nerve failure and unconsciousness. Oxygen is limited, slowing recovery. Multiple concussions and swelling can cause progressive cognitive decline which is like dementia (Brain Facts).
As concussion became the sports injury “issue” of the 1990s, numerous researchers began projects regarding concussions. It became apparent from the findings of the earlier projects that a variety of different methods of identifying a concussion exist. Some clinicians described a concussion as a loss of consciousness. Others identified a concussion only if memory problems were associated with the injury. Still other clinicians considered a very minor impact to the head, often called a “ding,” to be a concussion.
There are long term effects of having concussions that are Dementia, memory loss, headaches, blurry vision, but some long term effects could mean Cronic Tramatic Encpololopthy (CTE) which is a desies that cannot be diagnosed until after death even though athletes could be living with signs and symptom of the disease... however people may not show any symptoms even though they may still have it. Some people suffer from 2nd impact syndrome which is rare and fadel and only happens to people 23 and younger. With that syndrome you have to relearn motor skills as in eating, walking, talking.
A couple of the conditions you can get are Epilepsy in which you will have seizures. Another possibility is second impact syndrome which causes your brain to faitily swell up. Second impact syndrome is the most dangerous condition because it is when your first concussion doesn't heal correctly and your body loses its ability to be able to control the pressure of your brain so it lets your brain swell up which may lead to death. Recovery in this stage will take longer this time because you need give your brain time to rest and not be active for a while. If you are in sports and this is the second one you have received, you may want to stop playing the sport or move on to another
According to Ropper and Gorson, a concussion is, “an immediate and transient loss of consciousness accompanied by a brief period of amnesia after a blow to the head” (Ropper, 2007, p. 166). Michael C. Miller from Harvard University gave a perfect description of what happens to the brain when a collision occurs. His words are, “The brain accelerates very quickly, then decelerates just as quickly as it bangs into the skull. Nerve cells get stretched, connections between nerve cells get disrupted or sheared” (Miller, 2010, p. 8). Short-term effects dealing with concussions may lead to headaches, nausea, difficulty and/or inability to focus, irritability, and impaired memory.
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.
Football concussions can lead to brain injuries or other serious health issues that can be fatal. Concussions can happen in many different ways, which all involve big hits to the head. Hard hits to a player's head can cause his or her brain to move in different ways which can cause brain bruising or bleeding. A hard hit to a player’s forehead causes the brain to accelerate in a back and forth motion that can make a player feel nauseous or unstable. If the hit is focussed in the left or right side of a player's forehead it can cause the brain to move in a twisting motion which will leave the player light headed and with a headache.
The main cause of concussions experienced by athletes is through accidental falls commonly experienced during the sport. In athletics, the common symptoms that an athlete may report are headache, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity in the nose, blared vision, memory problems and confusion. Signs associated with concussions do show up a few minutes after injury. This needs a lot of precaution since the full impact of the concussion may take some time to be noticeable. For instance, an athlete may feel slight confusion of look dazed, but hours later, they may be incapable of recalling their participation in the game.
The need for players to be checked often should be mandatory and administered more often to keep players safe. As coaches and trainers find out more about concussions so does the testing improve on athletes. Traumatic brain injuries affect all those who play in physical sports. One study says, “They can cause symptoms such as loss of consciousness, confusion, and headache, as well as long-term side effects.” (“Sports-Related”).
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.