Big Or Small: Concussions In American Football

Concussions can truly mess with an athlete’s brain and can give him or her lifelong troubles.

Head injuries, including concussions, particularly in the game of American football, have become a subject of deep concern, much study and even Congressional hearings in the United States.

Supporting Idea/Evidence What exactly is a concussion? There technically isn’t a universal definition but the most common used by sports medicine is MTBI or Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. It caused by an immediate stop that causes you brain to come in contact with you skull. It can cause,” permanent memory loss, depression and personality change.” If not taken serious and treated properly over the correct amount of time you could risk death by having a second hit to your head. (tator,1)

Football is one of the most beloved sports in the United States. It is one of the most violent bone crushing sports, leaving players permanently injured for life in some cases. The most common injury that football players suffer from pee-wee through the NFL is the concussion. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that changes the way your brain works. The effects of a concussion are usually temporary and can result in a full recovery if its minor and treated correctly. A concussion can lead to brain problems later in life, even after a player has finished playing football. This is why people are studying and trying to understand concussions fully in order to prevent and treat future ones. Concussions are very

Statistics show NFL players are paid $1.9 million a year on average. An injury as severe and time-consuming as a concussion can undoubtedly counteract this kind of pay. Professional athletes do not want to jeopardize sitting out a game and missing their opportunity, “‘[t]he return to play decision is based on symptoms, and the problem is the players all want to get back yesterday and the question is whether they are being truthful and honest’ during their evaluations, Stieg said” (Futterman). There is nothing doctors or trainers can do if the athlete lies about being symptom free. They can suspect the severity of the concussion by just observing the athlete’s behavioral response toward certain things, like light or noise.

A concussion is an injury suffered in the brain of an individual that can affect and alter a person’s ability to perform not only mentally, but physically as well. The New York Daily News reported on one of the finest cases of how serious the NFL is taking the issue on concussions, the current lawsuit that reached a “$765 million settlement reached between the two sides, 18,000 concussion suffer and the NFL” which states causes for important untold information the NFL refused to report to players about the prospective dangers concussions had for their long-term health, though this was later shot down by a federal judge claiming that it was insufficient sum. An NFL player may succumb from thousands of hits to the head playing football all

Concussions in the National Football League are up to its neck with brain injuries. Players have endured an estimated 182 reported concussions during regular-season games this 2016 season. The league has revealed a 58% rise since the 2014 season and is at an all time high over the span of four years. What is a concussion one might ask? Webster dictionary defines a concussion as, “a stunning, damaging, or shattering effect from a hard blow; especially: a

Today, one of the more common injuries in youth sports is a concussion. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that occurs after a player has either taken a hit to their body that has caused both the head a brain to quickly jerk back and forth, or by a sudden shock or knock to the head. With the force and sudden movement, there is movement of the brain which can cause chemical changes that can lead to permanent or stretching the brain cells. By the above definition you can start to think of many instances in sports where a player can receive a concussion.

Years ago, coaches referred to concussions as “having your bell rung” and were never considered as a serious injury. Athletes would simply skip a play and would be back in the game in no time. Concussions now have been linked to life-threatening injuries in many athletes. Today, concussions are the most common football injury by young athletes and are becoming more frequent each year. Coaches, players, trainers, physicians and parents need to take better precautions when dealing with concussions and with their help concussions will not be as life threatening as they are today. Today, the NFL and sports teams across the United States are sitting up and paying more attention to the medical profession when it comes to concussions. Concussions are dangerous, cause permanent damage to a person’s physiological state, and can lead to death. Multiple concussions suffered by athletes lead to long-term psychological problems.

In the U.S. alone, athletes suffer from roughly 300,000 concussions per year; 3,800,000 concussions were reported in 2012, which is double of what was reported in 2002. A concussion may be defined as a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, stretching and damaging the brain cells and creating chemical changes in the brain. Concussions are not usually considered life-threatening, but they may result in effects to the brain that may lead to devastating outcomes. Concussions are serious injuries that need to be taken seriously because of their severity and the serious health disorders that may arise.

Concussions are and will continue to be an ongoing issue in almost all sports today. This is especially true in the case of football and the NFL. Concussions are considered the most common and least devastating form of traumatic brain injury someone can receive. Although concussions are considered the least serious type of brain injury they can still lead to and cause many irreversible brain diseases and in some cases people have even lost their lives because of concussions. One of these diseases is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or better known as CTE. There have been many recent medical developments that have allowed us to learn more about the brain and things that affect it. This increased knowledge has caused unrest

Concussions happen throughout every sport and every level. Elise Legult, Programme Specialist (education finance) at UNESCO Institute for Statistics, stated, “Individuals age 19 and under sustaining concussion climbed from 153,375 to 248,414. It rose 65% from 2001-2009” (Legault, et al. 1) This statistic shows that although there are some ways of preventing concussions, it does not mean concussions are completely prevented. Zackery is a high school football player, he was hit hard on a play and he sustained a concussion. Coach then puts Zackery back in the game, which made his concussion worse; the continuous hit after he sustained a concussion made the situation life and death for Zack. With Lystedt family, Washington state passed a bill called The Zackery Lystedt Law. The law prohibits players from participating in a game if they are suspected, or actually sustaining a concussion during a game(Lucke 2). Zackery Lystedt Law focuses around three central provisions: Education of athletes, parents, and coaches; requirement of immediate removal of the player, and medical clearance in order to return (Harvey 4)

The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.

A recent study of college football players has shown that those who participate in high contact sports and have had a concussion before have a 300% higher chance of having another one in comparison to athletes that have never had a concussion before (Jolicoeur et al, 2007). The NFL and NCAA have enacted several rule changes in order to minimize the occurrence of concussions. These new rules, like many before them, have come under the scrutiny of the very athletes that they were meant to protect. The NHL and NHL Players Association in 1997 together created a program in order to get a better understanding of concussions and how to prevent them (Burke et al, 2011). According to Covassin (2008), athletes who have had more than one concussion take a longer time to recover with each concussion that they suffer from.

“CDC reports show that the amount of reported concussions has doubled in the last 10 years. The American Academy of Pediatrics has reported that emergency room visits for concussions in kids ages 8 to 13 years old has doubled, and concussions have risen 200 percent among teens ages 14 to 19 in the last decade” (Head Case, 2013). It is reported that between 5-10% of athletes will suffer concussion during any given sports season. Football is the most common sport with concussion risk for males with a 75% chance. It has also been found that 78% of concussions happen during games as opposed to during practices (Science Daily, 2014).