ALS and CTE are much more than just the Ice Bucket Challenge or being hit in the head. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease which affects the brain and spinal cord. Similarly, CTE is a brain disease caused by brain trauma. CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Both ALS and CTE are caused by head trauma and concussions. A concussion is a temporary unconsciousness because of a blow to the head. Athletes have the highest risk of being diagnosed with these diseases because have a higher chance of a of hitting their head because of the physical activities. It is not fair for athletes to have to face those challenges but, at the end of the day one has the choice of taking the risks while being an athlete. Even if one does the Ice Bucket Challenge ten times it still will not be anywhere close to what actually having ALS feels like. ALS is also known as the Lou Gehrig disease, Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS on his 36th birthday. Lou was a professional baseball player and played for the New York Yankees. After retiring in 1939 he became a parole officer and later passed away in 1941, two years after being diagnosed. When someone has ALS their nerve cells slowly die in their …show more content…
They are linked not only by the fact that athletes have a higher risk of being diagnosed with these diseases but, also by the fact that ALS is also known as the Lou Gehrig disease because he was a famous baseball player who was diagnosed with ALS. Lou is not the only professional athlete that was diagnosed with ALS. John Grimsley was a professional American football player, died by an accidental gunshot although, after death he was diagnosed with CTE due to his football career. Tony Dorsett has been suffering from symptoms of CTE since 2013 and still is. Some symptoms Dorsett has been experiencing are memory loss and behavior changes mood wise. Dorsett also has symptoms of
June 19th, 1939 one of the New York Yankees and baseball's most famous first baseman, Lou Gehrig, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after six days of extensive testing. Fifteen days later on July 4th, 1939 Lou Gehrig flew to Yankee stadium in New York and gave his famous, “Farewell to Baseball” speech. The speech wasn't just for Yankees fans, but for all fans of baseball. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS for short, is a a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function, usually killing the person in two to five years. Gehrig knew he didn't have long. That's why fifteen days after his diagnosis Gehrig was standing at home plate in Yankee stadium telling all baseball fans of his retirement due to illness. In under 300 words, using ethos, logos, and pathos, Gehrig transformed how baseball fans viewed him, not just as a player, but as a person. Gehrig showed the world how strong willed and fearless a person can be in the face of adversity.
Since ALS has been discovered, many famous athletes have been spreading awareness for their fellow team mates, family or friends. They will continue spreading it around the world until there is an end to ALS. Lou Gehrig was a important man to the ALS association since he was majorly popular in the sports society. He spread the word about ALS to all the teams nation wide, who continued his legacy since he
CTE affects many different athletes all over the world. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy or normally referred to as CTE is a brain disease that affects people who have had multiple head injuries. It is found in many cases of ex NFL players who took many hits to the head when playing over their careers. There are many documented cases of it across other sports and some military veterans as well. We have made large strides in learning more and more about the terrible disease. The game of football has changed since we have learned so much more about the terrible disease in recent years. We could prevent concussions by changing the way players practice.
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s Disease is a classified as a degenerative neurological disorder that inhibits motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain to function properly. This disease eventually results in paralysis and imminent death over a period of time. ALS patients have anywhere from a few months, to a couple years to live after diagnosis since their nervous systems are slowly destroyed, rendering the body useless, and sustaining life impossible.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is most commonly found in pro athletes, military victims, and boxing/MMA(Mixed Martial Arts). Lately people in the NFL and people looking into the NFL have been finding some players to have some kind of brain disease or damage because of the
June 19th, 1939 one of the New York Yankees and baseball's most famous first baseman, Lou Gehrig, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after six days of extensive testing. Fifteen days later on July 4th, 1939 Lou Gehrig flew to Yankee stadium in New York and gave his famous, “Farewell to Baseball” speech. The speech wasn't just for Yankees fans, but for all fans of baseball. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS for short, is a a nervous system disease that weakens muscles and impacts physical function, usually killing the person in two to five years. Gehrig knew he didn't have long. That's why fifteen days after his diagnosis Gehrig was standing at home plate in Yankee stadium telling all baseball fans of his retirement due to illness. In under 300 words, using ethos, logos, and pathos, Gehrig transformed how baseball fans viewed him, not just as a player, but as a person. Gehrig showed the world how strong willed and fearless a person can be in the face of adversity.
Recent studies show that some athletes are now actually being diagnosed with either of these diseases as early as in their late 20’s. For example, Pete Frates, a former baseball player for the Boston College, was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 27. He first realized something was wrong when he was struck on the left wrist with a baseball and never fully recovered from the lingering weakness. He was diagnosed on March 13, 2012 and immediately started to raise awareness. In 2014 he launched the Ice Bucket Challenge along with the help of his friend Pat Quinn to raise money for ALS research. In addition, Chris Henry, who was a football wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, was diagnosed with CTE at age 26. He is the only known player to have had CTE and was still active in sports. He was diagnosed after he had fallen from a pickup truck and died on December 16, 2009. Although his family had no knowledge of this, they did notice the mood swings, headaches, and anger management issues that he did not have before. Medical research show that athletes such as Pete Frates and Chris Henry are being diagnosed at an early age because they frequently suffer from head trauma and concussions. Athletes often do not realize the potential danger they are putting themselves in each time they play and get a brain
One of the diseases athletes are being diagnosed with is ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
ALS was also called Lou Gehrig disease. The reason why it was called the Lou Gehrig diseases is because he was a famous MLB baseball player that was diagnosed with ALS and later on died from it. Lou Gehrig was born in New York City, on June 19, 1903. Lou devoted his whole life in Baseball and his family. Later on Lou was having a hard time tying his shoes and had a feeling that this can be his end of his career. In 1939, The doctor had a bad news for him which was that he was diagnosed with ALS.
Tim Shaw is a former football player who was recently was diagnosed with ALS. He plays for the Tennessee Titans. Shaw, age 30 revealed his diagnosis in a video posted on the Titan's website. He is the latest NFL player to be diagnosed with ALS. Dave Mirra a BMX Star who had CTE died due to a gunshot on February 4. He is the very first action sport athlete to be diagnosed with CTE. An autopsy technician found out that he had CTE. Scientist believe repeated head trauma can cause CTE.
Researchers show that athletes are more prone to CTE more than normal people at a younger age because athletes suffer more head trauma than most. High School football players suffer head trauma every day as practice goes on. The players don't even have to be in a live game to be hitting heads because during practice heads are being hit hard which leads to the jolting in the brain. The head banging will lead to some serious injuries in the brain while the person does not know something is wrong. The same athlete will start to play football in college which will lead to even more hard hits. All of this will give that individual a higher chance to get CTE when growing up.As athlets are getting CTE, some can also be diagnosed with ALS. Researchers have not officially found the reason why athletes are being diagnosed at a young age for ALS but some believe a reason could be is because that athletes are doing so much vigorous physical activity that athletes are exposed to environmental toxins in the air. The typical age for an athlete to get ALS is 25 to 40 years old, while a regular person will get it at around
Ambulation, Atrophy, Anguish. Due to a failure in muscle nourishment, people that suffer with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis suffer with paralyzes. This unfortunate, incurable disease impacts a person mentally and physically; victims have knowledge of what happens around them, but cannot respond to change. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, is obtained when a person suffers from repetitive head injuries. CTE has four main different ailments that cause the victims to respond to CTE in different ways. Recent studies have shown that athletes are more vulnerable to concussions and head traumas, because they typically experience physical contact with other athletes. Due to personal problems or past experiences, a person that suffers mentally can obtain head traumas that can also lead to ALS or CTE. For this reason, athletes should be exposed to changes in rules and obtain a better knowledge of these diseases. Although physical contact sports can cause a player to suffer from ALS, CTE, or concussions, sports should
It would be heartbreaking to discover that a family or close friend had only a limited amount of time left and that there was nothing that could impede their deaths. “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis” is a disease in which the person´s nerve cells are affected and the victim ends up paralyzed because of the motor neurons extinguishment. ALS is the most known disease that is caused due to a concussion. CTE or “Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy” is a progressive degenerative in the brain caused by repeated head traumas. ALS is not the only disease that occurs due to a concussion CTE is also common. CTE can lead to one of the four following diseases: Parkinson's, Huntington's, Alzheimer's, and Dementia. Recent studies have noticed that concussions
Athletes are being diagnosed with ALS or CTE at an earlier age than expected. Athletes are being diagnosed with ALS around their twenties to thirties, however the expected age of the diagnosis is forties to seventies. After, the diagnosis athletes are given between two to five years of a life span left. On the other hand CTE and the other four diseases are being diagnosed from the ages of twenty to forty, where the common age is around the forties to sixties. CTE and the others diseases can last for years, but sadly athletes are stuck with theses until death. For, example Scott Matzka is thirty-nine year old is married and has two children. He played with the National Hockey League from 2001 to 2014. In 2013, ALS
One day you can be diagnosed with ALS or CTE, and you feel that it wasn’t your fault because you were never informed about the causes or trained properly. Athletes should play at their own risk, but also be informed about the consequences of playing the sport which could lead to ALS, CTE, Dementia, or Alzheimer's. Sport associations should also make it safe enough to decrease their rate of getting these diseases. By adding more padding to helmets or adding and changing rules can help decrease chances. Athletes should learn how to play safe and play with good sportsmanship. If kids learn how to tackle or play with good sportsmanship can help. ALS and CTE can lead to hard life and death after being diagnosed due to the numerous injuries which lead to concussions and head trauma.