Chris Henry Research Paper

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

For instance, ABC news reported that “concussions may also be associated with an increase in the long-term risk of suicide.” (Hawkins, ABC News, 8 February 2016). And with the increase occurrence in concussion reports in sports especially in the NFL where there is a “58% rise over the 2014 season, the highest number in four years of record keeping.” (Vinton, New York Daily News, 30 January 2015) there is much worry about the injury to the head. Even though we know a good deal about concussions we do not have a sure way to actually heal a concussion which would be helpful for athletes who want to continue playing in their rough sports. We also do not know how much a concussion actually affects the brain in the long term, we recently found that it increase suicide but what about other affects that could be very worrying. This creates controversy in how concussions should be dealt with and how contact sports should be played and regulated. More studies are needed for concussion so that we can actually control the increasing injury that could risk people their lives and their future

CTE is a brain disease found in individuals with annals of head trauma. It has specifically been found in athletes with numerous concussions. So far it can only be diagnosed in the deceased, but Dr. Julian Bales and his staff in UCLA have discovered symptoms in living players such as Hall of Famer Anthony “Tony” Dorsett, Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, and NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall. CTE can cause memory loss, dementia, depression, suicidal thoughts, cognitive and emotional difficulties (Waldron par 1, 2, 3). Is it a compelling issue? A total of 171 concussions were reported in the NFL in the 2012-2013 season; 88 thus far in the 2013-2014 season (Frontline pt). Those are just numbers in the professional level. There are thousands of kids playing football either in youth, middle school, high school, or college level. The diagnosis is currently in progress, researchers are optimistic this could lead to a legitimate treatment, how to manage, and hopefully a cure. Furthermore, this can also possibly lead to an answer to a connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Junior Seau, Mike Webster, Terry Long, and Justin Strzelczyk (all of whom are dead now) are all men who played in the NFL for an extent period of time. This is not the only thing they have in common. These former players had an uncustomary

Concussions have caused many problems for retired NFL players. Some have gone into depression and committed suicide. In a study of 34 NFL players , about 25% suffered from clinical depression. Junior Seau was found dead in his house at 43, after he shot himself. After looking at the body they found that Seau had CTE, a horrible disease that badly affects your brain. Ex-Lions quarterback Eric Kramer shot himself in the head 2 years ago, he played 12 seasons in the NFL. Mike Webster played 16 years in the NFL and was found dead in his car under the highway. He had died of

Concussions are negatively affecting high impact sports such as football by causing long term effects.They are causing more and more problems for the sports and no matter what they do it is not protecting players Good enough. The article states, “Bryce Monti was about to make routine tackle when he knocked heads with teamate, and

Head trauma can lead to brain disorders and mental health issues. 1 in 3 former NFL players have had 5 or more concussions and 3 in 4 still suffer symptoms today. A study shows that NFL football players who have sustained 3 or more concussions are 5 times more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment- a condition connected to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. NFL football players who were surveyed who had sustained 3 or more concussions were 3 times more likely to develop clinical depression compared to other players who had not suffered concussions. 9 in 10 former NFL players reported suffering from concussions during their career, 6 in 10 players reported having 3 or more concussions, and 2 in 3 of the former players who had concussions said they continue to have symptoms from concussions. A survey on retired NFL players discovered that about 9 in 10 report daily pain and 91% of them connect all of their pains to football. Andre Waters is an example of what research proves. It shows that players who’ve sustained 3 or more concussions are at a threefold risk of depression. 21-22% of this group have experienced depression, compared to 6-7% of the group, who haven’t experienced concussions, who haven’t dealt with depression. “In the [2007] survey of 2,552 retired players, almost 61% in the sample indicated that they had [suffered] a concussion in their career. Of

Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. Over 1 million kids in the u.s participate in tackle football [Pop Warner]. But studies show that 1 in 5 high school students will get a concussion during the season. A concussion damages the brain and can cause memory loss. But most players can recover within a few days but some may be to severe and may not recover for weeks! Former 49ers NFL linebacker Chris Borland quit because of concussions at the age of only 23. Former Patriots NFL Tight End Aaron Hernandez was committed of murder and shortly after committed suicide. Doctors found his brain was severely damaged from football and heavy hits

CTE affect player with concussion because they can start developing CTE. CTE is known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Recent data have shown 17% of individual with repetitive mTBI may develop CTE. Athletes who return to play before their first event are healed place themselves at a significant risk of a second significant brain injury and the adverse effects of the cumulative process. Even though that the player might be clear from concussion but CTE continues to progress, continue to execute their effects and as long the individual lives, the worse the symptoms become. CTE can affect player behavior, mood, memory, and

One could even have a brain scan, and it would not be able to detect if one sustained a concussion. Concussions are rated on a mild to severe scale. A mild concussion might result in a small change of consciousness. While a severe concussion could have symptoms ranging from unconsciousness, coma, to even death. A concussion is one of the most common sports-related injuries. Concussions have also been found to be related to CTE. In her book, McClafferty reports that, “17% of people develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy that have had repetitive concussions” (McClafferty 77). This helps support the link between traumatic brain injuries and concussions. Scientists, before brain trauma was considered an exceedingly serious element of sports, expressed their disquiet for football and long-term mental illness. A scientist by the name of Guskiewitz and his research group conclude that their “findings suggest that the onset of dementia-related syndromes may be instituted by repetitive cerebral concussions” (Fainaru-Wada and Fainaru 343). Ultimately, brain traumas known effects are expanding with each study that is done; it raises an even grander amount of concern for the safety of those who participate in sports.

December 16, 2009, Chris Henry. a wide reciever for the Cincinnati Bengals, had an argument with Loleini Tonga, his fiancee at the time. As Loleini was pulling out of the driveway in a pickup truck Chris jumped in. A little ways down the road Chris fell from the bed of the truck. It is not known if he jumped on purpose or if it was just a tragic accident and he just fell. Next is a 12 years veteran of the Minnesota VIkings, Fred McNeill went on after retirement to finish law school and was a thriving attorney. Today, Fred is as fit as a fiddle residing in Los Angeles, but there is one hitch because of Fred’s fast moving dementia he has lost his driver’s license and his law license. Many activities have become to hard for him to do buy himself,

The main objective of this study was to identify the extent to which the number of concussions influenced the development of chronic neurological disorders among retired athletes. According to Decq and colleagues (2014), professional athletes are likely to sustain various types of head injuries throughout the course of their careers, depending on the particular sport, and such injuries may have substantial and critical consequences for the individual in the future, including chronic headaches or migraines, mild to severe cognitive disorders, depressive disorders, and neurogenerative diseases. The researchers essentially hypothesized that players with a higher number of concussions would suffer from more cognitive and neurological dysfunction.

The concussion is the epidemic of the sports world. It is not the torn knees and bruised elbows that we as a whole are concerned. A concussion is when someone take a big hit to the head or to the body that causes the brain to move around and hit the inner skull. When this happens some of the tell tale signs are: memory loss, slurred speech, vomiting, weakness, and severe headaches. It is said that 53% of high school athletes have suffered a concussion before high school. And 36% of collegiate athletes have an history of concussions. When major trauma to the brain is happening at such a young age it is hard to prevent it from happening when they get older in sports. Once you have a concussion it makes you more likely to have another one. If there is constant trauma that is done to the brain it causes permanent damage to the frontal lobe of the brain.

One athlete named “Sarah” in a campaign led by the Center for Disease control recalled her account of a concussion she by saying, “My concussion didn’t just sideline me from sports; it also sidelined me from school. Before my injury, I was taking advanced classes. Immediately afterward, I couldn’t even do simple math problems in my head and couldn’t keep up with the lessons.” (Hardy et. al 151). Just one concussion can change the path of someone’s life if it is severe enough. Brain damage is nothing to take

During research involving former NFL players, it was found that concussions were also responsible for causing a brain disease that affected these former NFL players.

The effects concussions have on professional athletes during and after their career. Some emotional responses caused from concussions are Sadness, Isolation, Irritation, Lack of motivation, Anger, Frustration, Changes in appetite, Sleep disturbance, and Disengagement. When an athlete has a concussion it effects with their chemicals in their brains, And in return it can affect their moods And how they act, become it can become a long term effect which it can cause change in moods to become permanent. Stretching and damaging the delicate cells and structures inside your brain, This damage can cause physical and chemical changes in your brain which affect how it functions. The long term effects from concussions can disrupt the function of the brain if it doesn’t heal properly. If the proper care and treatment is not done for a concussion, then it can lead to long term effects on athletes.