Concussions And Concussions In Sports

A CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is a, “progressive degenerative disease that is believed to plague people who've suffered severe or repeated blows to the head” (Murphy). A player can have a CTE and not even know that they are suffering from it. This is because CTEs can only be discovered after the person dies. Paul Bright, for example, was a football player who played from the time that he was seven until he was a freshman in high school. He had experienced only one concussion, but it changed his entire life. His family and friends described him as hard working and upbeat, but then, something changed. He became reckless and erratic; these traits caused him to die at age twenty-four from a motorcycle wreck. His mother sent his brain off to be tested and discovered that he had been suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This brain disease had caused him to make the type of impulsive decisions that took his life (Murphy). In addition to the CTEs players may experience, the likelihood of dying from brain and nervous system issues increases significantly for football players. Studies from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health discovered that, “death involving neurodegenerative causes among the retired players was three times higher than in the general U.S. population, and the risk for two major

Today, thousands of athletes across the country suffer from this common injury. This injury is an illness that is one with several serious side effects and can permanently end any star's career. Could you imagine being at the top of your game and then suffer a career shattering injury, many athletes face it every day. Today, concussions are a constant threat across the world of every sport. Primarily in football and hockey are two major sports with a level of play that causes an increase in concussions. Medical experts and leagues are doing the best they can to understand this growing problem. By comprehending the role concussions can play in the game of professional hockey, the league can help

In America, the sports industry is one of the largest and most powerful country; whether the sport is football, baseball, basketball, or any of the other sports the country has. Recently reports and documented cases have risen involving some of these sports’ greatest athletes, as well as current players, dealing with concussions (Famous sports concussions, 2012). Numerous athletes, some of them being the sport’s highest profile players, were found to have several mental illnesses and diseases, that have been attributed to head injuries sustained while they were playing their sports. The biggest and most predominant of these injuries is concussions. They can cause not only immediate issues, but also a lifetime of health

“Meh, what’s some brain damage gonna hurt”, was a quote that ultimately lead to the death of John McCrae athlete, Rowan Stringer. She was known to be a “leader” and an “amazing rugby player” on her school varsity rugby team according to various sources. The concept that shocks me the most is that she died from second impact syndrome, revealing her brave, yet poor decision that resulted in her unfortunate death. As you can see, concussions can be life threatening. In order to appropriately handle a concussion, one must be aware of the symptoms of a concussion, how to deal with concussions, and the consequences of concussions.

In today’s day and age, baseball is no longer considered the past-time of America. Football has gradually become more and more popular and is nothing short of the most watched and anticipated season in America. In the nation today there are 3 million kids who participate in youth football, which consists of children age five to 16. Also, there are an estimated 1.1 million high school football athletes, and 100,000 players at the collegiate level. While the sport is arguably the nation’s most popular sport, it may come with consequences. Over the past few years, concerns have been raised about the risk that players may face from taking repeated hits to the head. Studies show that more than 50 former professional football players have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease caused by impact. The question is, how can these possibly life-ending risks be lessened or even ended.

When playing any athletic sport, there are multiple risks that a player, such as I, may encounter while participating in each sport. Growing up in a sports family, meant I played multiple sports as a young athlete, such as, baseball, football, basketball and swimming. During my younger sports years, I cannot recall any major injuries or concussions in any of the sports I played. While practicing and participating in any sport or activity it is necessary to take precautions, by using the proper equipment and good technique before, during, and after the activity. As an athlete with many hours of practice and conditioning, I felt I ready for almost anything life could throw at me. As an athlete, I have pushed my body to the limit and my body started to push back with injuries leading to partial fractures, MCL tears, and UCL strain.

Athletics play an immense role in the lives of youth, whether they play with friends for fun or in team competition as student athletes. Regular physical activity helps build and maintain bone and muscle health, helps reduce the risk of developing obesity, and promotes psychological well-being (U.S. Dept.). Public health programs promote the benefits of physical activity, but those benefits are reduced by the possibility of injury (CDC, 2). The participation in athletic sports outweigh the potential of sustaining a concussion.

Sports athletes such as Lou Gehrig gain success and win championships, but they may lose their ability to perform daily functions. Diseases such as ALS and CTE are one of the main causes that strip athletes from continuing to practice sports and physical activities. These two conditions are consequences of hits and impacts to the head that affect the brain. Therefore, people should be prepared and know what to do when an athlete receives a blow to the head. Rules should be made to protect the athletes from head trauma like adding equipment or prohibiting certain physical activities that would create a chance of receiving an impact to the brain.

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

Diagnosed at such a young age, usually non-athletes get diagnosed with ALS at the age of 40-70 with average age at 55. Non-athletes don't suffer with injury to the head as much as Athletes do. Athletes however, tend to be diagnosed with ALS between 20’s and 30’s. CTE was discovered in 3 of 14 high school players and 48 of 53 college players. One Athlete named Junior Seau, who committed suicide in May, two years after retiring as one of the linebackers in the NFL. Seau suffered from the type of Chronic brain damage. The family of Seau stated “ a lot of head-to-head collisions over the course of 20 years of playing in the NFL, developed the detention of his brain and ability to think logically” (paragraph 4), resulted to the disease of CTE.

One of the diseases athletes are being diagnosed with is ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

Many people think that children recover and bounce back from injuries quicker than adults. As for some injuries this might be true, however not for concussions. Every year thousands of athletes receive sport-related injuries. Concussions and head trauma, for example, are among the most dangerous injuries athletes receive. One might say that a concussion is like any other injury and not that big of a deal. However, these concussions can lead to something more serious such as ALS. ALS is a disease that affects motor functions of the body and has had links to concussions. Concussions also have their ties to CTE’s. CTE’s are four major progressive degenerative diseases that afflict the brain. Recent studies have found that athletes have higher chances of receiving these deadly diseases. Concussions and head trauma are the reasons of the increase in these diseases. It can be argued that life is a risk, therefore, even sports fall under that category, but, an increase in preventative measures can reduce the likelihood of serious head injuries. In

A main brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy also known as CTE. CTE has a lot of the same symptoms as Alzheimer's which is why it can be mistaken for Alzheimer’s and not necessarily thought to be CTE. People were asked how they viewed football now knowing the risks the players would ultimately be facing whether they fully know the risks or not. Many parents said they would be less likely to allow their child to play because of the risks of brain diseases they could face later in life. But football is a popular sport played all around the world that people love to watch. Even though people know the risks and what damage can be caused and pain suffered by the loss of a football player, especially from their families people will still continue to play football and any other sport that can cause head injuries which can be connected with CTE. People get too greedy with the fame and money like the players or those who represent the players. The players won’t want to quit doing something they love and are passionate about so

Many players are dying due to this brain trauma CTE is caused by repeated blows to the head. Players are getting better and harder hits are doing more damage to the brain than several years ago, rules are being reformed to make sports much safer(Weir 4) It's no wonder that kids and adults are getting hurt much more often than many years ago athletes are naturally getting bigger The average weight for an athlete has gone up 50 pounds since ten years ago.

this disease, nerve cells break down, which reduces functionality in the muscles that they supply. The cause unknown. The main symptom is muscle weakness. Medication and therapy can slow ALS and reduce discomfort, but there's no cure. Neale Daniher Every three months, he has lung function tests which determine how well he is able to draw breath. He says those tests showed a marked downward trend in the past six months. Until a year ago he could still breathe well enough for a short swim, but can't do that now .said Neale He says his lung function is below the typical level for a healthy 56-year-old This much-loved man of football earned respect first as an outstanding footballer then as the coast of the Melbourne Demons. Friends lauded his