Concussions And Its Effect On Children

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

Concussions occur on a large scale in football. During a concussion, the head can experience a blow directly or can have whiplash. When the head is hit, the brain hits the inside of the skull, giving it a temporary bruise. This bruise or tearing of the brain can lead to mental impairments that can affect a person’s emotional state of being, physical problems like deteriorated mobility and sensitivity to light and sound. Doctors are quick to point out one of the major reasons that youth receive concussions, saying, “... children have big heads relative to the rest of their bodies and weak necks… that elevates the risk of concussions,” (P6). Along with a lack of education and care for the protection of athletes, youth are already at a huge risk. When children wear their football helmets, they are saving themselves from many injuries that could have occurred without them, most especially protecting the brain. But, in many cases, this is not enough.

A concussion is, “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” (“What is a Concussion?”). Concussions can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, and sleepiness. Although these symptoms seem terrible, these are only short term symptoms of a mild concussion. More severe concussions can cause life-long problems with memory, learning, coordination, emotion, and even sight (“What is a Concussion?”). One poor play can cause a severe concussion and, furthermore, a permanent end to the life the player knew before the incident. While not all concussions are that critical, every concussion has consequences. Unfortunately, thousands of high school players face these consequences annually. Studies show that, “Some 67,000 high school football players suffer concussions every year, according to official tallies, and many more concussions go unreported” (“Farewell to Football”). Even if an exceptional football player beats those odds, one in every twenty NFL players suffers from at least one concussion in his career (“Farewell to Football”). Players under the age of eighteen are even more likely to experience severe brain damage from the game. According to ESPN, getting hit hard on the field can be the equivalent to being hit over the head

Concussions are a rising issue in the daily life of many athletes in the sports of hockey, soccer, football, and skateboarding. Every 21 seconds, someone in this country encounters a brain injury. Concussions are brain injuries caused by jolts or hard hits around the head. When the tissue of the brain slams against the strong, thick skull in your head, a concussion is very common. This leads to either swelling of the brain, “torn blood vessels, or injury to the nerves.” (Haas) Eventually, the result will be immediate, delayed, or even permanent loss of your own brain. In the next four paragraphs, I will describe to you how a concussion is important to you and others, what the world can do to stop this issue, and what you can do to prevent

In a society where sports have become the focus for most youths, there has been increased attention to identification, diagnosis and prevention of sports-related

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.

We have all heard of the term “sports injury”. Usually an accident that occurs when engaged in a sport, the ideal can apply from something as frustrating as a rolled ankle to the more debilitating shock of a broken arm. Yet the fact remains that these physical ailments will heal, and properly, if they are treated properly. But what about concussions? What are the long term effects? In her brief editorial in TIME magazine, Alexandra Sifferlin explores the effects of concussions and specifically how they affect children if they aren't disclosed.

Concussions can occur virtually anywhere, and everyone is at risk of getting a concussion, whether they participate in sports or not. Athletes, who take part in any kind of contact sports, no matter the age level, are all susceptible to suffering from a concussion. Football is one of the sports that expose young athletes to higher risk in getting a concussion. According to Headcase, football is said to have one of the highest concussions rates (64-76.8) when being compared to other sports. According to a study done by Frontline, high school football players are twice as likely of getting concussions compared to college players. In the study conducted, there was a rate of

Concussions have become a major controversy in the United States. Because of uninformed students and negligent coaches, many student athletes are experiencing the severe complications that accompany the injury. High school athletes seem to be the most affected and for this reason are more vulnerable than other students to experience concussions. Not properly managing concussions in time could have significant and problematic injuries that could potentially effect the victims overall ability to live a healthy life. For this reason, athletes should have to stay out of any physical activity for the necessary time to allow their brain to properly heal.

Concussions are injuries to the brain that can be caused by any significant blunt force trauma to the head such as a fall, car accident, being struck on the head with an object, or sports injury. Sports are second only to motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury particularly among people who are 15 to 24 years old (Solomon, 2006). Pediatric physicians care for a significant number of patients who are involved in sport-related activities in schools or clubs, however most sport-related concussions are never diagnosed because young athletes may not recognize or report the symptoms of a concussion. It is important for physicians to know that although concussions are the most minor of traumatic brain injuries, if not detected and managed properly, they can lead to more serious short-term and long-term issues.

“Studies show that approximately one in five high school football players suffer concussions or more serious brain injury during their brief high school careers. The rate at the collegiate level is one in twenty” (Longe, 965). Even though this study showed twenty present of high school football players recorded concussions, many concussions go unreported or unrecognized. Dr. Wayne Langburt surveyed Pennsylvania High School football players after their season. The survey was anonymous and the term concussion was replaced with a generic definition. “The share of players who claimed to have suffered a concussion the previous season was not four percent or even fourteen percent, but was forty-seven percent! Those who received concussions claimed an average of 3.4 each season” (Nowinski,

Brain trauma is extremely dangerous and in some cases fatal. It is imperative for anyone participating in sports to learn the signs and symptoms of a concussion as well as the long-term effects. Educating the youth of these consequences will teach them that it is key to abstain from high intensity, contact sports until completely healed to ensure their best possible health. Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you

Concussions can affect kids and teens in the classroom as well. As an A student and star soccer player, Sarah is accustomed to hard work. However, after she sustained a concussion during a varsity soccer game, her freshman year in high school she found herself taking on a new challenge.” (Heads Up 1). For me, recovering from the concussion was harder than recovering from other injuries I’ve had. When I got a concussion, I expected to sit out some games, but I never realized that it would actually hurt to think. Most athletes recover quickly from concussions, but there are other athletes who don’t recover quite as fast. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury- or TBI- caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or hit by a body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement

“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).