Concussions In Sports Essay

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

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.

A concussion is a type of TBI that is caused from an impact to the head or from a jolt of the head which can be caused by a fall. A person receives a concussion when the brain hits the side of the inner skull due to the blow. This causes the brain to become more sensitive to some aspects of life. There are three different levels of a concussion mild, moderate, and severe. All three of these forms all have different symptoms (although some overlap) and different lengths of recovery.

Concussions are a very frightening and dangerous injury. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury in which your brain rattles around in your skull. When you sustain a concussion, your brain may jolt as a result from the impact. This form of brain injury can cause bruising, damage to the blood vessels, and injury to the nerves. Concussions are the most common brain injury. Although concussions are the least serious, they should not be taken lightly. Back in the day, people were unaware of concussions and the symptoms associated with them. As a result, people today especially former athletes are dying from past concussions. (Cantu, R. & Hyman M., 2012) Many people have seen, heard of, or had a concussion and they are relevant to everyone’s life.

Concussions are common due to the fact that there is not much protection between the skull and the brain. The medical definition of a concussion is, “ A 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 temporary loss of consciousness due to the bruising of the brain and the force of the impact. During the impact, “The brain [may] bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes, sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). That is why concussions can have such a lasting impact. Depending on the extent, most concussions only last for a few days to a week, but some can last for months due to the damage. Concussions are put into categories based on how long they are believed to last so doctors know how long to keep athletes out from strenuous activity. “Concussions are graded as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), or severe (grade 3), depending on such factors as loss of consciousness, amnesia, and loss of equilibrium” (Lava ). With each grade, there are different symptoms and differences in how long they last.

A concussion is a mild head injury which is sustained by a jolt or impact to one's head. “Concussions can be caused by a variety of traumatic events: motor vehicle accidents, penetrating injuries, sports injuries, strikes, and falls”(Schafer, 2014). Side effects of concussions range from clumsiness. slurred speech, nausea or vomiting, headache, balance problems or dizziness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and noise, sluggishness, ringing in the ears, personality changes, difficulty concentrating and memory loss. A concussion is similar to a bruise on an arm or leg but instead the bruise is on the tissues of the brain. Since people can’t see the damage of the injury to the brain many concussions go undiagnosed or untreated for days weeks or even years. When a concussion goes undiagnosed or untreated it can result in further head trauma: untreated it can lead to blood clots and tumors in the brain, an onset of parkinson’s disease and in worst cases death. However it wasn't until 2011 that the issue of concussions went into the public spotlight.

However, after years of research and experimenting scientist are starting to untie the blindfold that football coaches and analysts have tied around the eyes of society to hide the true damage of concussions. Part of the reason concussions are not taken seriously is because on television no one ever bothers to explain what is truly happening inside the brain of a concussed person, the injury is just said to be a hit or blow to the head. Yet, what most people do not know is a concussion is actually when the brain is offset which causes the chemical balance in the brain to fluctuate and damage/kill brain cells. In their article, “Concussions and Repercussions”, Donald Redelmeier and Sheharyar Raza discuss the long term effects of only one concussion. They express that one concussion “can damage hundreds of neurons and millions of synapses, thereby contributing to subsequent depression, irritability, impulsivity, or suicidal ideation”(Redelmeier and Raza par 1). Neurons and synapses are vitally important to the function of not only the brain but the entire human body as well. Neurons act as the messenger of the brain by

The Effects of a Concussion starts early on after suffering the injury, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy of also known as CTE starts a few years or even decades after suffering the Injury. According to James White MD. There are early signs and symptoms of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and of the first signs of CTE is troubles with Multitasking. Multitasking becomes very hard for Former NFL players who have suffered concussions in their career. Another key symptom of CTE in the early stages of the injury is Minor Cognitive Impairment. Former players have trouble with memory both short term and

There are multiple symptoms associated with the receiving of a concussion, but there are three that are outstandingly common among the general population of victims of concussions. Those include sensory changes and deficits, emotional difficulties like depression, and an overall reduction in cognitive functioning. According to Moore, Broglio, and Hillman, a concussion is defined as “a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanics forces.” Sport-Related Concussion and Sensory Function in Young Adults Simply stated, this means that a concussion is an injury that results from a traumatic blow to the brain. In recent years, concussions have been a popular topic in the media. Whether it be with regards

A concussion is when you go unconsciousness for a little while caused by a blow to the head. The term is also used loosely of the after effects such as confusion or temporary incapacity. Concussion is are known as a mild brain injury that is a mild brain injury MTBI mild head injury and a little head trauma. Some experts will define a concussion as a head injury with temporary loss of brain function which can cause some cognitive physical and emotional symptoms. Symptoms may also include headache, confusion, lack of coordination. The term concussion describes an injury to the brain resulting from a hard impact to the head. By definition a concussion is not a life threatening injury but should be treated fast . The use of protective headgear can decrease the risk of a concussion when you are engaging in any of the following activities Contact martial arts sports such as boxing, karate, and others Football. Most post concussion symptoms such as headaches, sensitivity to noise and light, dizziness, fatigue and memory problems go away with about seven to ten days after the injury but sometimes post concussion symptoms can last up to about 3 months. Rarely do symptoms last longer. What can you do when you have a concussion? Some people who have had a concussion find that at first it

Concussion is a brain injury caused by movement of brain within the skull due to external forces that may cause sudden acceleration or decoration of a person such as collisions. It is a traumatically induced transient disturbance to the functioning of the brain caused by complex pathophysiological process (Harmon et al.). A bump, blow, or jolt to the head may cause concussion. Concussions also emanates from a blow to the body that causes the head and hence the brain to move quickly back and forth, causing the brain to bounce around or twist within the skull. Many people/studies refer to concussions as mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) (Harmon et al.).

A concussion is a complex series of trauma that affects the brain. They can be caused by a direct blow to the brain or an indirect hit directed to someone’s body. Some of the symptoms are brain related such as headaches, memory loss, and nausea. Headaches and dizziness are the leading reported symptoms of a brain injury. Concussions can have symptoms affecting a person’s emotions like sadness and drowsiness. Researchers have concluded after studies that athletes who receive one concussion are one-two times more likely to get a second one. The CDC has

The effects of ALS and CTE often get people to question whether or not they should let their child play contact sports. Most of which have suffered from this play sports such as football, baseball, and hockey. ALS and CTE both can be caused by just a simple hit in the head are becoming more and more current as time goes. They don’t work the same but have similar symptoms throughout the body. Both diseases are deadly and cause a lot of damage to the body. Now CTE and ALS have been more common and have people wondering whether sports rules should change or not. Contact sports rules shouldn’t be changed for which ALS and CTE can be diagnosed to everyone not only athletes.

However, in 2013, the NFL and the NFLPA entered a dispute on how to allocate the $100 million. The NFLPA vetted several research proposals and invited the NFL to participate in the entire process, so they believed the NFL would comply with the research proposal they selected. The NFLPA decided to allocate the funds towards a 10 year Harvard initiative that would examine at least 1,000 retired players to use as long-term subjects on a wide range of health issues. The project aimed to discover approaches to diagnosing, treating and preventing injuries and in both active and retired players. However, the “joint contribution” would not pan out as the NFL refused to sign off on the grant. The two sides would eventually agree to allocate their $50 million funding towards separately selected medical research. The NFL has allocated most of its medical research funds to entities such as the National Institute of Health, the U.S. military and private companies. Examining the allocation of medical research funds from the NFL and examining how the NFL refused to allocate money towards the Harvard initiative, suggests the NFL is steering away from research specifically from the link between football and CTE. Although, the NFL is now addressing brain trauma as a health hazard for players and are trying to diagnose and mitigate the impact of brain injuries, the NFL is also not addressing the link between CTE and playing football, perhaps because the

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.