Concussions In Sports Essay

A nationwide epidemic is occurring throughout the United States and is on the rise. Although many know about it, they fail to realize the side effects and diseases that can that lay dormant, waiting to be awakened and devastate their lives and potentially end them. Concussions are increasing annually among athletes in contact sports. Children and adults participating in these particular sports are potential victims of concussions and the long lasting side effects. The concerns of athletes receiving concussions is rising because as studies progress, many are leading to the conclusion that concussions impose future health complications.

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

It has been found that the average high school football player receives somewhere near 650 hits to the head each season (Tyler). Imagine the impact this has on the brain. Then imagine how much worse the impact must be when getting hit by highly trained, full grown men. The NFL for the longest time would have liked us to think differently. “According to the doctors in the NFL’s employ, playing a game involving violent, head first collisions had no connection to future brain injuries,” reports “The Progressive” in their article “High Price of Concussions”. Finally, in 2009, “(the National Football League) acknowledged publicly for the first time that concussions suffered while playing football

It is estimated that over 90% of today's NFL players have a brain issue even if they do not know about it. On average, each football player gets hit 2,500 times to the head in a career. The centers take about 25,000 tackles to the head in an average career if they go to the NFL. After 9 or 10 concussions, you probably have a disease in you. In the year 2015, there were 271 concussions, in 2014, there were 206, in 2013, there was 229, and in 2012, there was 261 concussions. That adds up to 967 in 4 years. Dr Bennett Omalu was the first doctor to find this brain issue, and he has a foundation to help the players and families that have suffered with this issue. He named it Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. CTE is a brain disease that

This article portrays how playing football can cause negative long term effects on your body. Frontline reported on numbers from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Boston University, where researchers studied the brains of 165 people who played football at the high school, college, or professional level. They found evidence of CTE in 131 of them—79 percent. Of the brains studied, 91 of them belonged to former NFL players, and 87 of those 91 (96 percent) had signs of CTE. In an attempt to further reduce concussions some teams are considering adopting a tackling style similar to that of rugby, where players

While examining his brain, they found the first case of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in a football player (Ezell). Dr. Omalu continued into the brains of football players. He diagnost another player with CTE. After that, two other doctors connect concussions to dementia. Dr. Bailes and Dr. Guskiewicz wrote, “that the onset of dementia-related syndromes may be initiated by repetitive cerebral concussions in professional football players” (Ezell). This was the first major finding connecting football to brain injuries.

Pellman and his group have also stated repeatedly that their work shows "no evidence of worsening injury or chronic cumulative effects of multiple concussions in NFL players." But a 2003 report by the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes at the University of North Carolina found a link between multiple concussions and depression among former pro players with histories of concussions. A 2005 follow-up study at the Center showed a connection between concussions and both brain impairment and Alzheimer's disease among retired NFL players.

Studies show, by law a player must sign off by a medical professional before the player can return to the field. Studies also show, concussions and or head head injuries are linked to permanent brain damage. The question frequently asked is "should injured athletes be required to sit out for periods of time to allow time for the brain to heal completely?" As an athlete, I think athletes should wait. Only because if a player gets one concussion and goes back to their sports and gets hit in the head, that could lead to permanent damage for not giving the brain time to heal from the previous injury.

The sport of hockey is an intense test of power and will, and as a result of the injuries in sport are common realities that players and coaches are faced with. Among these injuries are concussions, arguably the worst injury of all. A significant blow to the head that causes the brain to shake in the skull and sometime even swell causes a concussion. These serious and sometimes life threatening injuries have always been a part of hockey, and up until a few years ago, little was being done to combat the cause. Although great strides have been made to help athletes recover from a concussion, the question arises, why are hockey players so susceptible to these terrible head injuries in the first place?

Concussions In Sports Head injuries have been in the news lately because of the many side effects and the dangers they can have on a person's mental health. The most common head injury today is a concussion. A concussion happens when a person has a traumatic blow to the head causing the brain to whiplash against a person’s skull. This is such a big issue because there is so much unknown about everything. For example, many famous football players that have died have been diagnosed with a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy such as Frank Gifford, Mike Webster, and Dave Duerson.

The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation recommends that children under the young age of six years old not play the sport of football. Before a helmet is to be put on the field is has to meet the standards of the NOCSAE (The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment.) NFL players suffer an estimated one hundred-fifty nine concussions the past season of twenty-twelve. Health offices estimated that a total of of about fifty percent of school aged players have had an injury to the head throughout their football careers. Recent studies have shown that football players may still experience long term brain changes even if they haven't suffered a concussion. The researchers studied sixty-seven college football players after a game the researchers conducted brain scans and blood test. The test showed a protein involved with regarding nerve growth that has been associated with the

Concussions are a recurring problem among athletes of all ages. Each year, thousands of athletes are sidelined with concussions. The treatment for those with concussions are being questioned every day, but the athletes are not alone. Trainers are the first members of the sports medicine team to assess the injury. A great deal of stress comes with this duty because the trainer must make decisions regarding the athlete’s health in a matter of minutes. The athletic trainer plays a dominant role in providing initial care for athletes with concussions.

Concussions are and will continue to be an ongoing issue in almost all sports today. This is especially true in the case of football and the NFL. Concussions are considered the most common and least devastating form of traumatic brain injury someone can receive. Although concussions are considered the least serious type of brain injury they can still lead to and cause many irreversible brain diseases and in some cases people have even lost their lives because of concussions. One of these diseases is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or better known as CTE. There have been many recent medical developments that have allowed us to learn more about the brain and things that affect it. This increased knowledge has caused unrest

In the world of football, big hits are something that are looked at in a positive light. They are seen as a way of asserting dominance over other players and it is celebrated by teammates. Big hits are a very crucial, almost necessary, part of the game that millions of people gather to watch every Sunday. However, in the past decade, the NFL and other organization have realized that concussions can lead to very serious problems later in life. One of these problems is known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). It is a degenerative brain disease, much like Alzheimer’s, that mainly effects individuals in high contact sports such as boxing or football. Over time, this connection between concussions and CTE has become more common knowledge and more people have started asking the question “do the risks of children playing football outweigh the benefits?”. The answer to this question is yes, football is entirely too violent for children to be playing. According to “Big Hits, Broken Dreams”, one in ten football players gets a concussion, and 35% of players have more than one. The video also states that only 50% of high schools in the United States have a certified athletic trainer on the field (CNN, 2012). If concussions are really a concern for the schools, then why are there not more athletic trainers on staff at these schools to deal with sports injuries? This also forces the public to question these schools even more because if they are willing to cut costs and not hire a

It wasn’t until Dr. McKee and other researchers presented evidence of CTE in football players during a congressional hearing with the U.S. House of Representatives, in 2009, that the NFL changed its approach to addressing these findings. Later that year, during an interview with The New York Times, NFL Spokesman Greg Aiello stated “it’s quite obvious from the medical research that’s been done that concussion can lead to long-term problems.” This was one of the first times the league admitted that concussions and brain injuries had long-term impact on players. Admitting that there was a problem was one of the first steps in overhauling their approach to CTE’s impact on football players. Towards the end of that year, there was a shake up