Concussions Research Paper

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

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

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 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

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

Did you know that 99% of the dead NFL players had signs of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when scientist looked through their brain (Ventras)? Most people wouldn’t know this fact, but scientist do and have known this since 2002. Even though they are making improvements, there is still an alarming rate of concussions happening. This report will discuss who is affected, how it can be prevented, how it is affecting sports today.

All throughout sports, the topic of concussions seems to become more prevalent everyday. For the past couple years, concussions have become the topic to talk about in the NFL. First to understand how prevalent a concussion is in the sports world, you need to know what it is. As stated on mayoclinic.org, a concussion is a traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions. Now you can imagine why this is such a problem. Which leaves us to wonder, are the protocols in the NFL working?

In 2007, the NFL finally started to take steps to slow down the rate of concussions in football (Lauren Ezell). Although concussions still occur today, there are specific protocols that were inserted to protect players’ health. This topic is so important to me because I am a big fan of the sport, and I would hate to see my favorite players end their career with disabling conditions. I hope to the see the NFL continually trying to find ways to limit concussions. I believe that one day football can be played without the risk of living the rest of your life with a critical

“In 2012 alone, there were more than 3.8 million reported concussions, twice as many as a decade earlier (Cleveland Medical).” According to the National Library of Medicine, even this seemingly large number of concussions under represents the full number of people who get concussed, because many people don’t seek medical care. In the same way I almost died in 2013. One second I jumped for a high pass and the next, I woke up in the hospital the following day. Many witnesses even profess to me dying on the field. This however, is just one lucky situation in the never ending battle with concussions. Concussions can be caused and worsened by hits to the head, cheap protective equipment, and misdiagnosed injuries.

In recent years, there has been a backlash from all kinds of doctors throughout the world that believe the National Football League or NFL needs to make adjustments to the way they treat head injuries, specifically concussions. A concussion is a brain injury characterized by an onset of impairment of cognitive and/or physically functioning and is caused by hits around the head and neck area. This NFL is under destress because of numerous studies that show concussions can lead to a large amount brain injuries way after the player has played his last game. However, this isn't just a problem the NFL is facing, the real problem is our youth contact sports and head-related injuries. High school athletes are extremely more exposed to concussions than

Concussions in football are almost as common as a bug hitting your car on your

Lucas Maestas is a 17-year-old teenager that has a passion for school and sports. He plans on pursuing a career in neurology or political science. Lucas has had to endure the turmoil of post concussive syndrome the last four years. The first concussion Lucas received was the summer before his eighth grade year. He received three more concussions after that, all taking place in a two-year time frame. Lucas still has symptoms of post concussive syndrome till this day, but has seen improvement with his symptoms. He has really seen an improvement with his overall well-being after going to the Carrick Brain Center in Dallas (There will be a page about his experience at the brain center soon). Lucas

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.

A concussion is a trauma induced alteration in mental status that may or may not result in loss of consciousness. Injured athletes should have to sit out for longer because they are more likely to get a second concussion after getting the first one, concussions can have long lasting effects, and some people are more susceptible to concussions than others.

Most states have three action steps that must be used in order to provide maximum safety for the athletes that are playing the games. The first step is to “educate coaches, parents, and athletes.” By educating coaches, parents, and athletes about the possibility of getting a concussion while playing a sport, they will all know what to look for if there is ever a hard hit to the