Differences In Concussions

Science says concussions are inevitable; 96 percent of all NFL players and 79 percent of all football players test positive for brain disease (Source: Frontline League of Denial 9/18/15 Concussion Watch Article). Prior to 2002, the NFL’s approach to preventing, treating, and managing concussions and CTE was very different than it is today. My essay will explore what some of those differences were and whether or not changes in the NFL are improving the outcomes and quality of life for current and former NFL players.

The national football league has stiffened its policy on legal hits. The hit zone has shrunk, while player frustrations have grown. The policy is enacted in an effort to reduce the number of concussions in the game of football. The enforcement of these rules has strayed away from being all about safety. The policy on hits has created a divide among its players and fans alike. The policy of hits being enforced so strictly has had a significant impact on the sport. The sociology of the NFL and the rule itself drive this argument. By stepping on the field as an NFL football player, it is accepted that it is very dangerous. The players make enough money to make the concussions worth it. Profiting from the fine money for these hits has caused the NFL to be enforcing these rules unethically, the rules and the impact they have had on the sport have been detrimental to football.

It is good to see the NFL take steps to better protect its players, but critics say it is long overdue. And while they are fair in that assessment, even they have to agree that the league’s stances on concussions and policies has significantly changed in the last decade.

Even though some people believe that the NFL does not need stricter rules to help prevent concussions, stricter rules are definitely needed. According to Casebook in Is Football Too Dangerous, Several NFL players have committed suicide over the last few years, and medical evidence suggests that brain damage-the consequence of years of violent on-field collisions and concussions. This evidence shows that multiple blows to the head have caused CTE in former NFL players that have played a role in their deaths. CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma (“What is CTE?”). How many more deaths are going to happen to former players before the NFL make the current rules stricter? The NFL can make the current players safer for their futures outside of football. The evidence is there to show why the NFL needs to make stricter rules.

For many years, the NFL claimed to be working on ways to prevent concussions and other severe injuries; nevertheless, the numbers are continuously rising. Over the preseason and regular season, diagnosed concussions increased 15.6 percent from 2016 to 2017 (243 to 281) and 22.7 percent from 2013 to 2017 (229 to 281) (Maske). The NFL has previously taken measures to lower the numbers, 47 rule changes since 2002 to strengthen the league's medical protocols and protect players from concussions, but those measures were not enough. In 2010, the league expanded its rules to prevent "defenseless" players from taking hits above their shoulders in order to protect them from blows to the head. Also in 2010, the NFL made a rule declaring the ball dead

Through out all these studies, the MTBI was still making concussions sound minor, and not a big problem.They would say that the doctors did not do the research correctly, and they were just assuming. It was not until many fights and four years later when they officially announce that concussions can have long term effects on the players. Also in 2009, they made the return-to-play rules stricter with more criteria (Ezell). Officials are now more concerned about watching where the player gets hit

Many people hear the word “concussion” and think of it as being just a simple headache; however, not many know the significant health consequences associated with receiving a concussion. Concussions can have a variety of adverse effects on a person, some of which include sensory changes and deficits, emotional difficulties like depression, and an overall reduction in cognitive functioning. Abnormal eye movements and a reduced sense of touch are examples of sensory changes and deficits that are common with concussions. Individuals on the receiving end of concussions also deal with emotional difficulties including depression and even certain forms of guilt. Reduction in overall cognitive

This experiment is a descriptive research study that was used to see the amount of knowledge and amount of education college coaches have been given on the topic of Concussions. To see if coaches know the signs and symptoms of a concussion, how to identify if an athlete has concussion symptoms and if the coaches know the recovery protocol for an athlete to return to play. For this experiment, 28,183 coaches of division l, ll, and lll, colleges all over the country were sent an email asking to participate in this study to see how much knowledge and education they have on concussions. This lead to some limitations because they can only do the study on the coaches that choose to participate. But of those 28183 asked, 1818 coaches responded

In addition to using existing data sets I will also use the correlations method to conduct my research as well as to understand what the NFL has done in order to reduce the number of concussions and whether it is having a positive or negative outcome. I also conducted an interview with Dr. Peter Deluca who has been practicing medicine for over 30 years and is a world know orthopedic sports surgeon who has been the physician for the Eagles the past 19 seasons. In addition he was selected to serve as Head Team Physician for the NFC in the Pro Bowl in 2003, 2004 and 2009, which is given to the top 2 doctors in the NFL each of those years. He has done a tremendous amount of research on concussions within the NFL and how it affects the players both physically and mentally and by allowing me to use his own data set, gave me a clearer understanding of what needs to be done in order to help stop this issue once and for all. By using existing data in order to compare the number of concussions from (1996-2001) to the number of concussions from (2002-2007). Lastly I will describe the different rules the NFL has changed in order to help reduce the number of concussions per year and see the different studies that team physicians have done in order to see what types of positions have the greatest chance on receiving concussions and on what types of plays. I understand that this is a lot of research to conduct and I not only look forward to the challenge but also look forward to the information I will learn while looking into this topic because this is something that also affects me in my life since I am a athlete who has suffered three concussions to

Athletes around the world come together every day to compete and with competition comes injuries. Athletic trainers are typically the first responders to assist the athletes and provide diagnoses and treatment. Although injuries are always going to happen the main responsibility of an athletic trainer is to prevent them from happening. There are a wide range of possible injuries in which an athlete can get into, concussions are one of the most common types of injuries during sporting activities. As a matter of fact, concussions occur at a rate of 1.6 to 3.8 million per year during sporting activities (Broglio). However, these figures fall short as there are many concussion injuries, which are unreported by either athletes or coaches and often

According to SCI, a concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process that affects the brain (SCI, 2016). A concussion is commonly known as a mild traumatic brain injury, often sustained in sports, falls, motor vehicle accidents, assault, and other incidents (Cornell, 2015). A blow or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain (Brainline, 2015).

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.

A recent study of college football players has shown that those who participate in high contact sports and have had a concussion before have a 300% higher chance of having another one in comparison to athletes that have never had a concussion before (Jolicoeur et al, 2007). The NFL and NCAA have enacted several rule changes in order to minimize the occurrence of concussions. These new rules, like many before them, have come under the scrutiny of the very athletes that they were meant to protect. The NHL and NHL Players Association in 1997 together created a program in order to get a better understanding of concussions and how to prevent them (Burke et al, 2011). According to Covassin (2008), athletes who have had more than one concussion take a longer time to recover with each concussion that they suffer from.

The United States has led the fight against criminal activities from Mexican borders for many years. Criminal activities along the United States and Mexican border range from drug trafficking, human smuggling and an economy that disruptive. These are illegal activities scholars have argued could lead to the failure of Mexico as a country and the spread of violence to the United States. The illegal activities are not only a threat to the economy of Mexico and United States but also to the rest of the world due the impacts associated. The border between Mexico and US is of essential significance because it provides the link between the two countries. The border provides passageways through which either country can access the other via land or air means. Although the border is of significance to both countries, smuggling of drugs and trafficking human are main causes of violence between the countries. Drug cartels in Mexico smuggle drugs into the United States and this drives a war between them and the US government. The economy and the peace between Mexico and US is also affected significantly due to the illegal activities. To minimize the violence caused by these illegal activities, the US government need to act against the activities. The United States needs to increase the economic aid and military intervention to Mexico to fight the drug cartels, otherwise it could become a failed state; spreading more violence across the US border.

The United Nation’s main objective is to maintain global peace and justice throughout its organization. But how does one successfully achieve their goal, and then go forth with it? How will the citizens respond to their leaders’ actions? If citizens don’t like how their leaders are putting forth their authority, it could result in a rebellion. But soon, one will ascertain what comes around goes around. In the novel Animal Farm, George Orwell wants us to understand the dangers of being a naive citizen can mean initially wanting freedom and equality, but will soon recognize everything has come full circle, with intensifying oppression.