Equestrianism or what it is more typically known as to Americans, horseback riding, is considered one of the oldest sports. It has been said that horseback riding was known to be an intense sport among men. It is not only physically challenging because it requires an athletic build for it, but because it takes tolerance, dedication, time, and the most important one of all is building and strengthening that bond with the horse. If there is no relationship between the two then there isn’t going to be a good experience for the two. Time is needed to train and bond since horseback riding is a team sport. The sport can become highly dangerous for the equestrian or the professional rider whenever, since there is not a moment of time when the rider’s life is at risk while riding the horse. Hence that is why equestrianism is considered one of the top leading sports for causing traumatic brain injury. Neurological Focus Journal has found that horseback riding causes the most traumatic brain injuries among adults and it wasn’t a contact sport that caused it. “In the database, 45.2 percent of TBI among adults were related to horseback riding, dwarfing the other causes. The second-leading cause of sports-related traumatic brain injury was falls or hits from contact sports like football and soccer, but that accounted for just 20.2 percent of TBIs.” (ABCNews, Gillian Mohney). Even on a normal day-to-day basis, horseback riding resulted at a higher rate when being admitted to a hospital
These rates and numbers need to be addressed so that us as student athletes can have a safer and more enjoyable experience in the realm of college sports. The rate of brain injuries in sports have only increased with time, and our awareness on them and ways to avoid them should as well. I hope that these facts will allow the athletes in the room to become more aware of their decisions and they way that they think about the game they love.
Attention for traumatic brain injury has grown over the years and programs have been created to help try and prevent the injuries. As this is an injury to the brain the literature is vast with insight into what part of the brain injured resulted in what change in the individual. Children and athletics have been the main focus in recent years for studies as research have shown that undiagnosed injuries can have long lasting effects.
In the united states over 170 million adults participate in physical activities, including sports which can have a greater impact on unorganized sports because most of the time there not properly trained and just go for what they know and injure themselves 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur in recreational activities annually. However, this vastly underestimates total concussions, as many individuals suffering from mild or moderate concussions do seek medical advice... Many of these activities are associated with an increased risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In the united States, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a TBI annually, associated with 1.365 million emergency room visits and 275,000 hospitalizations annually with associated direct and indirect cost estimated to have been $60 billion in the United states in 2000, So concussions are not only taken a big toll on someone’s life but also their pockets.
An estimated 1.6 - 3.8 million concussions are sustained each year in the United States, due to recreational sports injuries. (What is a Concussion?, 2016) Ten percent of athletes in contact sports sustain a concussion in a year. Brain injuries cause more deaths than any other sports injury. In football, brain injuries account for sixty-five percent to ninety-five percent of all fatalities. Football injuries associated with the brain occur at the rate of one in every five and-a-half games. In any given season, ten percent of all college players and twenty percent of all high school players sustain brain injuries. (What is a Concussion?, 2016) Eighty-seven percent of professional boxers have sustained a brain injury, five percent of soccer
In the article, “Sports and Brain Injury,” Michael McCrea, Lindsay Nelson and Julie Janecek report on the surprising prevalence and effects of sport-related concussions (SRCs). Concussions are among the most frequent injuries experienced by athletes participating in contact and collision sports (McCrea, Nelson and Janecek, 2014). Neurologists have increasingly studied the short and long-term effects of these brain injuries on athletes.
A 2011 study of U.S. high schools with at least one athletic trainer on staff found that concussions accounted for nearly 15% of all sports related injuries reported to athletic trainers. More than 248,000 children visited hospital emergency departments in 2009 for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries related to sports and recreation. Injuries associated with participation in sports and recreational activities account for 21% of all traumatic brain injuries among children in the United States. These statistics, all gathered by and coming from SWATA (Southwest Athletic Trainers’ Association), a branch of the NATA (National Athletic Trainers’ Association) are all reputable facts that were analyzed by healthcare professionals in the field of sports and that deal with athletes everyday. No argument for why a child should become one of these statistics is needed, given the gross number of cases and the severity of them
During the investigation of the epidemiology of concussions, they compared high school and college athletes. They found approximately 300,000 sports related brain injuries happens yearly in the United States, which is the second leading cause of brain injuries for ages 15 to 24. The sample included 100 high schools and 180 colleges and the data calculated rates, described patterns, and likely risk factors for athletes.
High impact sports (like football, soccer, etc.) are capable of giving severe concussions and a good amount of long term negative effects. “The NFL revealed that it expects nearly a third of all retired players to develop permanent brain impairments…” (15). People are getting injured in their own careers willingly. More and more
In recent studies, it has been found that concussions resulting from athletics are becoming increasingly dangerous while at the same time given less consideration. Sports related mild traumatic brain injuries in children have increased by sixty percent in the last decade. Approximately 173,285 cases of mild traumatic brain injuries relating to sports are treated each year in U.S. emergency departments (CDC).
Most people can agree that sports are deeply imbedded in America’s culture. But through the years, more concern is being raised about a specific injury that is becoming more common while playing a sport- traumatic brain injury (TBI). A traumatic brain injury arises from an external force, causing damage to brain tissue. Brain trauma from youth football and the levels beyond can have devastating long-term effects.
As a nation that loves competition, the United States has become obsessed with sports. This obsession has allowed professional sports leagues to generate billions of dollars of revenue each year. The one sport that stands on top is football generating around 13 billion dollars a year. This even surpasses “America’s Pastime,” baseball. One of the reasons the sport has been able to succeed so much is from the sport’s violent nature, which attracts many fans looking for big hits. But unfortunately with big hits come injuries, one of the most common injuries being a concussion (injury to the brain caused by a hard hit on the head). In the United States alone over 300,000 concussions occur annually. That includes high school and college athletes.
According to Infographic, a website that tells of the pros and cons of football, they state that, "Where does football rank among the top 10 sports in which head injuries are common among children ages 14 and under? 2nd. Football is 2nd with 21,878. First is bicycling, which has 40,272," This shows that football may not have the most head injuries, but it has a very high amount of head injuries. Even worse, football is more dangerous for children, but that's when a lot of kids start to play.
There can be no question that the Hanoverian Horse represents today, one of the most prominent breeds of riding horses in the world. The stud-book comprises close to 19,000 active brood mares and 450 approved breeding stallions and covers the largest homogeneous breeding area in Europe (Hanoverian-gb.org.uk, 2017). Goodwin et al., (2008) believes that equine ethology, management, learning theory, skill, and talent combine to influence numerous outcomes in horse-rider interactions. The behavioural and learning processes in the horse are likely to influence not only equine athletic success but also the usefulness of the horse as a domesticated species (Murphy and Arkins, 2007)
Neurodegenerative diseases among athletes like Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) are far more common among athletes than others. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) a disease which will slowly eat away at all of the muscles in your body, will leave your mind intact, leaving you as a ghost in a shell. CTE affects the functionality of your brain itself unlike ALS. There are no found cures yet to these diseases, but researchers are finding more and more ways that said diseases may be prevented. A concussion is when your brain itself is shaken hard enough it will smash against the inner walls of your skull. New measures to ensure the safety and future health of athletes like new and improved safety gear,
“On average, 24 horses die per week on racetracks in the U.S.” (Cohen). This is due to the horrible mistreatment and horrendous training methods used on too young horses. However, the racetrack is not the only place where horses are abused. Horse shows, show rings, large business stables, smaller private barns; wherever a horse can be found, there is potential for some sort of animal abuse. There is not one certain breed or type of horse that is most commonly abused, every horse around the world can be subject to mistreatment. Unfortunately, there are not many laws that protect these horses, and some people merely turn their heads away. That is why there should be more laws against the abusive techniques applied by many equestrians in the equine