Football Concussions And Head Injuries

Head injuries, including concussions, particularly in the game of American football, have become a subject of deep concern, much study and even Congressional hearings in the United States.

Statistics have shown that over 300,000, student athletes have sustained concussions per year. Concussions are the leading factor to student athletes getting CTE. CTE is a degenerative brain disease that involves a buildup of the abdominal protein (Tao). Studies have shown that 21% of high school players will contain CTE in their life (Haelle). Not only are concussions tackling athletes, but football is also causing serious bone injuries. Student athletes suffer an estimated 2 million injuries every year, which results in 500,000, doctor visits and 30,000 hospitalizations. Injuries go from broken figures all the way up to a broken neck or back. Studies have shown and will continue to show that football puts the greatest risk of injury on student athletes.

Football is one of the most beloved sports in the United States. It is one of the most violent bone crushing sports, leaving players permanently injured for life in some cases. The most common injury that football players suffer from pee-wee through the NFL is the concussion. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that changes the way your brain works. The effects of a concussion are usually temporary and can result in a full recovery if its minor and treated correctly. A concussion can lead to brain problems later in life, even after a player has finished playing football. This is why people are studying and trying to understand concussions fully in order to prevent and treat future ones. Concussions are very

Concussions occur on a large scale in football. During a concussion, the head can experience a blow directly or can have whiplash. When the head is hit, the brain hits the inside of the skull, giving it a temporary bruise. This bruise or tearing of the brain can lead to mental impairments that can affect a person’s emotional state of being, physical problems like deteriorated mobility and sensitivity to light and sound. Doctors are quick to point out one of the major reasons that youth receive concussions, saying, “... children have big heads relative to the rest of their bodies and weak necks… that elevates the risk of concussions,” (P6). Along with a lack of education and care for the protection of athletes, youth are already at a huge risk. When children wear their football helmets, they are saving themselves from many injuries that could have occurred without them, most especially protecting the brain. But, in many cases, this is not enough.

The NFL as you probably already know, stands for the National Football League. It is the elite league for the best players and best athletes in the world. These players are in tip top shape and are extremely strong. Now the big question is this. What is one of, if not the biggest problem in the NFL? Concussions. Nate Jackson, a former NFL player and writer says this, “Why is it that men who were the strongest and fittest people alive when they were young degenerate so quickly? That’s the million-dollar question.” With all of the protective equipment and top-of-the-line helmets, you would think that the players are safe from these types of injuries. But, there is a remaining problem of concussions that is still very

Christopher Nowinski is an American author and excutive direction of the Concussion Legacy Foundation. He wrote Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis, which examined the long-term effects of head trauma among athletes.

One hard hit to a NFL player’s head can destroy their life. Concussions are a major problem that the NFL has been dealing with for a very long time. As a huge football fan, I have a special interest with this issue. When concussions were first identified as a problem, they were extremely down played. People thought that injuries to knees and backs were much worse than a concussion. What they did not know was that a concussion is lethal and can cause serious consequences. After this was discovered, the NFL started to take steps to improve the safety of players, but for some, it was far too late. Concussions that NFL players receive are negatively impacting their lives after their career, due to Chronic

David Duerson’s family, the family of a legend, found Duerson dead in his home, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the chest (Bartholet). Duerson had won two championship rings, named first team All-Pro by three sources, received the NFL Man of the Year Award, and held an NFL record for 19 years (Bartholet). So why would this amazing man with a life of accomplishments commit suicide? Doctors wanted to find out. Duerson had sent his family a text message that he wanted his brain to be donated to research for concussions caused by professional football. In his final months, Duerson had complained to his family about his declining mental state. After his death, researchers found that Duerson had a disease found in many ex-professional football players, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, caused by concussions (Bartholet).

“It didn’t cross my mind that I wouldn’t see him come of that field,” Amy Stover says while sitting on her living room couch (Gregory 34). Six months earlier her son, Chad Stover, made a tackle, got up and waddled off towards the sideline feeling a little woozy (Gregory 34). Two plays later he felt good enough to return to the game and did so (Gregory 34). His team huddled up, and that is when it happened (Gregory 34). Chad collapsed, and when the medical trainers got to him his eyes were closed and he was unresponsive (Gregory 34). They rushed him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with severe brain trauma (Gregory 34). Five days later Chad passed away from complications from severe brain trauma (Gregory 34).

After Mike Webster retired, he started acting weird like living in his car for 18 months. He went to go see a doctor but with all of his brain injuries his attention span and concentration made him hard to help. In the four super bowls that the Steelers won, Mike Webster and 22 other players were part of that. Mike Webster was the player of those 22 that played for the longest in Pittsburgh(15 years). Even though he was the last person from the 22 to go away from the Steelers he was the first to die at the age of 50. Mike Webster bought a taser just to get to sleep, he would zap himself until he fell asleep. When the NFL found out about Mike Webster and how bad the injuries were, that is when the NFL started to do something about the concussions. The NFL started talking about how they could avoid the injuries of concussions. In 2015 when people made the movie Concussion, they went deep into about what Mike Webster did and what happened to

December 16, 2009, Chris Henry, a wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals, had an argument with Loleini Tonga his finacee at the time. She was in a pickup as they were arguing. She decided to drive away, as she was pulling out of the driveway Chris jumped in the bed of the truck. As she was driving down the road Chris fell from the bed of the truck. To this day the circumstances of Chris’s death, if he jumped from the truck or if it was just a tragic accident brought on by a brain disease, nobody knows. Chris Henry’s tragic story, just one example of a former athlete’s life ending due to tragic circumstances. A twelve year veteran of the Minnesota Vikings, Fred McNeill, went on to finish law school after his retirement from the NFL. He was

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS is a disease caused by concussions and head trauma. ALS is a rare neurological disease that mainly involves nerve cells, which control voluntary muscle movement, such as breathing, talking, or chewing. With this being a progressive disease that has no cure it has made a tremendous impact for check ups after blows to the head. A hit to the head does not always mean you have a concussion, but with symptoms and side effects the athlete should not take a chance and get it checked out immediately. This is more of a physical incapacity disease. ALS has become a common disease for athletes in the mid-twenties, and life expectancy is very slim once the diagnosis has taken place. The main reported life periods for ALS athletes has been 3-5 years, but with medication and treatments it has had higher life expectancies about 20% have 5 years, 10% have 10 years, and 5% have 20 years. The athletes lives have changed from the beginning of the diagnoses till the end of the lives they do live with the disease. Being a scary thing to think about athletes do tend to have the ability to walk away at retirement perfectly clear from ALS, which is a win.

For decades, American Football has captivated this nation as one of the prime sources of entertainment. With the culmination point, the Super Bowl, attracting more viewership than any other televised event in the country, the sport has seen a tremendous growth since its origination in 1920. In an era of economic struggle, job shortage, and high-cost of living, those with above average physical abilities can find the lure of professional football to be extremely attractive. With the wealth and fame attached to a professional career, many of our youths share the common dream of achieving football star status. In order to attempt this lofty goal, many kids enroll in this contact sport at an early age, often times with the support of their parents.

Many people that play sports get into some type of injury, the majority of injuries sustained in sports are usually head related. Football has about 118,886 injuries, basketball with 119,589 injuries, and rugby with 1,214 injuries between the years of 2002-20014 and has continued to skyrocket. There are difference between head injuries in football than when playing other sports. These differences can be from minor, moderate, to sever. Football is more on the sever side because of the impact and number of hits they are taking. On the other hand sports like basketball, soccer, and tennis are not as of aggressive as football. And this is due to the lack of contact in the sports. These sports are very strict about the contact when playing in a game, they are charged with a penalty or flagged if a player makes the slightest contact with another player. Therefore you would rarely see a head injury let alone a sever head injury when playing those kind of sports. With football being more aggressive and more contact, the head injuries can lead to a player being hospitalized, and depending on the impact on the blow can lead to death.

Football is a classic American pastime that has been thrilling spectators for decades. As with all sports, rules are established in football to avoid potential dangers. One of the most serious risks associated with football is concussions. A concussion is a hit-induced injury that causes any sort of malfunction in the brain. When the brain does not function properly, a person is exposed to a mental degradation that can result in a loss of self-being and independence. Concussions are becoming the main suspect for mental challenges in football players as the result of an overlooked modern game.