Personal Narrative Essay: The Side Effects Of Concussions

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

The effects of a concussion can be mild to even fatal. Once an athlete gets a concussion at first they can either be conscious or knocked out; if knocked out of conscienceness there is a serious problem. According

Concussions occur daily in a life of an athlete. This can change their lives forever if they have one that is severe. They might get lucky if its minor and they can go back to playing. Concussions are very dangerous in an athletic world, because they can affect their lives even after they retire from playing that sport. These concussions can start off at any age, but the huge problem people are having is pro sports. NFL being one the biggest leagues to have these problems. There are many debates about whether the NFL are being careful enough and understanding how bad these concussions are. There are some people who are trying to help this problem become known to all. They are trying to help fix this situation. There are ways to fixing this

Concussions are one of the most common and frequent football related injuries. Reasons for concussions being

The answer to that question is as simple as a yes. Even though concussions and mild traumatic brain injuries usually only last ten to fourteen days, if they are not treated properly they can lead to further brain damage. If the brain does not get the rest it needs after a concussion it becomes stressed. A stressed brain can lead to poor performance in school and sports. Focusing for little amounts of time can become impossible, emotional outbursts occur, mental illnesses can develop, and grades can drop.

Being on my school’s diving team has had its ups and downs but one the biggest setbacks I went through while on the team was my freshman year when I got a concussion. I was doing a simple reverse dive I under rotated enough that when I hit the water, it pushed my head into my knee. I am unsure whether or not I blacked out but all I remembered was climbing out of the pool dizzy and confused. I went to a doctor and found out I had a concussion. Having a concussion was a big setback in itself, but what made it the worst was that the conference meet was coming up in about a week. I had to rest for the remainder of the week and was cleared to practice again the next Monday. Because of the whole situation I felt like quitting all together. I only had three days of practice before the conference meet and had nothing prepared. I did not think it would be possible for me to practice all eleven of my dives that I needed to do at the meet in time. Then I remembered my goal for the season: to earn my varsity letter. I had not achieved my goal yet and the conference meet was my last chance to do so. I was not about to

Concussions, injuries, and suffering- those are what always happen in football games. Football is the most popular sport in America, people like the sound of “uh....” when football players hit each other. In the documentary “League of Denial: NFL’s Concussion Crisis” by Frontline, the connection between playing football and brain injuries is analyzed. Steve Almond’s, “Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto” shows how football impacts his life and how evil the NFL is. Also other books that say the same things are “Ban College Football” by Intelligence2 Debates. They want to show how much impact human beings can receive when they play football and how football’s safety rules change to protect their players. Most of the time, resources always talk about CTE -Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy- an injury that can result in a memory loss. The illness comes from brain trauma that is caused by violent concussions and makes the tau protein, which actually is not supposed to be in the brain, stay inside the brain and kill all the neurons. The documentary by Frontline focuses on how many people are being affected by this problem and how the NFL reacts to all the allegations

When participating in a sport, the players are aware of the risks. Physical damage is always a strong possibility, but what about the mental damage that a player can receive. Concussions have been known to occur frequently in contact sports, making the rules based on injuries in need of change. The current rule is that after an injury occurs, players have to have a medical professional sign off before they are allowed to play. This is great for injuries related to the physical form of a person, but when it comes to the mental aspects, these rules need to be re-written. Things such as the types of people affected by concussions, how vulnerable concussions can be on the mind, and how concussions can affect everyone around a person that has been inflicted by a concussion, should be brought into consideration while deciding a specific set of

Concussions, a type of traumatic brain injury, are a frequent concern for those playing sports, from children and teenagers to professional athletes. Repeated concussions are a known cause of various neurological disorders, most notably chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which in professional athletes has led to premature retirement, erratic behavior and even suicide. Over 1.6 million Americans have sustained concussion-related injuries. Because concussions cannot be seen on X-rays or CT scans, attempts to prevent concussions have been difficult.

Many of the earliest effects that athletes suffer from, after sustaining a concussion are: headaches, stroke, seizures, nausea, vomiting, internal bleeding, and hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain ("Consequences of a Traumatic Brain Injury", 2016). These are all conditions, that an athlete can suffer from within hours or a few days of an initial hit to the head. These conditions range from minor to severe, the most severe being internal bleeding, and hydrocephalus and the minor ones being, nausea and vomiting ("Consequences of a Traumatic Brain Injury", 2016). No matter the severity of the concussion and it’s affects an athlete that has received multiple concussions is more likely to be faced with conditions that are not as noticeable at first, but lead to a life filled with pain and confusion (Brain Concussion Related Diseases & Conditions, 2016). When an athlete has a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), this leads to hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus, may not be apparent when a Traumatic Brain Injury first occurs, but it does occur in the early stages. However a diagnosis may not appear till a year

Recent research found that when children who play football and other contact sports suffer repeated jolts to the head, it can cause lasting damage to the developing brain. That can be true even when kids do not suffer any concussions. This was startling news, given that Pee Wee and Pop Warner players sustain from 240 to 585 head hits per season between ages 9 and 12, a critical period of brain development. As a result, some prominent voices have urged parents not to let their kids play the game, among them neuropathologist Bennet Omalu, whose discovery of the progressive brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former NFL players is depicted in the film Concussion. Omalu contends that children under 18 should not be allowed to risk their future by playing football. "Our children are minors who have not reached the age of consent," he says. A growing number of athletes now agree, including the hard-nosed former NFL tight end and coach

Concussions and their side effects are traumatic to any player of the National Football League, not just at the time of the incident, but symptoms can last a lifetime and can in reality end a career. Results of these concussions not only affect themselves but the people around them including loved ones. “Since 2012 there have been 967 diagnosed concussions, and that includes preseason, regular-season practices plus games and postseason” (CNN 2014). Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), develops after multiple traumatic brain injuries and have led to former players and current to commit suicide. “Junior Seau, 43, a former linebacker shot himself in the chest, former Atlanta safety Ray Easterling, and former Chicago Bears defensive back Dave Duerson commits suicide by gunshot wound to the chest” (CNN 2014). Rather than shoot his head they shot themselves in the chest so that their brain can be used in Concussion and CTE research. Once a player gets a concussion, the likelihood of another increases, so and so forth. However, it is not just a running back or a nose tackle that can get this horrific injury, its anyone, it could be a kicker, a coach on the sideline; anyone that hits the ground too hard, or has head to head contact. Though the National Football League has become aware of this injury over the years and have implemented many protocols, that is not enough. This is a

Throughout the history of sports concussions have been a problem, however it has only been recently that the dangers of concussions have been brought to light. Concussions have a serious effect on the brain both short term and long term.

The most common systems with concussion are headaches, insomnia, anxiety, loss of concentration and sensitivity to noise and light. It can also cause nausea, emotional behavior problems, processing information, slowed speech, and impairment of the body functions. Personality changes can also occur from post-concussion syndrome, from passive to aggressive behavior can effect a person’s well being. Loss of balance and equilibrium and can also cause vertigo (Mayo Clinic page1).

Three concussions. Five months. The hardest hit to my life so far, was me being hit. The physical pain of headaches, the mental pain of slower brain process, and the emotion pain of losing the ability of playing the sport that I love so dearly, has affected life in all aspects. I was removed from sports, dance, school, and even at times I felt like I was removed from my own body.