Personal Narrative: My First Concussions In High School

through the back of my mind, too many to count. The one and only most significant

A concussion is when you go unconsciousness for a little while caused by a blow to the head. The term is also used loosely of the after effects such as confusion or temporary incapacity. Concussion is are known as a mild brain injury that is a mild brain injury MTBI mild head injury and a little head trauma. Some experts will define a concussion as a head injury with temporary loss of brain function which can cause some cognitive physical and emotional symptoms. Symptoms may also include headache, confusion, lack of coordination. The term concussion describes an injury to the brain resulting from a hard impact to the head. By definition a concussion is not a life threatening injury but should be treated fast . The use of protective headgear can decrease the risk of a concussion when you are engaging in any of the following activities Contact martial arts sports such as boxing, karate, and others Football. Most post concussion symptoms such as headaches, sensitivity to noise and light, dizziness, fatigue and memory problems go away with about seven to ten days after the injury but sometimes post concussion symptoms can last up to about 3 months. Rarely do symptoms last longer. What can you do when you have a concussion? Some people who have had a concussion find that at first it

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

The sound of two helmets bashing together sends a piercing crack through the stadium, soon to be followed by a roar of thunderous applause from every fan in the stadium. The next day the paper reads that one of the players in the collision suffered a concussion, nut the only thing people care about is watching the highlight on SportsCenter. Yet, people watching the games, coaching the games, and playing the games have never fully understood the danger of concussions. It is important for people in the football community to become aware of what head to head hits in football cause because they do not know the true danger of concussions and how often they occur, what concussions can lead to, and how drastically football can decrease the quality

Sports-related concussions might just be the biggest worry for any athlete at any level. A concussion is a thing that every athlete battles over time. Everyone knows that injuries are given when it comes to sports. Especially concussions which can put an athlete out for weeks or even forever. Many student-athletes have been a great issue that can easily be resolved from thorough and informative Training. Concussions can prevent or reduced if we are if we go through concussion prevention training in high school, which is usually the starting point for most athletes. Concussion training can help athletes diagnose a concussion, treat a concussion, and to even use proper technique to prevent and minimize sports caused a concussion. Even though every athlete does not experience a concussion many people can benefit from the training that could save a life.

It was half-way through the second quarter in the semifinals, and the Sun Valley Vikings were up by 14. They were on our own 10-yard line, and they were handing it off to one of their biggest and best players, Jack Krump, up the middle. I was in at safety, and I ran up to tackle him at the five-yard line but he came trucking through I just bounced right off of him like a wall. I heard the crowd cheering, so I could tell he scored a touchdown. They kicked the field goal and it was, good. We then ran into formation to receive the kickoff.

This concussion set me back the furthest out of them all. It had been about a week since the doctor cleared me to begin playing sports again. It had been about three and a half months since my second concussion. My third concussion took place during a PE class. Our PE teacher sent me and a group of kids to an auxiliary gym by ourselves while the PE teacher went to play basketball in another gym. And of course when a teacher is not present there will be horseplay. And there was just that. The student was standing about five feet away from me when the ball struck the side of my head. My doctor put me on brain rest for about two weeks. If you do not know what brain rest is, it's when all you do is rest and sleep and do not do anything that will

Kids who have suffered a concussion usually report having headaches and fatigue which makes learning difficult. A study showed that the more difficult a students classes were the more the concussion interfered with the work they did. Some researchers have recommended that the healthcare professionals give families post-concussion plans that would pass onto the school. Many of the students that got concussions had problems with note taking and completing their homework. These factors may be overlooked when a child is diagnosed and could lead to a drop in their grades.

In Grade 10, I began my high school football career, already having suffered two diagnosed concussions. My new coach we were told, did not ‘believe’ in concussions and made it clear that we as his team, were to follow suit and play through pain. This resulted in me being plagued by all sorts of concussion symptoms such as memory loss, sensitivity to light, and an inability to focus throughout high school. I began doing my own research in Grade 10 into neuroscience because of this experience, and so I began learning all about the different lobes of the brain and their functions, what can happen when they are damaged, and how that affects someone’s behaviour, like with Phineas Gage. This interest very quickly escalated to me being totally captivated

Early in my freshman year of high school, my books fell from my locker onto my head and gave me a severe concussion. The incident that occurred does not sound like it could cause such a severe injury, but it did for me. I assumed I would recover after a week or so, as I had with my other sports-related concussions. However, the doctor stated that it would take me longer to recover because I was not fully healed from my previous injuries. Ultimately, it took until the end of my sophomore year to be cleared.

Background Information: Over the years, there has been a lot of controversy in the sport of football, about whether the league truly cares about concussions players are suffering. Research over the past decade, has shown that many former football players have suffered from extensive CTE, due to brain injuries not being properly treated. Since this has become such a fear for athletes and fans playing the sport, the league has made small rule changes to help prevent less helmet-to-helmet contact. On top of that, athletes who violate the rules will be fined and possibly suspended depending on the severity of the incident. As of late though, many athletes and fans have begun to think that the league doesn’t truly care about concussions. This is due to how the schedule has changed to make football players prepare to play a game on a short week, multiple times throughout a season. Also, as athletes continue to beg for there to be a shorter preseason to lessen the amount of hits taken, the league

I am a senior at Madera High School and I am currently taking the CSU Expository Reading and Writing Course. For the past month we have been researching diseases and conditions such as ALS, CTE, and head traumas such as concussions. These detrimental diseases stem from sports that involve high levels of contact and speed such as football and soccer. Our schools needs to implement policies such as baseline testing to protect our athletes as they excel in our sporting programs.

I was in my second to last game of the season playing against our rival. Throughout all my years of sports, which has been about 8-10 years. I got the hand off and started running the ball and I had open ground out of the corner of my eye I got smashed from the side by an opponent. I went down hard to the ground and I blacked out for a couple seconds. I couldn’t even stand or walk on my own for a little while I was so dizzy. When I got up and could finally see I could walk, I was taking the trainer, but if I looked at the sun it would hurt.

got my first concussion in the spring of my sophomore year. I remember being stressed because I had an Organic Chemistry quiz the next morning and I was sure I had not studied enough, and the passages I had read in the atrium during my 30 minutes of downtime between class and practice had made little sense. I remember being distracted when I was on the diving board because I was worried I would not have enough time to eat before making it to my last class of the day. I do not remember hitting the water, but I found myself back on the pool deck regardless, my coach was talking to me in a language I did not understand. The words were jumbled, but I was too confused to say anything.