Persuasive Essay On Concussions

Concussions are injuries that can occur in day-to-day life but are more commonly found in sports and physical activities. They are injuries that can be avoided, but when they happen they can be very dangerous. Through my years of playing football I have been diagnosed with two separate concussions, but they were both caused by playing football. There are ways to avoid concussions and the techniques should be taken seriously or they can have serious consequences. In this speech I will discuss what concussions are, how concussions happen, and the danger they present when diagnosed with one.

It is a cool Friday night in October. The aroma of hot dogs, burned popcorn, and fresh cut grass fill the air. Cheers from the home-side fans and jeers from the opposing team can be heard outside the stadium, while the band and cheerleaders can be heard for miles. Only one sound trumps every other- the sound of helmets crashing into one another. Suddenly, a yellow flag is in the air, and the audience is silent. Number 44 is still lying on the ground, and the play has long since ended. A few minutes later an ambulance rushes onto the scene. Some of the fans and players wonder if the frivolous game is worth it after seeing the boy lifted onto a stretcher. I believe football is too dangerous and should be banned because

Football is a sport loved by so many people, that a whole corporation was made for fans to enjoy it, the NFL. But do the fans know the risk that football players put themselves in when they step onto that field? It doesn't matter if you have experience there is always that risk for a concussion. Even kids playing youth football or teens playing high school football are at a high risk for concussions. Obviously, whatever guidelines out there that are meant to protect football players from concussions aren't working so something needs to be changed. Personally, if I was a parent I would never let my child play football unless the helmet, tackle guidelines, and penalties for late hits were improved. However I do understand why parents allow their children to play football, it is a sport like I said, loved by many and just fun to watch.

Hall of fame coach John Madden once said: “They’re on the right road, but there’s a long way to go on concussions.” Madden is right. The NFL is doing something about concussions, but they are clearly not doing enough. In the National Football League, there needs to be more player safety because of the immediate dangers of concussions and the increased chance of CTE and other mental diseases arising later in a player’s life.

My first research project was the dangers and preventions of concussions in sports. Concussions can be very dangerous if you are not wearing the proper equipment and do not treat them properly. For those of you who don’t know “a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull”. There are many symptoms of a concussion. “You may be suffering from a concussion if you experience dizziness, headache, off-balance, amnesia for what occurred before the head trauma, anterograde amnesia (a loss of ability to create new memories after the head trauma), difficulty concentrating, irritability and vomiting”.

For years, Scientists have been trying to find ways to help prevent so called concussions in the sport of football. They have not had huge success but have had little gain in ways to help prevent them. The NFL has been the target for the cause of concussions. Even though it is the players who cause them on one another. Concussions can be very minor to very severe. Although there is no cure for concussions scientist believe they will eventually find a way to cure them.

Concussions are injuries to the brain that can be caused by any significant blunt force trauma to the head such as a fall, car accident, being struck on the head with an object, or sports injury. Sports are second only to motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury particularly among people who are 15 to 24 years old (Solomon, 2006). Pediatric physicians care for a significant number of patients who are involved in sport-related activities in schools or clubs, however most sport-related concussions are never diagnosed because young athletes may not recognize or report the symptoms of a concussion. It is important for physicians to know that although concussions are the most minor of traumatic brain injuries, if not detected and managed properly, they can lead to more serious short-term and long-term issues.

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.

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

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

Every parent’s greatest fear is that his child would experience a life-changing injury or even death. What if parents realized that allowing a child to play football might be the cause of such a life-altering injury? Children should not play football because it is known to cause concussions, concussions are damaging, and the equipment isn’t good enough.

Concussions are getting more attention than ever, Some getting as bad as not being able to play anymore sports. Also, the harsh concussion can interfere with school and their sleeping schedule. People also believe that it will also interfere with their social life and health.

I, personally, have never had a concussion, but a friend of mine was not so lucky. He was playing football at the time and had a head to head collision with another player. At that moment his head was shaken causing his brain to move around and hit against his skull. He lost consciousness for a couple minutes and was taken to the hospital where they performed a CT scan on his brain to make sure everything looked alright. He was told not do any intense physical activities or a lot of school work for about two weeks until he was fully recovered. He mentioned that throughout his recovery time the only symptom he had was really bad headaches. His concussion did not leave him with serious negative effects and he was back to playing football after his two-week recovery.