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Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have always been a problem in sports and especially in contact sports like football. Since the beginning of football there has been different styles of head protection, from no helmets at all in very early stages to the modern day helmets we have today. In order to know how the evolution of the football helmet has made head injuries less common than they originally were, we have to know what is a concussion and how someone gets one.

Recently, an enormous amount of attention has been given to the long-term effects caused by a concussion. Despite the fact that the understanding and awareness as to the severity of this traumatic brain injury (TBI) has greatly improved, concussions are commonly disregarded, undiagnosed and/or under-treated. Unlike an external injury that is easily seen, a concussion is an internal brain injury; therefore, without the use of diagnostic imaging, the concussion itself is invisible. However, symptoms can be helpful in diagnosing a concussion when diagnostic imaging is not readily available.

Concussions are a very frightening and dangerous injury. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury in which your brain rattles around in your skull. When you sustain a concussion, your brain may jolt as a result from the impact. This form of brain injury can cause bruising, damage to the blood vessels, and injury to the nerves. Concussions are the most common brain injury. Although concussions are the least serious, they should not be taken lightly. Back in the day, people were unaware of concussions and the symptoms associated with them. As a result, people today especially former athletes are dying from past concussions. (Cantu, R. & Hyman M., 2012) Many people have seen, heard of, or had a concussion and they are relevant to everyone’s life.

In 2006, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that approximately 1.6 million to 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur each year in the United States (Langois, Rutland-Brown, & Wald, 2006). Sport-related concussions are a subset of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and are defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain (McCrory et al., 2012). The typical signs and symptoms associated with a concussion include confusion, amnesia, headache, dizziness, nausea, loss of balance, and/or poor concentration (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).

What is a concussion? How does it happen? How long does it last? How is it treated? What are the symptoms?

Health professionals will often interchange between the two terms, concussion and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), when discussing this health condition (Halstead, Walter, Council on Sports, & Fitness, 2010). A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury resulting from a traumatic event which causes the affected individual to experience temporary neurological deficits, these are a result of “biomechanical forces” that have reached the head taking effect on the brain (Jordan, 2013; Paul McCrory et al., 2009; Silver, McAllister, & Yudofsky, 2011). This type of injury usually presents with multiple post concussive symptoms, although in some cases these symptoms do not present themselves until later (Paul McCrory et al., 2009), in which can result in the concussion going unnoticed.

The frontal cortex is the repository of the highest order cognitive functions. Being at the front of the head, it is susceptible to damage in frontal collisions, as it endures the highest-force portion of the trauma prior to dissipation (Stein, Alvarez, & McKee, 2015). Repeated concussion of the brain kills neurons, which may be an attempt by the brain to compensate for the injury or heal (Borich, 2013). Regardless, killing off large numbers of neurons is degeneration of the brain, and persistent concussion that kills many neurons impedes core higher order brain functions. Long-term brain damage from concussion has diverse symptoms that include convulsions, seizures, depression, cognitive degradation/impairment, and psychosis (Stein, Alvarez, & McKee, 2015).

Concussion disrupts different elements of an individual’s higher-order of intelligence . Impairment includes a person struggling with memorization, paying attention, critical thinking, learning, and reasoning skills. If the individual 's attention is impaired, he/she finds it hard to stay focused while at sports, work or any activity, they experience brain fog or abnormal brain waves. Frequent concussions for an extended period may make the individual have a difficult time learning new skills and information as it disrupts the memory. Concussed individuals have difficulties with dysphoric moods and

Over 300,000 TBIs, traumatic brain injuries, occur annually in sports alone (Harvey). Concussions being one of the most common yet severe of injuries in sports require more regulations and guidelines toward preventing such a traumatic injury. One of the few laws set in

When I think of Brain related injuries in sports my mind automatically gravitates towards football. As for most Americans that's the case the hard-hitting contact sport is a household name the NFL (National football league). In actuality concussions are very common in every sport such as MLB, NBA, NHL, Boxing, UFC and the lost goes on. Unfortunately up until recently most sports did not see the negative long-term side effects that concussions can leave on the human brain. One of the more recent things that has spiked tremendous interest in concussions is seeing the long term affects itcan leave on the

Over the past several years, concussions and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) have become hot topics in the world of football. The long lasting effects of concussions and CTE experienced

Many private companies and researchers have taken the issue of concussions head on. Research has drastically increased throughout the 21st century. In the words of Mark Lovell PhD. founding director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program, “90% of what we know about concussions we’ve learned in the past five years.” These private researchers have taken different approaches to solving the issue but they are all working to achieve one goal: the reduction of concussions and the prevention of their long-term effects.

This paper examines the topic of concussions including the definition, classifications, treatment, and cases involving concussions in the media. Articles published online using the internet as well as online articles originally published in print will be examined in order to inform the reader of this paper how concussions are identified, how they are treated and how they are portrayed by doctors, media, and those suffering the injuries. Some of the literature in utilized in this report are strictly statistics. Others are information sources for the topic. The sources are analyzed thoroughly to give the relationship between concussions and physical activity.

Imagine a Mack truck going one hundred miles per hour and heading straight for one’s head. Professional athletes have described experiences to be similar to this when diagnosed with a concussion. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that is caused by the jarring of one’s head of direct or indirect contact. It is mostly prevalent in high-contact sports, but can be obtained in any type of physical activity. Many short-term effects of concussions that are immediate signs include: headache, nausea, fatigue, dizziness, ringing in the ears, slurred speech, temporary loss of consciousness, confusion, and memory loss. However, the more serious, long-term effect of a concussion is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). CTE has doctors, coaches,

A recent study in mice shows that the time it takes to recover from a concussion, or brain