If concussions are related to permanent brain damage, then the amount of time spent in recovery should be increased, as supplying ample amount of time will provide reassurance that the brain has healed for athletes who recover quickly and for athletes who naturally need more time to recover. Time given to these athletes are extremely short due to the amount of time it takes for the short term effects to vanish. In the article 1, it states that high school athletes have a higher rate of concussion occurrences opposed to older athletes. The article also states that post-concussion syndrome, symptoms including head aches, dizziness, irritability, and depression, can last up to six weeks. Of these six weeks, only one is spent resting which could prove to be dangerous since high school students are three times more likely to receive a concussion, and as Article 4 explains, that is doubled for females since they are more likely to suffer brain injuries. It could be argued that technology has progressed to the point where helmets reduce the damage, as well as the recovery time. However, it is know that helmets reduce damage, but it is not know whether …show more content…
Mentioned in article 1 and further explained in article 3, depression can take place during the 6 weeks these symptoms take place. But while depression can take place in the 6 week period, it can also last throughout the athlete's life. Specifically stated in article 3, Players who receive a concussion the first time are more likely to receive a second one, also known as "Second Impact Syndrome". Some long term effects include long-term memory loss, emotional distress, depression, slowing of certain movement and higher risk of suicide. These effects can last from a few months up to 30 years. The recovery time for athletes need to be lengthened because short term and long term effects can lead up to death even if the injury is not
More than 300,000 sports-related concussions occur per year. Most athletes recover from head injuries, like concussions, if they take the time to properly manage the injury. Injured athletes should be required to sit out for longer periods of time to allow time for the brain to heal completely. The lack of rest time may lead to multiple concussions, permanent brain damage, and loss of memory or focus. Athletes need rest time in order to get back on the field in the future.
Every year thousands of athletes are effected by the sports-related concussions. There are three types of concussions, they are classified as grades which is a special term medical professionals use to classify the severity of a traumatic brain injury. Grade 1 concussions are minute in terms of the severity of damage to the athlete’s brain. This is when there are in a brief daze, slight headache, and their head sometimes rings. (Cunha 581-585). The grade 2 concussions are the moderate concussions were an athlete completely fades to black, there’s no seeing anything, and they don’t know their location, name and various other important pieces of information (Cunha 581-585). Last, we have the grade 3 concussion which is the most severe, and
Repeated concussions from any trauma can cause permanent brain damage. Because of this I believe athletes should be forced to sit out longer and be examined more throughly before being cleared to return to play. Some players do not sit out long enough for their brains to fully heal, and they are left vulnerable as they return to play. If an athlete isn't properly treated it can have long term effects on their brain, or it could even result in losing simple cognitive skills such as attention and judgement. I think we should have more protection against concussions, and more protocol to protect the players at risk. Even if an athlete has to sit out one more game, or the rest of their career, it is better than the potential brain damage for the
On the morning of December first of two thousand and twelve, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher took a .40 caliber gun and shot his girlfriend 22 times inside his master bedroom. He then drove down to Arrowhead Stadium, the Chief’s home stadium, to express his appreciation to his team’s general manager and coach for everything they had done for him, walked away, and then shot himself in the head. This tragic recollection of the murder-suicide case executed by the 25 year old football player paints him as a monstrous and willfully violent man but what if one was to acclaim all of these fatal incidents to too many bumps in the head? Well it has been. Years after this incident, after medical examiners conducted an autopsy on Belcher and they found that his brain showed signs of CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease caused by repetitive traumatic head injuries, also denoted as concussions. There have been many documented cases where after contact sport athletes experience excessive concussions, they then seem to develop a seemingly new character as they come to be ill fully violent, overtly aggressive, or even deeply depressive. Many times this may lead to the diagnosis of a mental disorder or may end tragically, as in Belchers case, in the death of others and/or the athletes themselves.
In the sports world today, there are many different injuries that athletes experience and one of the most devastating injury is a concussion. Concussions can happen to anyone, in any sport, but we tend to see most concussions in contact sports (Świerzewski 1). While having an informal conversation with my dad about football, he told me it was common for athletes to receive a head injury in a game and continue to play as if nothing was wrong. While watching SportsCenter, I found that some of the greatest retired athletes don’t remember the best moments of their careers due to the lack of treatment. The worst aspect of concussions is that the symptoms can be delayed; in some cases, it’s only a headache so athletes don’t seek medical treatment. Multiple concussions over time can lead to life-threatening complications due to the damage they cause to the brain. Concussions can happen to anybody at anytime, but there is more to concussions than meets the eye.
Concussions are serious injuries but they are often overlooked. Even having one concussion can instantly increase the chances of another concussion happening. At the end of the day athletes who receive a concussion need to take time to heal completely before going back out on the field or else it could cause permanent damage that would change their life forever.
two concussions, then a third is 2-4 times more likely, and if they 've had three concussions, then
Athletes with head trauma should be required to sit out of the game until their head is fully healed. Although a medical professional signs a paper allowing them to go back into the game, they should not take advantage of that by starting right away. After concussions, teenage athletes should take it easy so their brain has the proper time it needs to heal. Concussions are a serious injury. They can have long lasting impacts and are more likely to reoccur during the same season. In contrast, in order for athletes to return to the game, a doctor has to sign forms allowing them to do so. Doctors are licensed professionals, so the athlete's head injury can't be too severe if they are able to play again. In addition, new equipment that helps prevent concussions is being created.
Scientists do not know what happens on a molecular level inside the brain during and after a concussion (Reynolds, 2013). No one should return to play or vigorous activity while signs or symptoms of a concussion is present. Experts recommend that an athlete with a suspected concussion not return to play until he or she has been medically evaluated by a health care professional trained in evaluating and managing concussions. So-called “second impact syndrome” was first described as the phenomenon of sudden death from rapidly progressing brain swelling due to a second concussion sustained soon after a first one. High school athletes who sustain a concussion are three times more likely to sustain a second concussion, according to the Brain Injury Research Institute (BIRI, 2016). It is true that in rare cases, a traumatic brain injury can lead to a catastrophic neurological decline — or even death — from rapid brain swelling, especially in children and young adults (Cornell,
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
Concussions affect about 30,000 athletes each year, so it is safe to say that they are a very common sports injury. The question of if the athletes who are hit with a concussion should get longer out time to recover has a simple answer. Yes! Of course these athletes need longer time to stay out of playing. Concussions can be very dangerous, they can have long term effects, and repetitive blows to the head can cause serious brain damage. According to the article written by Cindy Weiss, if athletes are given a proper amount of time to recover, they will soon be able to return to the game.
Lastly, having multiple concussions produce long term effects on athletes. This was proven by a study performed that compared athletes with a history of concussions to athletes with no concussion history using a concussion test known as: Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT). This is a computerized test that measures memory capabilities to determine if an athlete has a concussion. It was taken by the athletes prior to their season to find a baseline level. This baseline would then be used to determine if someone has a concussion by comparing it to a post-concussion result of the ImPACT. Every athlete in this study was given the ImPACT test within five days of sustaining a concussion. The results from this
Most people consider a concussion a minor thing, however, it can be very dangerous, especially when it comes to sports. It is widely known that concussions are linked closely to permanent brain damage. Because of this, I believe that after sustaining a head injury, athletes should have to sit out for a longer period of time to prevent further injury and potentially a permanent injury.
However, these symptoms last anywhere between 15-30 minutes and loss of consciousness does not occur. Grade 2 concussions can last for 30 minutes or even an entire day. Although grade 2 concussions do not result in loss of consciousness, the results are the same as a grade 1, except in a stronger form. The effects for a grade 3 concussion include mild brain damage and comas that can last for several weeks (Newsome Law Firm, n.d.). Due to the physicality required to compete in contact sports, athletes are often more prone to sustaining a concussion than any other injury. There is no definitive cause of a concussion because of the many factors that can play a role in the sustension of a concussion. Some of these factors include muscle dynamics, forces involved, angle of impact, and hydration (Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Gittleson, Hadhazy). 1 in 5 high school athletes sustain a concussion during a game or practice while playing their respective sport. This plays a big part in the 3.8 million sports-related concussions that occur each year. Concussions account for nearly 64% of injuries sustained when playing high-school football and about 19% of injuries that occur while playing boys high-school soccer are concussions (Headcase, 2013). These overwhelming statistics are one of the reasons why concussions are the most feared
A recent study of college football players has shown that those who participate in high contact sports and have had a concussion before have a 300% higher chance of having another one in comparison to athletes that have never had a concussion before (Jolicoeur et al, 2007). The NFL and NCAA have enacted several rule changes in order to minimize the occurrence of concussions. These new rules, like many before them, have come under the scrutiny of the very athletes that they were meant to protect. The NHL and NHL Players Association in 1997 together created a program in order to get a better understanding of concussions and how to prevent them (Burke et al, 2011). According to Covassin (2008), athletes who have had more than one concussion take a longer time to recover with each concussion that they suffer from.