Should Athletes Stay Out Longer

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

A concussion, which could be caused by a small head movement, is no minor issue as it could lead to brain trauma. Many people are affected by it and many more are vulnerable to it. But the impact isn't the real issue. The real issue is with the lack of healing and recovery. Healing time is crucial when it comes to head injuries and, according to the CDC, most athletes get around 7 days to recover compared to the recommended 1-2 months! Athletes sometimes don't even get time to recover and this could lead to long term effects in life. According to my personal experience, my ability to focus has been greatly reduced because of a concussion. This is a serious issue that is often overlooked my coaches and parents because of their pride and overconfidence in the child. Due to the fact that concussions could lead to permanent brain damage, discomfort, and long term illness, student athletes should be excluded from any athletics until a full recovery had been accomplished.

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

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.

Concussions are common due to the fact that there is not much protection between the skull and the brain. The medical definition of a concussion is, “ A traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth,” ( What is a Concussion). Concussions can cause temporary loss of consciousness due to the bruising of the brain and the force of the impact. During the impact, “The brain [may] bounce around or twist in the skull, creating chemical changes, sometimes stretching and damaging brain cells” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). That is why concussions can have such a lasting impact. Depending on the extent, most concussions only last for a few days to a week, but some can last for months due to the damage. Concussions are put into categories based on how long they are believed to last so doctors know how long to keep athletes out from strenuous activity. “Concussions are graded as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), or severe (grade 3), depending on such factors as loss of consciousness, amnesia, and loss of equilibrium” (Lava ). With each grade, there are different symptoms and differences in how long they last.

When the effects start to affect the body some people think the affects are from anything such as the flu to mono. The after effects of concussions include those of minor/major headaches or migraines, dizziness that you can’t explain pain in your neck, etc. When these things happen one may lose consciousness and may even lose control of their body. It's proven that when concussions occur 80-90% of the time the brain and body will return to regular function as before within 90 days after the occurrence.

In the journal Epidemiology of Concussion in Sport: A Literature Review, they state many ideas and rules that student athletes, coaches, and teachers should know when a student athlete is returning from a concussion. Michael Clay states that doctors have said that an athlete should not return to sports until they have had a few days of being symptom free from any concussion type of symptoms. Clay also says that students should report if they have concussion symptoms even if they have had symptoms in the pass because hiding the fact that they have had previous concussions hiding them and continuing to play could cause more problems with the injury. (Clay

Injured athletes should have to sit out longer because once a person gets a concussion they are more likely to a get a second as stated in the first article where it says "High school students are 3 times more likely to experience a second concussion if concussed once during a season." Concussions can also have long lasting effects on people as stated in the third article where it says

Once a concussion is gained the player then enters a period of time where they are more vulnerable to another concussion. Once an athlete gains a concussion during this time of vulnerability, the risk of permanent brain injury increases. Studies have shown that the effects of one concussion can remain prominent for 30 years or longer after the incident. Therefore, the results of repeated concussions can be very serious and long lasting. Also, if a player doesn't let their concussion heal properly this can also lead to permanent brain damage. If a player was to return to a game too early, long term affects could take place. The long term affects are memory loss, emotional distress, and increased possibility of suicide and these can last can last

Concussions can have severe effects on an athlete. They can lead depression, memory loss, and event death. However, with growing research, it is possible to take preventative measures, identify the likelihood of a concussion and engage in treatment. Undiagnosed concussions can lead to more severe injuries and athletes should be concerned about, aware of them and treat them. With new technology, greater awareness, and growing acceptance that concern should be less on winning a game than preventing and treating a concussion, it is possible that one day, concussions may be a rare thing of the

In recent years concussions have become more and more of a topic due to their effects on the people who receives them. Concussions can cause a multitude of problems for a person later in their life whether they suffered from a major concussion or just a minor concussion. These problems can occur if a person ended up with multiple concussions over a lifetime or if they only have had one single concussion The problems a person can encounter are all somewhat connected but very diverse at the same time. Most of the problems a person will encounter will be due to a change in that person's brain but they can range from simple memory problems to suicidal problems.

Should athletes be able to play even at the risk of permanent head injuries? Recently, concussion ratings have went up in some sports. Due to this increase, many people are trying to find out what they can do to prevent these injuries and what damage it can cause. Every player would like to play the sport that they love as long as they can but, playing with a head injury is not safe. Many players don't think of concussions or are unaware of the serious damage that it can leave on them. Therefore, all athletes should not be able to play or practice when they have suffered from three concussions because of the potential harm concussions have on the body. Also players should not have the option of playing or going back into

Athletes who experience a serious blow to the head on the field, court or ice should seek the attention of a medical professional as soon as possible. These individuals should leave the game and not be allowed to return until cleared by a medical professional. The new concussion guidelines based on the latest scientific research and endorsed by six major medical organization states if the symptoms last more than 15 minutes, athletes need to be monitored for up to a week and return to competition gradually. If their symptoms worsen, he or she should seek the closest emergency room. Just because an athlete states he or she 'feels fine' doesn't mean that he or she should be put back in the game. Concussion have already been the cause of ended

Now I feel that we take care of concussions better in highschool so you wouldn't see brain diseases as much, I wouldn't rule it out fully because it depends on how hard the player is hit and things like that but i do believe we take more time now in making sure the athlete is truly okay and will not have them return to any game and or practice without seeing a physician first.

I believe that athletes should be able to stay out longer because it would get them extra time to heal. In the article it states once an athlete gets a concussion they are 3 times more likely to get another one. It is important for the athlete to have a good recovery.