Tce Head On Case Study

CTE is a brain disease found in individuals with annals of head trauma. It has specifically been found in athletes with numerous concussions. So far it can only be diagnosed in the deceased, but Dr. Julian Bales and his staff in UCLA have discovered symptoms in living players such as Hall of Famer Anthony “Tony” Dorsett, Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure, and NFL All-Pro Leonard Marshall. CTE can cause memory loss, dementia, depression, suicidal thoughts, cognitive and emotional difficulties (Waldron par 1, 2, 3). Is it a compelling issue? A total of 171 concussions were reported in the NFL in the 2012-2013 season; 88 thus far in the 2013-2014 season (Frontline pt). Those are just numbers in the professional level. There are thousands of kids playing football either in youth, middle school, high school, or college level. The diagnosis is currently in progress, researchers are optimistic this could lead to a legitimate treatment, how to manage, and hopefully a cure. Furthermore, this can also possibly lead to an answer to a connection between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Junior Seau, Mike Webster, Terry Long, and Justin Strzelczyk (all of whom are dead now) are all men who played in the NFL for an extent period of time. This is not the only thing they have in common. These former players had an uncustomary

CTE affects many different athletes all over the world. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy or normally referred to as CTE is a brain disease that affects people who have had multiple head injuries. It is found in many cases of ex NFL players who took many hits to the head when playing over their careers. There are many documented cases of it across other sports and some military veterans as well. We have made large strides in learning more and more about the terrible disease. The game of football has changed since we have learned so much more about the terrible disease in recent years. We could prevent concussions by changing the way players practice.

While the NFL is putting new rules and regulations on equipment and which type of tackles are allowed, living retired NFL players are found to already have symptoms of CTE (Fainaru, 2013). Through brain scans and research done by UCLA, they have identified proteins in player’s brains that cause CTE, which as Dr. Julian Bailes, co-director or North Shore Neurological Institute said, is the “holy grail” to studying CTE and finding ways to cure and prevent it (Fainaru, 2013). While this is a break through, there is still no cure or way to treat CTE (Fainaru, 2013). But this research also raises questions about CTE and the NFL. Will players be required to be tested for CTE? Can players be denied playing anymore if CTE is found? Will this greatly affect the way that football is currently played? As the research is still being collected, there is still no definite answer to any of those questions, but the NFL has acknowledged the correlations of CTE and concussions caused by playing in the NFL and assures that they will do all they can to help prevent severe brain trauma to their players, including donating $30 million to the National Institutes of Health to conduct further research on CTE (Kroll, 2013).

Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.

Did you know that 99% of the dead NFL players had signs of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when scientist looked through their brain (Ventras)? Most people wouldn’t know this fact, but scientist do and have known this since 2002. Even though they are making improvements, there is still an alarming rate of concussions happening. This report will discuss who is affected, how it can be prevented, how it is affecting sports today.

n the past five years, there was a grand total of 1,184 concussions in the National Football League. Which averages out to 237 concussions a year, and about 10 concussions per week! That … is a lot of concussions. And many of those concussions are repeated, on one single player. Little did these players know that multiple concussions can lead to death, leaving them suffering. I’m Doctor Bennet Omalu, and I first discovered a degenerative brain disease, known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.

In 1952, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study stating that a player should not continue playing professional football after suffering three concussions. But the NFL’s Public Relations (PR) department took this information for granted and swept it under the rug. As the players continued to become bigger, faster, and stronger, the number of concussions began to increase over time. In 1994, then-NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue concluded there were unanswered questions about concussions in football and organized a commission on mild traumatic brain injury to address those questions. “The panel consisted of NFL team medical personnel as well as outside professionals including a biomedical engineer, and doctors with specialties in neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, and epidemiology” (Fainaru-Wada & Fainaru, 2013, p. 101). The committee recommended independent scientific research rather than having NFL team medical practitioners involved, to foster better understanding of the causes, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of concussions. “The NFL Public Relations department ignored the recommendation for independent research and instead used the existing commission as the starting point of its committee dedicated to studying concussions” (Oates & Furness, 2014,

While the NFL is currently a very entertaining and popular American past time, there is one issue that threatens the future of the game-concussions. Concussions affect 1.6 to 3.8 million athletes and children annually in the United States. Among athletes, football is the most common sport involving risks of concussions for males, and soccer is the most common sports with concussion risks for females. The NFL has admitted that brain trauma effects a third of all NFL players (Knowles.) Concussions have been part of the game since the very beginning, but it 's only in the past 50 years or so that medical science and the public has become aware of the serious long term effects of concussions. The NFL is spending money on researching the problem, because they have been sued from hundreds of players that have suffered long-term damage from concussions. The NFL needs to dedicate more money and research into increasing helmet safety, implementing rules and policies to protect players, and utilizing the best response treatment to prevent and protect players from concussions.

Science says concussions are inevitable; 96 percent of all NFL players and 79 percent of all football players test positive for brain disease (Source: Frontline League of Denial 9/18/15 Concussion Watch Article). Prior to 2002, the NFL’s approach to preventing, treating, and managing concussions and CTE was very different than it is today. My essay will explore what some of those differences were and whether or not changes in the NFL are improving the outcomes and quality of life for current and former NFL players.

The NFL isn't doing all they could to help fix the reoccurrences of the traumatic head injuries that . The NFL could up the spending on the advances of the medical field in the NFL. They could make better post NFL insurance policy plans. The problems with the NFL they do enough while the player is playing but not after the injury happens. Once it's to late it's to late. Most Head Injuries cases don’t prepare monetarily before they play because they already can barley afford to keep up.

Billions of dollars have been spilled into concussion research. One thing that has been proven through this research is that football players face the greatest risk of concussions. This includes all sports, even NCAA and NFL football. Helmets nowadays all have a warning that reads similar to: NO HELMET SYSTEM CAN PROTECT YOU FROM SERIOUS BRAIN AND/OR NECK INJURIES INCLUDING PARALYSIS OR DEATH. TO AVOID THESE RISKS, DO NOT ENGAGE IN THE SPORT OF FOOTBALL. Many people with ties to football argue that the benefits of football significantly outweigh the risks associated. Football people know that concussions can’t be eliminated totally, but they do believe that concussions can be slowed by proper tackling techniques as well as better technology. Even though football may lead to neurodegenerative brain diseases, the benefits of football far and away outweigh these inherited risks.

Would you still be playing football if you knew 96 percent of former NFL players developed brain damage? Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs lineman, died at the age of 50 from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). This sport has been played for thousands of years, but now scientist are finding former players developing brain damage. Players and staff in the NFL should have more precautions to prevent concussions, given these precautions will save lives, keep them in the sport longer, and all around making the sport safer. Therefore, having these safety measure will prevent concussions.

These risks in sports were understood to be dangerous, and science has evolved to make sports safer. So much has changed and been updated in concussion protocol in American sports within the last few years, giving credence to the group that believes that the status quo is adequate in addressing concerns for CTE among sports. The National Football League, NFL, believes that they have been earnestly seeking answers as far back as the 1990’s when they launched a committee on “mild traumatic brain injury” after “two star offensive players retired before the age of 30 due to concussion concerns” (Lartey). Their conclusion then was that concussions were a minor concern. Since then, as new research has brought new revelations of CTE and former players, the NFL has acknowledged this and has taken steps “to warn players about the potential connection between concussions and long-term brain injury” (Florio).

“Concussion,” as defined by Elizabeth D. Schafer and Amy Webb Bull from the Salem Health Magill’s Medical Guide, is “the mildest traumatic brain injuries that impairs neurological functions” (Magill’s Medical Guide). In making this comment, Schafer and Webb suggest that the effects of having concussions may affect or alter the normal functioning of the head causing serious, fatal damages or deaths. Moreover, the numbers of concussion discerned in athletes are increasing drastically. For instance, in the article In Football, Stigma of Concussion Creates Incentives to Hide It from Chronicle of Higher Education, Brad Wolverton, the author, presents revealing evidence about the increasing number of concussion in recent years. His study is based on the data from the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention. It was concluded by National Collegiate Athletic Association that 4.7 was the average number of concussions per team during 2011-12 season, but it increased to 6.5 in 2013-14 season. These findings show the interesting number of players who incur concussions in recent years. An anonymous study assembled in January of 2014by ESP. it revealed that “320 NFL players play in the Super Bowl with a concussion. Eighty-five percent said yes” (Almond 49). Based on this study, NFL players are putting their lives in risk. They are ignoring the fatal risks that concussion can cause long-term complications. If the

Recently, former NFL players have appealed a $1 billion plan to address concussions because it excludes the key brain disease that has commonly been associated with football known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. This is a type of brain decay that has been found in dozens of past football players after they died. Critics of the NFL's plan have insisted that the deal includes future payments for encephalopathy.