The Dangers Of Concussions In Sports

“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

Athletics play an immense role in the lives of youth, whether they play with friends for fun or in team competition as student athletes. Regular physical activity helps build and maintain bone and muscle health, helps reduce the risk of developing obesity, and promotes psychological well-being (U.S. Dept.). Public health programs promote the benefits of physical activity, but those benefits are reduced by the possibility of injury (CDC, 2). The participation in athletic sports outweigh the potential of sustaining a concussion.

If an athlete was to be impacted on the head on the playing field and was to gain a concussion they should sit out until they are able to fully recover. During the time period after one concussion athletes are more vulnerable to gain another. If a player were to get another concussion during this time period, permanent brain damage may be evident in the future. Also, If the player doesn't let their concussion heal properly it may lead to permanent brain damage in the future.

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.

A concussion is a brain injury caused by the jolting of the head. Concussions usually occur when playing high-risk sports such as football or soccer,

“Meh, what’s some brain damage gonna hurt”, was a quote that ultimately lead to the death of John McCrae athlete, Rowan Stringer. She was known to be a “leader” and an “amazing rugby player” on her school varsity rugby team according to various sources. The concept that shocks me the most is that she died from second impact syndrome, revealing her brave, yet poor decision that resulted in her unfortunate death. As you can see, concussions can be life threatening. In order to appropriately handle a concussion, one must be aware of the symptoms of a concussion, how to deal with concussions, and the consequences of concussions.

While reading this article you learn about concussion and the symptoms you get while having a concussion. The found that between athletes of different talents and ages from 17 to 35, that the most common symptom is a headache. Plus most of the athlete will have three or four of the symptoms during their concussion time. Also, people during this experiment felt the concussion symptoms for a little over two days. When all the symptoms were gone their reaction time, memory, learning, and monitoring all declined.

This experiment is a descriptive research study that was used to see the amount of knowledge and amount of education college coaches have been given on the topic of Concussions. To see if coaches know the signs and symptoms of a concussion, how to identify if an athlete has concussion symptoms and if the coaches know the recovery protocol for an athlete to return to play. For this experiment, 28,183 coaches of division l, ll, and lll, colleges all over the country were sent an email asking to participate in this study to see how much knowledge and education they have on concussions. This lead to some limitations because they can only do the study on the coaches that choose to participate. But of those 28183 asked, 1818 coaches responded

Because athletes do not take the responsibility to manage their injuries it leads to long term health concerns over a period of time. “The NFL must go further and clarify the rules even more, Durando contends, especially when it comes to hits on defenseless players, and they should continue to focus on decreasing the number of concussions to players in order to protect a player's long-term health” (par. 1). Stu Durando, a sportswriter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, acknowledges the fact that the National Football League has more work to do in decreasing concussion injuries. He not only stresses the cases of concussions, but shows a motive to help protect players along with their future mental wellness. Given these points, brain injuries tend to display as athletes age. Post Concussion Syndrome is what typically disarrays a former football player in the long run. Post-concussion syndrome is a complex disorder in which a variable combination of post-concussion symptoms — such as headaches and dizziness — last for weeks and sometimes months after the injury that caused the concussion. Post-concussion syndrome can include psychological, physical and emotional problems including headaches, difficulty focusing on tasks, dizziness, or simply a state of mind that some would describe as “not feeling yourself”. “Sleepless nights were followed by partial amnesia. His grades plummeted. As his memory faltered, he grew embarrassed and anxious. Football had been the center of his life, but now he couldn't even exercise. Finally, he withdrew from college. Most players, like Reed, will recover completely after a period of headaches, sleepiness and difficulty focusing in class. Others--one in 10, some experts say--suffer long-term symptoms. They are more likely to develop post-concussion syndrome, where fogginess, headaches, poor

Students participating in sports should not return after suffering from a concussion unless schools require a doctor’s consent for the athlete to return to the sport.

A concussion is a temporary loss of brain function usually resulting from a mild injury to the brain or head (“Concussion”). Some of the most-common causes of concussion include motor-vehicle accidents, bicycle accidents, falls, and sports-related injuries. During the accidents, any type of straight contact to the head or just the movement of the body that transmits force upwards will usually lead to a concussion.

Concussions have been a recognized disease in sports for decades, but the severity of these injuries has been drastically understated. Many sports, are only now beginning to understand and take action to try and better comprehend and treat concussions, and how to care for those who have sustained them. MAny of the major sports in the country have sustained huge backlash due to their lack of attention, to what is now considered a major health crisis in the country. Steps have been taken to action against the growing numbers of concussions and the ways they are

As college sports become more competitive, head injuries are increasing and cause many athletes to be diagnosed with concussions. Concussions are common in football, but many other sports have just as many or higher numbers of concussions (Grasgreen 2). According to the NCAA, they oversee “89 championships in 23 sports each year. There are more than 400,000 student-athletes competing in three divisions at over 1,000 colleges and universities within the NCAA” (Rivera 4).

In America, the sports industry is one of the largest and most powerful country; whether the sport is football, baseball, basketball, or any of the other sports the country has. Recently reports and documented cases have risen involving some of these sports’ greatest athletes, as well as current players, dealing with concussions (Famous sports concussions, 2012). Numerous athletes, some of them being the sport’s highest profile players, were found to have several mental illnesses and diseases, that have been attributed to head injuries sustained while they were playing their sports. The biggest and most predominant of these injuries is concussions. They can cause not only immediate issues, but also a lifetime of health problems (Smith, 2009). Sports related concussions lead to brain deterioration, which leads to long lasting effects throughout life.

Memory and intelligence loss, suicidal thoughts and action, and lack of sleep are some of the many serious and severe side effects from the head trauma that can last from a couple weeks all the way up to months. Guskiewicz explains that sportsmen who have reported at least one concussion have a risk of a 1.5-fold chance of depression but those who have reported at least three concussions they are then exposed to a threefold of having depression from the medical expenses, suicidal thoughts, or even the thought of their life being ruined and never being able to play football again (Guskiewicz ). Later in the player’s life, dementia or ALzheimer's are not rare when previously having a concussion. The article of NCBI-Journal of Athlete Training, the author, John Powell mentions concussion and brain injury rates because of football have dramatically increased since 1879. Equipment provided to the athletes are not up to date or protective. Powell even states within the article that the victims who are experiencing concussions who drop an extreme amount if the sports community would improve and advanced the equipment (Powell 307-311). More severe issues will come later in life to the victim. A lot of the retired football players are suffering from the long term consequences of playing