The Effects Of Repetitive Head Impact On Athletes Essay

Concussions in the NFL have been a big topic over the years and will continue to plague the League and the Players. In fact in 2015 alone 271 players suffered a concussion over the whole season (CNN). However People don’t realize what happens to the player after they get a concussion in the NFL. Concussions change players lives after playing the NFL. As a result of concussion sustained in the NFL, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), and dementia occur.

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

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

While examining his brain, they found the first case of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) in a football player (Ezell). Dr. Omalu continued into the brains of football players. He diagnost another player with CTE. After that, two other doctors connect concussions to dementia. Dr. Bailes and Dr. Guskiewicz wrote, “that the onset of dementia-related syndromes may be initiated by repetitive cerebral concussions in professional football players” (Ezell). This was the first major finding connecting football to brain injuries.

Other times when sitting to watch a sports game, the last thought that crosses through the mind is whether a player will be injured or will have consequences later in life. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is gaining awareness because of current uprise in athletes developing it at a very young age such as Lou Gehrig a famous baseball player. This disease affects the body by causing loss in muscle movement. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a disease affects the mind not the body and is a progressive degenerative disease. CTE has many diseases that fall under its category such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s, Huntington's disease and Dementia. The most common factors for these diseases are concussions and head trauma because athletes

Concussions are a recurring problem among athletes of all ages. Each year, thousands of athletes are sidelined with concussions. The treatment for those with concussions are being questioned every day, but the athletes are not alone. Trainers are the first members of the sports medicine team to assess the injury. A great deal of stress comes with this duty because the trainer must make decisions regarding the athlete’s health in a matter of minutes. The athletic trainer plays a dominant role in providing initial care for athletes with concussions.

While many of these films have shown the different aspects of sports, not many of these films have really touched upon the negative effects of contact sports (Landesman, 2015). Based on the aforementioned research conducted by Dr. Omalu in 2005, the 2015 film Concussion highlights the prevalence of CTE in contact sport athletes, particularly football players (Landesman, 2015). In this film, Dr. Bennet Omalu, who is played by Will Smith, examines the brain of former NFL player Mike Webster after he was reported to be displaying erratic behavior. From the post-mortem examination of Webster’s brain, Dr. Omalu finds that he presented with a pathology that was similar to that of CTE (Landesman, 2015). Later on in the film, Dr. Omalu examines the brains of two more football players who displayed cognitive and emotional issues as well prior to their deaths. Omalu then concludes that all of the players had CTE, and the publication of his results creates uproar with the NFL (Landesman,

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or better known as CTE has gained momentum in areas of public awareness and scientific involvement in recent years due to the popularized sport on American Football. During recent years, the media has been swaying and educating the public on the adverse outcomes that CTE can initiate. However, the first discovery of this disease was diagnosed by pathologist Harrison Martland and can be related back to the late 1920’s; the first true cases were identified in the physical sport of boxing. During that time, CTE was commonly known as dementia pugilistica meaning “punch drunk” from the wobbly nature of boxers during repetitive hits to the head.1,2 It was determined that dementia pugilistica (also known as boxer’s

MMA is a serious sport that leaves many athletes in critical condition whether it is after a match or later in retirement. They have a great risk of head trauma. The main goal of MMA is to physically harm the opponent. In the end of the match on will be leaving with head injuries. Today researchers are taking serious attention to head trauma. About 900 people in boxing have died because of trauma to the head (“Boxing Regulation”). This does not include people that have died after they have retired, and their cause of death was from early years of boxing.

Since the 1920s, there has been a severe disease linked to athletes. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a disease that effects athletes that have had head trauma. The trauma causes the brain tissue to deteriorate. The changes can become apparent after months, years, or even decades. CTE is linked to memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia. (“What”, 2009). CTE has caused football to change as well as the equipment. CTE is now widely known and is effecting, not only professional athletes, but also high school athletes. Concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are serious conditions that can affect anyone and have adverse effects.

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 In Sports Head injuries have been in the news lately because of the many side effects and the dangers they can have on a person's mental health. The most common head injury today is a concussion. A concussion happens when a person has a traumatic blow to the head causing the brain to whiplash against a person’s skull. This is such a big issue because there is so much unknown about everything. For example, many famous football players that have died have been diagnosed with a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy such as Frank Gifford, Mike Webster, and Dave Duerson.

The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.

Concussions result in memory and concentration problems that may affect one’s work, relationships, and/or school activities in the short term. After activation, the victim progresses through the four stages of CTE. A harmful protein, tau, will begin to build up in the brain tissues starting at the frontal lobe, as soon as a few months after the initial injury. Tau builds up over decades and begins to kill nerve cells. By the final stage, the brain is half of its original size. To reduce the amount of CTE cases, the amount of concussions must be reduced by revising the primary padding of the football helmet.

There are many dilemmas that plague sports. Some of those can range from bribing, cheating, racism, and sports safety. In the past the NBA had to deal with the betting scandal involving Tim Donaghy and baseball has had to deal with the issue of performance enhancers. The sports industry generates around half a trillion dollars a year and it has to deal with multiple dilemmas at the youth, college, and professional level. A growing issue with sports has been the number of injuries that athletes have had to deal with. Typical sports injuries range from twisting ankles, blowing out knees, and dislocating shoulders. Surgery and rehabilitation have helped athletes to recover and get them back on the playing field faster