It feels just like yesterday I was getting on a school bus for the first time to head off to kindergarten. The sun was warm to the senses as mildew covered the grass. Excitement is the only feeling I can recall as I felt on top of the world leaving my house to learn and be with friends. Now I am twenty-three and wondering where all the time has gone. My back aches from not stretching. My knees crack walking up and down the stairs. Where has the time gone, and why don’t I feel like a kid anymore? Aging is a part of life not everyone wants to accept. There are many theories on aging and I would like to focus on the Stochastic Theory. The Stochastic Theory is “based on random events that cause cellular damage that accumulates as the organism ages” (Grossman, S. & Lange, J., 2018, p. 55). Within this theory there are four categories but I am only going to focus on two: Wear and tear theory along with Connective tissue/cross-link theory. Wear and tear …show more content…
As humans experience trauma like concussions, heart attacks, car wrecks and working out, our bodies cannot repair themselves (p. 52). The National Football League and many universities are studying the brains of many former football players. What they are finding is that concussions lead to other mental diseases later on in life. These men act out in aggression, forget their spouses and even their children. An example like this is extreme wear and tear, but I feel that it supports the wear and tear theory as their brains can not repair themselves after a hard hit on the field. Another example many of us could relate would be heart attacks. Perhaps one of our friends, loved ones, or a neighbor had a heart attack. Chances are that person will not be able to function the same as they did prior to the heart attack. Heart attacks come with aging, thus the Wear and Tear Theory is supported in that some cell damage through out life is
New evidence is now coming out showing that repeated brain trauma significant enough to cause concussions is causing long term effects that do not show up until later in life. This issue is knows as CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This new condition is not yet well understood but the researchers know that it is in part caused by repetitive brain trauma. CTE has many negative side effects and symptoms that many retired NFL athletes are now starting to show which include; executive dysfunction, memory impairment, depression, and suicidality, apathy, poor impulse control, and eventually dementia. Since this is a CTE is a new finding research and findings are slow to come because their is yet to be a clinical diagnosis, findings have only come from post-mortem research and the individual's mental and physical history before his or her death (Baugh & Stamm, 2012). “Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) has found neuropathologically confirmed CTE in football players with no history of diagnosed or reported concussions (but who played positions, such as lineman, with the greatest exposure to repetitive hits to the head). This is a good example as to why concussion recognition, treatment, and prevention is so important. CTE so far is only showing up in athletes who are retired and ages 40 and older. These are the athletes who competed before
In the article, NFL Football Players May Be More Susceptible to Alzheimer's and Dementia, the clinical professor Christopher Randolph makes a scientific study to whether or not former professional football players are prone to head trauma related diseases such as MCI and Alzheimer’s. This study can be proved to be valid, because the author states his theory through clinical studies comparing different groups of people with and without a former history in a professional sport.
Recurrent concussions can lead to late life cognitive Impairment In retired professional football players. 50,000 head injuries result in death each year and most injuries are classified as mild traumatic. Traumatic Brain Injuries have been classified as significant, emotional, and functional disabilities. This study wanted to show if recurrent concussions lead to neurodegenerative dementing disorders, Parkinson's, Alzheimer’s, and psychiatric disorders such as depression. The patients in this study played at least 2 years of professional football but their age group varies from recent professional players to professional players before World War ll.
Concussions, injuries, and suffering- those are what always happen in football games. Football is the most popular sport in America, people like the sound of “uh....” when football players hit each other. In the documentary “League of Denial: NFL’s Concussion Crisis” by Frontline, the connection between playing football and brain injuries is analyzed. Steve Almond’s, “Against Football: One Fan’s Reluctant Manifesto” shows how football impacts his life and how evil the NFL is. Also other books that say the same things are “Ban College Football” by Intelligence2 Debates. They want to show how much impact human beings can receive when they play football and how football’s safety rules change to protect their players. Most of the time, resources always talk about CTE -Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy- an injury that can result in a memory loss. The illness comes from brain trauma that is caused by violent concussions and makes the tau protein, which actually is not supposed to be in the brain, stay inside the brain and kill all the neurons. The documentary by Frontline focuses on how many people are being affected by this problem and how the NFL reacts to all the allegations
Head trauma can lead to brain disorders and mental health issues. 1 in 3 former NFL players have had 5 or more concussions and 3 in 4 still suffer symptoms today. A study shows that NFL football players who have sustained 3 or more concussions are 5 times more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment- a condition connected to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. NFL football players who were surveyed who had sustained 3 or more concussions were 3 times more likely to develop clinical depression compared to other players who had not suffered concussions. 9 in 10 former NFL players reported suffering from concussions during their career, 6 in 10 players reported having 3 or more concussions, and 2 in 3 of the former players who had concussions said they continue to have symptoms from concussions. A survey on retired NFL players discovered that about 9 in 10 report daily pain and 91% of them connect all of their pains to football. Andre Waters is an example of what research proves. It shows that players who’ve sustained 3 or more concussions are at a threefold risk of depression. 21-22% of this group have experienced depression, compared to 6-7% of the group, who haven’t experienced concussions, who haven’t dealt with depression. “In the [2007] survey of 2,552 retired players, almost 61% in the sample indicated that they had [suffered] a concussion in their career. Of
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
Concussions have been shown to be the cause of chronic traumatic encephalopathy or “CTE”, which has led to player suicides and other debilitating symptoms after retirement, including memory loss, depression, anxiety, headaches, and also sleep disturbances. “In CTE, a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells. CTE has been seen in people as young as 17, but symptoms do not generally begin appearing until years after the onset of head impacts.”(What Is CTE). This is why people are studying and trying to understand concussions fully in order to prevent and treat future ones. Concussions are very serious and shouldn’t be taken lightly which is why it has become a major topic in football. As much as professional and young athletes want to prove their toughness and continue to play, new research is proving that concussions are far more dangerous than anyone could have predicted.
If you have the brains when you start, you are aware that banging your head into people is not the best thing for your body,” stated Chris Cooley, tight end and a 2 time Pro Bowler with the Washington Redskins (Do No Harm, 2). Research over the years has gathered extensive data on the mental and physical illnesses of retired NFL football players. It has proved that players who accumulate numerous concussions are at a higher risk of health problems after their football career than players who’ve sustained fewer. This data is proven by various studies that have caused worry for many retired NFL football families. The examples of deaths resulting from past concussions are astonishing, and the stats that show high risks for the possible
Football today is not what it used to be 20 years ago. The athletes are bigger, faster, and stronger than anyone believed they could be. The game has changed drastically, but so have the injuries. In 1985 famous Redskins Joe Theismann suffered a comminuted fracture of his right leg, which would eventually be found to be a career ending injury. Back then this type of injury didn’t happen too often, but today is seen more often than it should. Along with more gruesome injuries came higher rates of concussions, a potentially life threatening injury. With the recent studies of concussions impacts on the brain it has been realized there is a link between brain trauma and aggressive or suicidal behavior some football players experience down the road.
Head impacts happen frequently in football, as they are in many other contact sports. Youth players, as young as 7, could sustain up to 100 impacts a season. While the long-term health repercussions remain uncertain, most of us have heard that repeated concussions, which occurs when the brain hits the skull, might increase an athlete’s risk of brain damage later on down the road. At first, the consequences might be hard to spot; but after multiple concussions, damages to brain could result in behavioral changes years down the line. This behavioral alteration is now understood to be due to impact dementia. Which a group of symptoms caused by memory loss, confusion, and personality change.
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
The way God created us as humans is a life cycle where eventually late adulthood comes with the biology of aging. Santrock (2013) describes five different theories of why humans age (p. 541). The evolutionary theory explains that aging is more of a natural selection process, and diseases occur in the elderly because they “would have been eliminated” if they were in younger people (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Cellular clock theory describes how cells get tired of dividing after they have been reproducing for so long (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Free-radical theory explains when “cells metabolize energy the by-products include unstable oxygen molecules known as free radicals” (Santrock, 2013, p.541). The unstable oxygen molecules can damage DNA and other structures inside the cell (Santrock, 2013, p.541). Mitochondrial theory describes how aging occurs because of the mitochondria essentially wearing out and becoming less efficient (Santrock, 2013, p.542). Mitochondria are the cell’s “power house,” and they convert energy inside the cell (Bailey, 2008). The last theory, hormonal stress theory, illustrates the effects of stress, especially long term stress, on aging (Santrock, 2013, p.542). Stress released hormones which depress the immune system making people more susceptible to disease (Santrock, 2013, p.542). There are many theories about why human’s age, and all of them may be true, but regardless aging is inevitable and so are its effects.
Aging is the process of becoming older, as we age, multiple mutations occur that concern all the processes of aging well as it compromising a number of different genes. There are many theories of biological aging, such as the Cellular Aging Theory, Immunological Theory, and the Wear and Tear Theory. The Cellular Aging theory describes the process of aging in which cells slow their number of replication, thus giving each species a “biological clock that determines its maximum life span” and how quickly one 's health will deteriorate(Hooyman, 42). After a certain number of years, each cell which follows an apparent biological clock starts to replicate itself less, thus the specific individual or species slowly deteriorates. This theory gives
the place of old damage cells as they die out(1). But as time goes by, mutations can control our genes
Also spelled as ageing, this is generally the process of becoming old. It is the in a way the opposite of immortality. In a broader aspect, it may occur to single cells in an organism also called cellular senescence or the population of a species, known as population ageing. This process primarily affects human beings and fungi. In humans, it signifies the accumulation of various changes which occur over time. The changes include physical, social and psychological changes.