Essay On Concussions

Football is a sport loved by so many people, that a whole corporation was made for fans to enjoy it, the NFL. But do the fans know the risk that football players put themselves in when they step onto that field? It doesn't matter if you have experience there is always that risk for a concussion. Even kids playing youth football or teens playing high school football are at a high risk for concussions. Obviously, whatever guidelines out there that are meant to protect football players from concussions aren't working so something needs to be changed. Personally, if I was a parent I would never let my child play football unless the helmet, tackle guidelines, and penalties for late hits were improved. However I do understand why parents allow their children to play football, it is a sport like I said, loved by many and just fun to watch.

My first research project was the dangers and preventions of concussions in sports. Concussions can be very dangerous if you are not wearing the proper equipment and do not treat them properly. For those of you who don’t know “a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull”. There are many symptoms of a concussion. “You may be suffering from a concussion if you experience dizziness, headache, off-balance, amnesia for what occurred before the head trauma, anterograde amnesia (a loss of ability to create new memories after the head trauma), difficulty concentrating, irritability and vomiting”.

Football being one of the most physical sport it is, I grew a love for it in all aspects. I’ve been playing the game of football for 10 plus years and can’t stress enough the importance of technique and player safety. In recent years people have become concerned with the long term effects of head related injuries caused by repeated collisions on the field. Head injuries such as concussions often leave participants of all levels permanently injured for life if the correct treatment isn’t provided. This is why studies around the country are being constructed to keep athletes safe and prevent any further injuries.

America is one of the most sports crazy countries in the world, At the helm of that is debatably the most popular sport in America, football. However, as there is advances in science and more data comes out to start understanding more about human anatomy, and at the same time sports becomes bigger in the U.S.. More concern is raised about football. Football could be considered one of the most violent sports along with rugby and hockey. As more National Football League players are coming forward with mental illnesses such as alzheimer 's post concussion syndrome and more linked to football more fear of concussions has been raised. These former players now blame the NFL for these mental illnesses which are largely lead on to believe that they are the results of numerous concussions. So many identities form around this as at the high school level if we get a headache after a hit a quick first thought is,”Do I have a concussion.” With this high school football players have all injuries centered around concussions which must be taken seriously. Although, with all of this evidence against football a few ideas remains being how dangerous are concussions, what is being done, what has been done, and is the NFL, NCAA, and high school level organizations doing enough.

Over the last ten years, head concussions have received more scrutiny and preventative action than any other injury. A concussion occurs when an individual receives a blow to the head that causes the brain to swell. Symptoms of a concussion include dizziness, nausea, loss of memory, and sensitivity to light. More than 2 million concussions are reported every year. (Mayo Clinic) Recent studies have shown that a concussion can be more detrimental to one 's health than previously thought. Researchers have found that a concussion can lead to long-term effects, such as memory loss, mental illness, and even death. Athletic leagues such as the NFL and NCAA have gone to great lengths to prevent concussions. They are changing game rules trying to prevent concussions, but is the motivation purely for the safety of the athletes or for protection from litigation? Some rule changes have had positive effects, but in some cases, the changes are not improving the overall safety of the players.

It is seen that in “more high school [games] football players are getting [more] brain injuries today than ever before” (Watson 37). Once taking a hit to the head it can trigger a concussion or even worse. In a serious hit to head it can cause in some cases Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) (“Sports-Related”1). It is indicated that “TBIs are extremely common to athletes. Sports-related TBIs include concussions, contusions, hematomas, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)” which can come from one tackled on the field or even from a hit on the head with a soccer ball (Sport-Related 1). It has been studied and proven that “a high school football player is roughly twice as likely to suffer a concussion than a college player’ the immature brain is still developing’ explains Julian Bailes.” (qtd. in Watson 38). This explains the severity for young children participating in sports during their development, for it can affect them even further than adults. In Parks article, she provides a report that approximately “fifty-eight percent of head related injuries where teenagers from the ages fourteen to eighteen” (35). Not only is there

As the most popular sport in the United States, football is firmly ingrained in our American society. Despite football’s vast popularity, football is currently an overall detriment to our society. Serious fundamental changes need to be implemented to the structure of football in order for it to be morally improved in the future. With more research appearing each day, it is clear the neurological health of players needs to be taken more in to account. Underprivileged kids also need to start invest investing in school over football to succeed in their future and the well being of the players and public should always be put before money, especially the NFL’s.

Hall of fame coach John Madden once said: “They’re on the right road, but there’s a long way to go on concussions.” Madden is right. The NFL is doing something about concussions, but they’re clearly not doing enough. In the National Football League, there needs to be more player safety because of the immediate dangers of concussions and the increased chance of CTE and other mental diseases arising later in a player’s life.

Have you ever had a dream that you wanted so bad and you would do anything to obtain that dream to make it a reality? Most kids if you asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up they would probably say something along the lines of an astronaut, firefighter, or maybe even a doctor, but what I have found to be the most common answer to this question is to be in some sort of major league sport such as baseball, basketball, or football. Most kids can’t really perceive the sacrifice and consequences that come with having this dream. The ones that have realized what it takes to make it in professional sports won’t let people or the hard work set them back they will keep moving forward and keep their eye on their goal so their dream isn’t a dream, it’s a reality.

Football is an amazing tradition that is ingrained in American culture. Americans are drawn to it’s amazing athletes, big hits and a fan culture like no other. It’s a hard hitting, violent sport and that’s why we love it, but that comes at a cost. The collisions that occur during these games are putting athletes at high risk of serious brain injury. Athletes, coaches and fans everywhere are becoming more and more aware of the dangers of concussions.

Imagine experiencing repeated head injuries that can cause an individual have persistent headaches, mental confusion, sleep disturbances, emotional irregularity or perhaps a blackout. Envision undergoing these symptoms and then receiving an additional head injury. These types of injuries can be avoided with proper care. Flashback to 10th century AD, as claimed by Bionity, Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi, a Persian physician, was the first individual to record a concussion as an impairment unlike any other brain injury known to humanity. Later in the 13th century, Lanfranc of Milan described a concussion as “brain ‘commotion.’” As stated by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a concussion is defined as “‘a stunning, damaging, or shattering effect from a hard blow; especially: a jarring injury of the brain resulting in disturbance of cerebral function’ or ‘a hard blow or collision.’” High schools must conduct mandatory concussion tests because concussions cause physical and psychological impairment, the tests will aid in student success and it will not affect the schooling budget.

Youth athletes experiencing concussions is a very serious matter. When an adolescent first experiences a concussion, they may seem dazed and confused. The adolescent may show signs of dizziness and have trouble recalling basic information. If after a blow to the head an athlete displays these signs, they should stop playing immediately and be taken out of the competition (Khabie 1). But just how prevalent in youth football are concussions? Some claim that most players experience head trauma that will leave a lasting negative effect on the athlete’s brain. Others believe that concussions in youth football are very rare and most of the time have no long term effects on the athlete. Many would say that even if there is risk of injury, football provides many positive opportunities that kids should not pass up on due to fear. The sport of American Football provides challenges, comradery, essential skills, and fun that outweighs potential injury risk for youth who participate in the sport and should be offered to those who choose to play the sport at a young age.

Do you believe that sports are safe for children to play? The obvious answer is yes because everywhere people look, there are sports. Football, soccer, baseball, etc. However, some people think sports are dangerous, the school district should not ban sports because of the impact on children’s health, their social life, and their character development?

Football has been a major influence on Americans for some time. Teams and games bring people excitement everywhere in the U.S., but within all this lurks a danger that is harmful to all players, damage to the brain. These types of injuries can have a lasting impact on a person for the rest of their life, making it difficult to live the life that they once had. The main issue is that kids start playing football at a young age. They do not realize the damage they are doing, and some of this can only be caught once someone has died! Making this a more substantial danger than it already was. Though sport deaths to this type of damage is rare, it does not replace the fact that playing football at a young age is harmful and can damage the brain in the long run.

There is increased attention on concussions caused by football and other sports. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that there are 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports related concussions occurring annually, although that may be an understatement as concussions often go unreported (Dompier 660). Many of these concussions are from football, one of the most popular organized participant sports in the United States, with over three million middle and elementary school-age players, 1.1 million high school players and 100,000 college players playing annually (Dompier 660). For decades, football’s leadership claimed that tackle football was safe, but over the last several years as neurologists have found degenerative brain disease in many football players, even the National Football League has acknowledged the link between football and brain trauma (Belson I). This issue even reached the highest echelon of the American legal system. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed a $1 billion settlement arising from retired players’ contention that the NFL hid results of the severity of concussions (McCann). As a result of these findings and increasing public concern about the game’s safety, as more information has become available participation in youth football has gradually declined nationwide. For boys ages 6 to 12 it fell by 20% between 2009 and 2015, although it rose 1.2% in 2015 (Belson I). In Westchester County, New York, where Chappaqua is located, schools are facing