Concussions in Sports: Dangers Unknown
The hit is quick and powerful. Sight is blurry; memory is hazy. The hand in front of your face has six fingers instead of five. JFK is president and the Grand Canyon is in Alaska. Concussions are the most frequent of traumatic brain injuries and they are receiving similar treatment as a rolled ankle. Sports of all kinds, ages, and gender need to increase the precautions set forth to preventing this life threatening injury.
Over 300,000 TBIs, traumatic brain injuries, occur annually in sports alone (Harvey). Concussions being one of the most common yet severe of injuries in sports require more regulations and guidelines toward preventing such a traumatic injury. One of the few laws set in
…show more content…
When the athlete returns to play too soon, this creates another dangerous issue. Returning too soon after being concussed can possibly impose an injury known as Second Impact syndrome. This occurs when the athlete returns too soon after receiving a first concussion and is followed by a second blow to the head. This second concussion typically brings even more extreme and severe health consequences than an average concussion (Harvey).
Although an athlete receives a blow to the head, it does not necessarily mean he or she has a concussion. A concussion occurs when one is hit in the head and the brain initially lags behind movement of the skull, and then boomerangs back toward the direction of the impact (Edwards). Even though the actual impact only lasts a few split seconds, the consequences of concussions can last a lifetime. These consequences are categorized into short-term, medium-term, and long-term effects.
The short-term effects last for several hours and even up to a couple days. They consist of mostly acute symptoms however; one severe consequence is SIS or Second impact syndrome, which was mentioned earlier. The medium-term effects have similar results as short-term including persistent headaches. However, mid-term effects include even more consequences, the most common being light-headedness, lethargy, poor attention, anxiety, and even depression. These medium-term consequences usually last around
Once you get a concussion you go through a period of time during your recovery where your brain is more sensitive. If you are hit again while in this period you can get "second impact syndrome". According to the article the symptoms can be very dangerous: permanent brain injury and even death if the hit is hard enough. If this happens an athlete clearly started playing much too early, which is why they should be given longer waiting periods to play.
The league's former practice of allowing players to return when their concussion symptoms subside has been criticized for putting its players at risk. It is widely known that symptoms of a concussion can reappear hours or days after the injury, indicating that the player had not healed from the initial blow.
A vital issue that has made its’ self-prominent are the concussions players get when playing sports. While many have different opinions of how players get concussions or how to prevent them. At the moment, there is not one sure solution to help or prevent concussions. One author Nate Jackson believe in stricter penalties, fines, and suspensions would help with the problem. The other author Lane Wallace thought that changing the culture would decrease the percentage of injuries overtime. These solutions are not a permeant alone but together they can benefit each other immensely.
Concussions are a rising issue in the daily life of many athletes in the sports of hockey, soccer, football, and skateboarding. Every 21 seconds, someone in this country encounters a brain injury. Concussions are brain injuries caused by jolts or hard hits around the head. When the tissue of the brain slams against the strong, thick skull in your head, a concussion is very common. This leads to either swelling of the brain, “torn blood vessels, or injury to the nerves.” (Haas) Eventually, the result will be immediate, delayed, or even permanent loss of your own brain. In the next four paragraphs, I will describe to you how a concussion is important to you and others, what the world can do to stop this issue, and what you can do to prevent
A concussion is medically defined by a traumatic injury to the brain. An athlete that has a concussion may experience signs of confusion, may lose consciousness, disorientation, or have a dazed look. Concussions occur due to an impact with the ground or another player. The skull is stopped by the impact, but the brain continues to move inside the skull in a shaking or spinning manner. Medical experts state that, “Violent shaking caused the brain cells to become depolarized and fire all their neurotransmitters at once in an unhealthy cascade, flooding the brain
Concussion is defined as a biomechanically induced brain injury, and classified as a mild traumatic brain injury that interrupts normal brain function. Every person is different, and every person will respond in their own way to a concussion. No anatomical lesions are present to cause the associating symptoms such as; possible loss of consciousness, dazed appearance, dizziness, headache, nausea, confusion, and tinnitus. These
The sports communities that require concussion education include the players themselves; their parents, the coaches, trainers, therapists, and referees; sports organizations/leagues; the media; teachers; and health care professionals. Several gains in recognition and management that impact upon concussion prevention can only be made through widespread of knowledge about concussions. Concussions are a serious issue in many professional sports. Concussions affect multiple sports in many ways. Many sports today are affected by the medical condition of concussions. Today, multiple leagues and professionals are learning how to prepare and prevent these career shattering injuries. With hundreds of medical advancements and a better understanding of the knowledge that the science has, we are assisting athletes to recover from these injuries. In order to understand concussions that lead the role on the games, one must look at the symptoms, injuries, and side-effects of this
On fall Friday nights everywhere, high schools are buzzing for one thing: football. The players have practiced all week and are excited to get on the field. Students, parents, and fans alike are all counting down the minutes until kickoff. However, in one play all that excitement can be taken away. One helmet-to-helmet hit is sometimes all it takes for a player to sustain a concussion. Concussions happen frequently in football. Many people do not realize the risks associated with this type of injury. High school coaches need to be better trained on how to recognize potential concussions, athletes need to be better educated on concussions, and stricter concussion
The purpose of this study was to determine the association between having a previous concussion and then experiencing concussive signs and symptoms following head impacts. It was hypothesized that previously concussed athletes would have more severe and frequent signs and symptoms of a concussion following a head impact compared to athletes with no previous concussion. To test this hypothesis, 201 college athletes participated in a questionnaire. They were asked about previous concussions and if they experience concussive signs and symptoms when they had head impacts. After the results were all collected, it showed that nearly 60% of athletes who had zero previous concussions reports experiences signs and symptoms following head impacts! compared to nearly 80% of athletes who have had a concussion. These results show a significant correspondence between previous history of concussion and the reoccurrence of concussive signs and symptoms following a head
What is a concussion? A concussion occurs when someone takes a mild blow to the head. This causes the brain to be banged against the skull injuring its soft tissue. Symptoms of a concussion may include unconsciousness, nausea, headache, and balance problems. Students that receive a concussion may have to miss school for many days. Concussions usually leave a player out for two weeks and then they
Multiple studies have shown that concussions can lead to severe, debilitating, and permanent brain damage. With these consequences in mind, athletes should be required to be evaluated by a physician and sit out longer after receiving any sort of head trauma. Studies have also shown that concussions are cumulative. After someone receives one, their brain is more susceptible to further injury.
Once a concussion is gained the player then enters a period of time where they are more vulnerable to another concussion. Once an athlete gains a concussion during this time of vulnerability, the risk of permanent brain injury increases. Studies have shown that the effects of one concussion can remain prominent for 30 years or longer after the incident. Therefore, the results of repeated concussions can be very serious and long lasting. Also, if a player doesn't let their concussion heal properly this can also lead to permanent brain damage. If a player was to return to a game too early, long term affects could take place. The long term affects are memory loss, emotional distress, and increased possibility of suicide and these can last can last
However, it is dangerous because concussions can be serious and require medical attention (Reinberg 1). If a player goes back into their game, unknowing of a possible concussion because the symptoms are hidden, the aftereffects can be life
A nationwide epidemic is occurring throughout the United States and is on the rise. Although many know about it, they fail to realize the side effects and diseases that can that lay dormant, waiting to be awakened and devastate their lives and potentially end them. Concussions are increasing annually among athletes in contact sports. Children and adults participating in these particular sports are potential victims of concussions and the long lasting side effects. The concerns of athletes receiving concussions is rising because as studies progress, many are leading to the conclusion that concussions impose future health complications.
An athlete who returns to the game, prematurely, after a head injury and sustains a second impact, Second Impact Syndrome (SIS), to the head has a one in two chances of sudden death. There is a 90% chance of a soccer player sustaining a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that will have debilitating results. Reportedly there are 1.3 million to 3.6 million concussions a year. A football player in high school will sustain as much as 1,800 impacts each season. (When Is One Hit Too Many?"). However, this is not the hidden epidemic that is going on and affecting millions, in which many of its victims are “suffering in silence and obscurity” (Omalu). Recurrent concussions have been proven to cause a disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).