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Concussions over the past 30 years in the NFL
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According to CNN, concussions in the NFL have increased to a high of 967 in the past four years (CNN.com). Today kids in high school or younger will take a big hit to the head and may suffer from a concussion. The problem is when that kid or coach does nothing about it and puts the player's life in jeopardy. But is there a way to prevent this? A large part is using the equipment that you have correctly. Concussions are a risk people take in sports, but there are ways that coaches prevent them and keep players safe. 1. What is a concussion Many kids and adults suffer from concussions, but what is a concussion? A concussion is when a person takes a very large hit to the head or multiple hits to the head. After being hit in the head it makes …show more content…
A way to do this is by keeping contact down to 30 minutes a day. When watching a youth practice Chris Borland says that there are better ways to practice with the kids instead of head on head contact. Another way to keep kids safe is by changing the way they practice. According to Terry O'Neill, a former NFL executive and founder of Practice Like Pros, by changing to working with air or bags in the summer and using only helmets for the first 2 days, so kids can learn how to properly tackle and not harm themselves or other …show more content…
The ways of tackling and the rules of what you could do and couldn't have changed significantly. Paul Hornung, a running back for Green Bay Packers, took multiple hits to the head and was diagnosed with neurodegenerative disease (Tarm). Hornung wants to sue Riddle because he says the helmets failed to protect him. Helmets have significantly became better than what they were ten years ago According to Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, says that the NFL will advance help-seeking activities with mental health problems; grow transition programs that will advance their life to new stages
A concussion may be caused by a blow, bump, or jolt to the head or by any fall or hit that jars the brain. A concussion causes the brain to work longer and harder. A concussion affects the mental stamina and function of the brain. Even though concussions are very serious and potentially life threatening to the young athlete, studies show that less than 50% of high school athletes will report their concussions. Almost all athletes
“Football’s Endgame: What would happen if America’s Pastime just...died” is the title that had heads turning when it made its way onto Sports Illustrated. Football is the United State’s favorite sport so an article like this one was sure to shock fans. The article was written to be set ten years from now when the game of football met its death. Giving the ongoing issues surrounding the game in 2016, the author Austin Murphy dated the article September 7,2036. In this article Murphy talks about the factors that led to the end of one of the U.S’s beloved sports. Factors like the AIG not protecting athletes against head injuries in the NFL, Pop Warner settling a death with the family of a former football player who committed suicide at the age of 25 from CTE caused by hits to the head, and the 10% rise in football concussions. A woman whose son had passed away from a motorcycle accident noticed changes in her boy. Playing football for almost a decade he was bound to get hurt, but it was after his death that doctors found he had CTE. CTE is a topic of discussion in this article. Sports Illustrated works to inform everyone about CTE and its effects on the mind. This disease targets the way a person thinks and changes their moods, “He had all these [football-related] problems with his knees and back, but his brain was
B. Research Questions The research questions being proposed in this paper include but are not limited to the following: How well do helmets prevent concussions from occurring and prevent the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? Is there one helmet that is better at protecting players against concussions than the others on the market? Is there any protective equipment besides helmets that football players should be wearing to prevent concussions? What is the current National Football League (NFL) concussion protocol?
A concussion is a temporary loss of normal brain function, and can be described in three different ways: mild, moderate, or severe (Schafer). The worse one’s concussion is, the more dangerous the effects of it are. People usually get a concussion when they are playing high intensity sports. There are other things that could cause a concussion. One might have been in a motor vehicle accident, or they could have done something as simple as falling and hitting their head. Every time a person receives a blow to the head they damage their brain. It is hard to tell how much damage one has done to their brain, because doctors cannot see it from the outside of their brain (Haas).
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
A concussion is a head injury that can have damaging effects on athletes of all sports and ages. Concussions are regularly caused by a hard hit to the head or body that causes the brain to shake inside the skull. While there is fluid within the skull to protect the brain, when an athlete is hit hard enough, the brain moves to the point of hitting the skull, causing a head injury otherwise known as a concussion (“Concussions”). Terry Adirim, a medical doctor who writes articles for Clinical Pediatrician Emergency Magazine, says that an individual may have many different symptoms after receiving a concussion. Symptoms can include headache, nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and vomiting, but each of these symptoms do not necessarily happen with every concussion.
Typically in sports, a concussion is a result of a hit from an opponent such as during football when a player is tackled by the opponent. During such contact a concussion can result from either helmet to helmet contact, head to body contact, head to ground contact and/or simply from the whipping effect resulting from such contact. According to a study by Daniel H. Daneshvar et al, of all the sports played in the U.S., American football has the greatest number of participants as well as the greatest number of traunatic brain injuries. The same study goes on
Michael Fier was playing a late night football game in 2009 at the humongous Sam Barlow High School. He was a tall and skinny wide receiver on the left side, he was open. The ball was passed and then the ball was caught! Michael Fier was at the 20 yard line, 15, 10, BOOM!(Concussion Legacy Foundation)
Knowledge and education is the first step to safer football and it is very important to be aware of these statistics. Coaches, players and parents need to know and understand how frequently and how big of the hits players are getting. Many solutions have been proposed, but it is impossible to solve it only with one step, it has to be a process. A 3 step plan has been made that will greatly reduce the risks of head trauma, without drastically changing the fundamentals of football.
To begin with, concussions can never truly be 100% avoidable. However, being taught the proper form and technique can help concussions from happening. When you first sign up to play a sport, you must sign a contract that states that you are completely aware of the risks that come along with playing it. So, when you are playing a sport, you also have to deal with the added risks and consequences that come along with it. In “Sports Medical Conditions”, it is stated that “However, the degree of risk to a particular participant is not limited to the degree of physical contact created in the sport. An equally important consideration
Intro: What is a concussion? A concussion is a traumatic injury to the brain which includes a brutal blow to the head and or the shaking very aggressively to the body. The effects of a concussion include the following:
"The game of football has never been safer. Coaches are now required to take various safety classes on proper tackling and blocking techniques. Many leagues also implemented rules that don’t allow teams to do live tackling for more than 1/3 of the practice. There are also certain stupid ‘old school’ football drills that are now banned. The evolution of equipment also makes the game much safer. Equipment is getting better...The ‘old school’ win and hit at all costs is dying out. The younger more educated coaches are beginning to take over. (https://goo.gl/pjpfoC)" However Concussions from kids/teenagers under the age of 19 playing tackle football have doubled in the past decade. And just in the past three years more than forty-seven young athletes have died playing football. Most of them caused by head injuries. Especially because concussions that aren’t properly treated in anyone can lead to learning disabilities, death and future health problems that can affect the quality of their life (Heath Reasearch Funding,2014). Minors have a high chance of getting a concussion, and concussions that are not treated properly could lead to
For centuries sports have been the interest point for players and fans all around the nation and the participation has risen for athletics in professional, collegiate and high school athletics. With the increase of athletes comes the increase in injuries. Over the past decade the most common type of injury suffered by the athletes has been concussions. In 2012 alone 3,800,000 concussions were reported. Although concussions have just been introduced into the news and media in the last 10 years, concussions have been present in the history of sports for many years and continue to play an important role in the sports world today. In a article about the history of concussions, the author explains how the original research of brain related injuries
A few years ago people just knew that a concussion caused a headache and some blurred vision. They thought they could play through a little soreness of the head. However, they did not know how severe the side effects were. New knowledge of concussions has caused a few changes in the sports world. “Football has always been a physical sport, but new concerns about concussions have resulted in more restrictions for young players” (Hudson 38). People have always known about concussions, nowadays they are just more aware. From little leagues all the way through professional sports the games are changing because of the added knowledge of concussions. Rules are changing for the best and are affecting the games greatly. “Professional sports leagues have made strides to improve concussion awareness and regulate return to play. High Schools have followed suit-- and, increasingly, parks and recreation agencies are also getting involved in testing concussion safety” (Terl 2). Heightened awareness of concussions is changing sports in many ways. Some people do not like all the added rules. The added rules benefit some players, but at the same time take away from others. The most affected sport is football because concussions seem to occur most often in that sport. Football has been described as a continuous car wreck, and these added rules are just trying the game safer. However, overall, heightened
According to the University of Pittsburgh Neurosurgery, US athletes suffer from roughly 300,000 concussions every year. Many athletes get concussions from playing contact sports and the number is increasing. “Even subconcussive blows cause brain damage if an athlete sustains enough of them.” (The hits keep coming.) Concussions are a big problem in today's sports, some solutions would be to wear better equipment or change some rules.