Definition Of Concussions And Concussions In The NFL

Concussions in the NFL Injuries have always been and always will be a part of sports especially high contact sports like football and boxing. Concussions have always been a major issue in both of these sports. There is and always will be some issues about what the definition of a concussion and concussions symptoms consist of. The conventional definition of a concussion is the person may have endured a short loss of consciousness accompanied by a short loss of memory. A few old time physicians still hold true to that definition today. Now days though the newer aged physicians are using this broader definition of a concussions that a loss of consciousness is not a requirement instead, these newer aged physicians are drawing attention to the fact that any change in a person’s mental state such as confusion, dizziness, headaches, feeling like you are thinking a little slower could all be considered symptoms of a concussion. This broader definition of concussions has been problematic, because many of the symptoms for this broader form of the concussion definition are harder to confirm accurately, so the players might hide their symptoms, fail to recognize they have any symptoms, or just try to ‘walk it off’ (“Heads”7). 2 This broader form of the concussion definition has raised questions about whether the injury to the brain, and its short and long-term effects, are the same regardless of if a hit resulted in a loss of consciousness or not. There has been research done stating that with each concussion you sustain you are more open to sustaining another one (“Heads”7). Many other injuries such as torn ACL’s, MCL’s, sprains and concussions can and may cause issues later on in the players twilight years, even though there have been... ... middle of paper ... ...g-term brain injury from repeat concussions, it was not until the release of the Revolution Helmet in 2002 a notification reminding players to 'sit out' if they suffer a concussion was placed on the Revolution helmet," Riddell states.” (qtd. by Monette) Safety in the NFL has and will forever be one of the most talked about subjects in terms of rules being changed for the safety of its players. The biggest ongoing injury in the NFL besides torn MCL's and sprains is all the concussions. There are positive ends and negative ends to this situation that can make the game become boring for the players and also the spectators. Even though these changes make the game safer for the players in their long-term life for their kids to their own health, it might bore some of the players and some of the spectators. The NFL could be changing for the better, or for the worse of it.