Introduction
There is no exact definition of a concussion because it can be somewhat a matter of opinion. Different professions could create a definition of a concussion based on how they view the concussion. However, through all of the different definitions given, all share common characteristics about the definition of a concussion. Because of these similarities between the definitions of a concussion, a concussion can be defined as a trauma affecting the head or body resulting in neurologic deficits or symptoms. Concussions typically occur from a hit to the head and can create many symptoms in the body (Edwards & Bodle 2014) Concussions can create many symptoms, and they vary from person to person. The most common symptoms of a concussion include: headache, nausea, dizziness, poor balance, sensitivity to the senses, memory problems, and fatigue. Concussions can also create symptoms that occur over longer periods of time, such as depression, irritability, or trouble sleeping. Because these symptoms can become more severe over time, athletes should be removed from play after receiving a concussion. Additionally, athletes should be removed from play after a concussion because it is believed that having more than one concussion results in cumulative effects on the brain. Because concussions damage the brain, it is important to try to prevent them. Changes to rules in sports, as well as improved technology, have been enforced to help prevent concussions.
Historical Aspects
Concussions were not a relevant in football until the mid 1990s. Before this time, if an athlete received a big, it was just considered that "he got his bell rung. It was not until 1994 that the NFL Commissioner created the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committ...
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...ess. Early symptoms seem to resolve within a few hours of the concussion. Later symptoms of concussions occur days to weeks after the concussion. Late symptoms include: persistent headache, sleep disturbance, poor concentration, difficulty with memory, irritability, personality changes, and depression. These late stage symptoms typically resolve in a week, but may last months or even forever. Although uncommon, second impact syndrome (SIS) can be a fatal short-term effect of a concussion. SIS occurs when an athlete suffers repeated concussions in a short time-frame. SIS can be fatal because the brain takes a few weeks to completely heal from a concussion, so if an athlete receives another hit towards the brain before it has healed, it could result in death. This is why it is important for athletes to be removed from play following a concussion (Edwards & Bodle 2014).
A concussion is defined as temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head or a violent shock from a heavy blow. The force transmitted to the head causes the brain to hit the skull, which causes the brain to swell. The symptoms of a concussion can appear immediately after contact or they may subtle and may not appear right away. The symptoms of a concussion can vary in length. There are many different symptoms to a concussion: "Common symptoms after a concussive traumatic brain injury are headache, loss of memory (amnesia) and confusion" (Mayo). Other symptoms that may be involved with a concussion include loss of consciousness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and fatigue. There are also symptoms that may not occur immediately, but may be delayed hours or days after. These symptoms include difficulty concentrating, sensitivity to light, and sleep disturbances. An athlete should ...
Concussions are an injury to the brain caused by bump, or blow to the head or body. They can occur even when you haven’t even been knocked unconscious. Concussions can not be seen, but you can notice when someone has received one. (Center for Disease Control). The symptoms are Headaches, nausea, vomiting, balance problems, blurry vision, and memory problems or confusion. Also difficulty paying attention, bothered by lights or loud noises and feeling sluggish are sure symptoms of a concussion. (CDC 2). Even though concussions can’t be fully prevented, scientists are doing their best to find ways to decrease the amount of concussions that happen per year.
To understand the issue of concussions in the NFL we must first understand exactly what a concussion is. A concussion is a minor traumatic brain injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Severe concussions can cause loss of consciousness and/or forgetfulness. However, you do not need to lose consciousness to have a concussion. Minor concussions usually cause headache, nausea, dizziness, and tiredness. An NFL study showed that most concussions occur when one player delivered a hit to the side of the head of another, and when the player was either standing still or moving slowly. These hits that cause concussions pack an average force of 980-pounds. Concussions affect professional athletes as well as amateur or youth football players. Studies have shown that high school football players are nearly twice as likely to get concussions as college football players and high school athletes in other sports. Also, they show that 47% of high school football players say they suffer a concussion each season. As a result about 250,000 people under the age of 19 went to the emergency room with concussions in 2009, compared with 150,000 in 2001.
Not many sports are as physically demanding on the human body as football. The physical toll that football players pay is almost impossible to comprehend unless one has actually played the sport for a significant amount of time. However, until recently any connection between the hits taken by football players and their health down the road was largely ignored. A common, yet difficult injury to detect in football is a concussion, the most common traumatic brain injury (Pearce). A concussion is defined as “a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or the body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from working normally” (Heiner pa.5). Reports and studies have surfaced shedding light on just how much damage is inflicted upon the brain due to crippling hits. These studies suggest that NFL athletes who received concussions suffered lasting damage to the brain, which opens the gate to a multitude of other health issues such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical depression (Pearce). This is an aspect of the game that not many are aware of and it is a serous issue that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. There have been too many heartbreaking stories such as that of Justin Strzelcyk who heard voices and died in a crash while fleeing police or that of Andre Waters who shot himself in the head after struggles with depression (Zarda pa.1). Many current and former players are suffering in silence; this shouldn’t be the case. The National Football League needs to extend a hand to former players debilitated by head injuries. The problem of concussions and other head injuries in the NFL is one that needs to be tackled head on.
The world of sports is filled with great memories, grand moments and at times complete mayhem. There are moments like hitting a Home Run in game 7 of the World Series or memories of scoring an overtime goal during the Stanley Cup finals. However, there are also incredibly low moments when mayhem occurs such as an action or incident that results in a concussion. An injury such as a concussion can ruin your sports career or potentially your ability to function normally in the future. Concussions are caused by blunt force trauma to the head, a fall or an injury that shakes the brain inside the skull. Recovering from a concussion can take weeks, months or even years to heal. For some, it can impair your mental or mobility functions for life.
The injury is defined as a concussion when “it causes a change in mental status such as amnesia, disorientation, mental fogginess, confusion, nausea or vomiting, blurred vision or loss of consciousness.” (Mayo Clinic, n.d.)
In conclusion, head injuries are serious business and should always be treated as if it could be fatal. New information and products are being made to help curb the increasing amount of concussions. Even though the number of concussions have increased over the years, there have been steps that are being made to cut down on the number of injuries. Concussions can be potentially be fatal and can have many side effects, both now and later in life. Such side effects can include headaches, inattention, loss of short-term and long-term memory, loss of motor skills, and even disturbances in sleep. It cannot be stressed enough to not shrug off any type of injuries, especially a concussion.
Concussions occur time after time throughout different sporting events and many are familiar with the word concussion, but what really is a concussion? A concussion is a head injury that can leave 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 of 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. While many athletes are fine after receiving one concussion, it is the second concussion that can be very unfavorable and even deadly. When an athlete receives a second concussion before the first concussion has fully healed, it ...
Many people do not understand that a concussion does not simply go away in a few days, it can last up to a couple months. "Most concussions and other mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) should completely resolve within one to six weeks. Some people, however, experience post-concussion syndrome (PCS) with symptoms lasting longer than this. Post-concussion syndrome can include physical, cognitive, and emotional problems” (Cornell). Most brain injuries take one to six weeks to heal. Although, some people suffer from post-concussion syndrome, this is where the symptoms last a bit longer. Concussions usually aren’t crazily severe but, when they are these injuries can be easily mistaken by other severe brain injuries. "Long-term effects of concussions are very rare. Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can cause symptoms similar to a concussion, but individuals with these TBIs often experience more severe problems with attention and short-term memory, have difficulty performing daily tasks, and report feeling “slower” overall” (Cornell). Even though long-term effects are rather rare they can still occur. Furthermore, concussions can sometimes get confused with severe traumatic brain injuries because, they often have the same symptoms. Long-term concussions can affect the brain and make it difficult to
Concussions are an injury that falls under the Traumatic Brain Injury category. A concussion occurs when a force causes the brain to rock back and forth inside the skull, and hit the interior walls of the skull. When this happens it can result in bruising on two parts of the brain, the Coup and the Countercoup. This may result in Loss of consciousness, confusion, headaches, nausea or vomiting, blurred vision, and loss of short-term memory. I know from experience the nausea and blurred vision. I noticed that during what I thought was a concussion though after the initial hits my ears would ring and give me very painful headaches.
Confusion on the definition of a concussion can affect athletes, coaches and trainers when it comes to diagnosing a concussion. The knowledge to know the signs and symptoms of a concussion can reduce the short, medium, and long-term consequences of them. Signs of a concussion could be an inability to focus, vomiting, nausea, dizziness, and slurred speech. Concussions have been around for many years. More and more research is being conduction on concussions as the years pass for a better understanding. As a better understanding of concussion is being researched, sports teams should force and make better rules when it comes to hitting players. Athletes that has had a concussion can suffer from short-term symptoms like verbal delay or long-term symptoms like a disability. Helmets are being improved constantly, but the reduction of concussions is not decreasing. Reduction of concussion starts with the player reporting his injury. After reporting the injury, the proper steps can be taken to get rid of symptoms and prevent the likeliness of the injury from happening again. To prevent to the likeliness of the injury to reoccur the athlete must take time away from the sport and spend a certain amount of time recovery. Before returning back to play, the athlete must be check for readiness. Readiness can be checked by testing the athlete’s behavior and abilities. Sports come with pros and cons. The pros can be working with others to complete the same objective while having fun. The con can be simply suffering from a concussion. So an athlete has to be willing and well educated on the sport he or she wants to play before committing to a certain
Concussions can be dangerous if not treated properly, which can lead to short term and long term damage. Short term effects can last as long as it takes for the person to recover. A few examples of short term effects from article 3 are headaches, sleep pattern change, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, and numerous more. While countless football players, professional wrestlers, and multiple other athletes in sports that involve physical contact just suffer from the short term effects of a life altering condition, long term effects can often be worse. In article 2, the effects of concussions can be lasting and long term problems. They can change your mood
When a concussion occurs it goes through a specific process for everything. First the collision occurs on the head with great force. Next a s...
Have you ever wanted to know why concussions are so serious, well I have the answer. Concussions are a common form of traumatic brain injury resulting from blunt force trauma to the head. Concussions are also associated with a short period of time without the regular functions of your brain (Flynn1) . When someone has a concussion that person must be examined by a doctor or physician, at first only using short neuropsychological tests like the Maddocks quiz or the SAC (standard assessment of concussion, Flynn 2). Most professional sports leagues like the NFL, NBA, and NHL are introducing policies that restrict the amount of playing time an athlete gets after a recent concussion. All sports leagues should have the best safety equipment that they can buy so there is a lesser chance of a player getting a concussion, and if a player does get a concussion they should take a few weeks off just to make sure that they are as healthy emotional and physically as before the concussion.
For those of you not familiar with concussions; concussions usually occur when you suffer a blow to the head. Events you can associate with concussions are typically head to head collusions in football, a header in soccer, or even strong whiplash. Typical symptoms of a concussion can vary in severity. Most people think that concussions usually occur when someone gets knocked out but that's not necessarily the case. One does not need to be knocked unconscious to sustain a concussion which is why it is important to know which symptoms to look out for. As I stated before concussion symptoms can vary so some of the symptoms to look out for include: difficulty concentrating, vomiting, headaches, nausea, and difficulty sleeping. Knowing