A concussion is not something anyone wants to deal with but unfortunately I had to. It was halfway through the season for my varsity football team. We had high hopes of winning the game and going all the way to the championship. It was the third quarter, 4th & 3 and they were going for it. I play cornerback so as the ball was snapped i noticed it was a run play because the receiver that was in front of me isn't giving me no effort to his route. I had turned my eyes to the back field and see the quarterback hand the ball off to the running back. I shot to the ball, making a move to get around the reciever I blacked out. Minutes later I was hearing the medic lady trying to communicate with me while she was strapping me down to the stretcher.
I took a deep breath and told myself it wasn’t going to be that bad and I could just use my instincts. As soon as I turned around the woman fainted, but luckily she was still breathing. She woke up about 30 seconds later and she asked what was going on, I tried to explain as much as I could, but I was just as lost as she was. I started asking all the appropriate questions and this time she had the energy to answer
For instance, a concussion occurs when an outside force causes the brain to move violently back and forth and hit the wall of the skull. Concussions result in loss of consciousness, confusion, headaches, nausea or vomiting, and blurred vision. The damaged caused by concussions is permanent, and there is no cure for it. Usually, the only remedy prescribed by doctors is at least two weeks of rest before resuming sports and similar activities. A concussion usually occurs when players collide violently into each other at high speeds. In his article“The Helmet Wars,” Tom Foster points out that “Professional football players receive as many as 1,500 hits to the head in a single season, depending on their position. That’s 15,000 in a 10-year playing career,
McCrea, M., Hammeke, T., Olsen, G., Leo, P., & Guskiewicz, K. (2004). Unreported concussion in high school football players: implications for prevention. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 14(1), 13-17.
If you have the brains when you start, you are aware that banging your head into people is not the best thing for your body,” stated Chris Cooley, tight end and a 2 time Pro Bowler with the Washington Redskins (Do No Harm, 2). Research over the years has gathered extensive data on the mental and physical illnesses of retired NFL football players. It has proved that players who accumulate numerous concussions are at a higher risk of health problems after their football career than players who’ve sustained fewer. This data is proven by various studies that have caused worry for many retired NFL football families. The examples of deaths resulting from past concussions are astonishing, and the stats that show high risks for the possible problems can prove why they possibly died. Countless retired players are now frightened by the potential hazard of destructive health problems.
The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.
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 very first step to solving the concussion problem is to train coaches how to spot a concussion. The most common symptoms are: headache, sensitivity to light and/or sound, trouble remembering plays, dizziness, nausea, and balance problems. Players suspected of having a concussion must be removed from the game or practice immediately. A concussion is described as a “mild traumatic brain injury” because it is not usually life threatening if treated properly. That name does not indicate the possible consequences if an athlete returns to play too soon.
Concussions occur regularly on the football field and have always been an injury associated with football. They occur at all levels from little league to the NFL. One of the earliest reported concussion...
The Effects of Concussions on the NFL For many years the NFL has been considered one of the most painful and dangerous sport played in the United States. But is it too Dangerous? The uprising number of concussions is shocking. NFL analysts survives suggest a 14 percent increase of concussions for the year 2013. Player safety rules have also been implemented into the official rule book. The three main effects that concussions have on the NFL today are big hits, big plays, and the defensive game played today.
I myself have endured concussions both unreported. Football has been the main reason. This year, I hit another teammate during practice helmet to helm...
The summer before my fourth grade year I was attending a basketball camp at Davidson College, when in the final seconds of a scrimmage game, my ankle was kicked out from under me. I immediately fell to the ground in pain as my ankle rolled over on itself. Coaches aided me in limping off of the court and to the training room
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.
Concussions and the effect they have on people ranging from the young to the old has become a very popular discussion in recent years. Generally people watch sports for entertainment and then there are those who engage in high impact sports from a very young age on. The people at home know how fun playing in a sport is, however they may not know the brutal consequences for some participating in that sport. Injuries to the brain are a main concern among those in the world of high impact sports. Football, soccer, wrestling, lacrosse, and rugby are among sports that athletes receive injuries in. The injuries vary from sprains, to fractures, to torn MCL or ACL, and bruised organs. Concussions are a severe type of injury endured by athletes in the sports world and this life changing injury is one that people are becoming more aware of.
Many memories are made in football, but sadly some of the greatest players cannot recall them. The National Football League has been associated with concussions and brain traumas throughout the years, but lately it has been exposed by media and NFL veterans. The league recently “reached a $765 million preliminary settlement with thousands of former players who were suing the league over its treatment of concussions…” (Waldron). Many former players are experiencing the effects of taking hard hits over and over again; they were not properly treated, which makes the injury worse and long term. The concussion issue in the NFL is more prevalent today, because it affects not only the players, but the league as a whole.
The principle described is that of elasticity. If a collision is very elastic, more kinetic energy is conserved resulting in a greater amount of acceleration or deceleration of the objects involved. Within the context of football helmets, inelastic collisions mean smaller magnitudes of acceleration and fewer brain injuries.