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I. Introduction In light of the recent fights I have seen in the boxing world, MMA and UFC, I decided to take a more in depth look into brain injuries in these types of sports. I see these sports as very dangerous ones and cannot even begin to comprehend how many people are willing to put their bodies through such torture. It has always been held that the brain is a very delicate and complex tissue of the body. From there departs all instructions that regulate the functions of the organism. More so it contains the chemical processes that make up our intelligence which in tail constitutes our personality. How can humans be so irrational as to develop a sport that consists in literally damaging the miracle organ that is the brain!
A. Brain Injury in Boxing
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It is undoubtedly the most fragile organ, when it is damaged it cannot be repaired. So much that nature has taken maximum precautions to protect this organ from the outside. Even very few chemicals can enter from the blood into this intricate neural network. The brain is contained in a very strong bone box, the skull, to protect against blows and injuries that can cause injuries for a
He Appeals to Logos when he writes, “Over the past two decades it has become clear that repetitive blows to the head in high-impact contact sports like football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing place athletes at risk of permanent brain damage….Why, then, do we continue to intentionally expose our children to this risk?” He continues by writing, “If a child who plays football is subjected to advanced radiological and neurocognitive studies, there can be evidence of brain damage at the cellular level of brain functioning…. If that child continues to play over many seasons, these cellular injuries accumulate to cause irreversible brain damage, which we know now by the name Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy,” a disease founded by Dr.Omalu in 2002. C.T.E can cause “major depression, memory loss, suicidal thoughts and actions, loss of intelligence as well as dementia later in life.” C.T.E has also been linked to “drug and alcohol abuse as children enter their 20s, 30s, and 40s.” Dr.Omalu Appeals to Ethos when he writes, “As physicians, it is our role to educate” and “protect the most vulnerable among
In “Offensive Play” by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell shows his view on the damages of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and how people should adhere to the topic and make changes. Even with changes it won’t guarantee that brain damage won’t be likely but it does ensure that people are adhering to the topic and changes are going to be made for a duration of time till little damage is sustained from big hits to the head.
With that being said, we begin to notice the comparison between both dogfighting and football. This was shown by using a system called “HITS, in which six sensors are placed inside the helmet of every player on the field, measuring the force and location of every blow he receives to the head” (Gladwell 56). The HITS system helped to conclude that practice can be just as dangerous as the games. With this being said, football is an overall reckless style of play that can continually cause brain injury. Not just football but both of these high intensity sports are viewed as damaging to one 's body both physically and mentally. Because of this, if people consider dogfighting to be unjust, illegal, and abusive then they should believe football to have the same damaging effects. Unfortunately, there is such a high demand for football, because of all the money it brings. Because of this, scientist and doctors will ignore the realistic facts and continue to allow people to participate in this
Following behind motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury in sports is the second leading cause of traumatic brain injuries for people fifth-teen to twenty-four years of age. Immense concerns follows given that American football accounts for the highest incidence of concussions (Rowson and Duma 2130). In addition, th...
...time the athlete is just fine, but there is the small chance that the brain injury is worse than it appears. If I were in this situation, to me the health of the athlete is more important than winning a game. If the blow was an extremely hard hit than I would be worried for further injury of the brain, such as swelling and bleeding.
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.
In recent years, there has been an increase in research investigating the long-term effects of repeated head trauma on the brain, especially in athletes. Following his discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Dr. Bennet Omalu inspired a movement of research aimed at establishing better safety standards and protocols in football. It was not until 2002 that the initial connection between repetitive head trauma, such as concussions, and brain injury was suspected (Ott, 2015).
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.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease attributed to single, sporadic, or repetitive brain trauma, including concussions and subconcussive hits (Baugh et al., 2012; Wortzel et al., 2013). This disease was originally referred to as dementia pugilistica, and nicknamed “punch drunk,” because individuals suffering from this disorder would present symptoms that were similar to someone’s mannerisms while being intoxicated (Wortzel et al., 2013). This “drunken” behavior is thought to be attributed to the cognitive, mood, and behavioral alterations as a result of the repetitive hits to the brain over an extended period of time. Because individuals suffering from this disease are often exposed to conditions that allow them to sustain blows to the head multiple times, the populations most often examined in these studies are athletes (football, boxing, rugby) and/or individuals in the military (McKee et al., 2009). Individuals can be symptom free for several years (Baugh et al., 2012). The onset of symptoms are sometimes seen about eight to ten years after an individual retires from their sport, which roughly equates to someone aged thirty to fifty yeas old (Baugh et al., 2012; Wortzel et al., 2013; Karantzoulis and Randolph, 2013). As with all diseases, symptoms can range from mild to severe. Researchers have found a positive correlation between the number of brain injuries sustained during a length of time playing a sport and the severity of symptoms (McKee et al., 2009).
Recreational athletes, competitive athletes, high school athletes, college athletes, and professional athletes all have one thing in common: the risk of a concussion. It's impossible to go a season without one athlete from a team receiving a concussion. The more that these concussions are studied, the more we learn about them, such as their detrimental effects on athletes. Because of the risk of health issues and death that come with concussions, doctors, coaches, athletic trainers, and lawmakers are stepping in to protect athletes of all levels from receiving concussions.
An anonymous person once said, "He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything." Ever since I was a young girl, I always knew I wanted to do something with helping people. But as I grew up, I also took an interest in sports, which leads me to where I am today. I would like to be able to help people in the sports ' world. In this essay, I plan to research concussions and how the long-term effects can impact people for the rest of their lives. Through research, I have learned exactly what a concussion is, the long-term effects and severity, and finally the treatments for a concussion. This relates to my senior project because for my final product, I will be presenting the lasting effects of concussions.
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.
The National Football League (NFL) has a concussion problem. Of course, many believe they’ve known that for quite some time. That hasn’t changed the fact that football is America’s favorite pastime (sorry baseball) – and dominates the airwaves each and every Sunday while the season is in session.
A concussion is defined as a “mild traumatic brain injury that may cause physical, cognitive, affective and sleep dysfunction” (Yorke). It is usually caused by a direct blow to the head, face, or neck. Ordinarily, when the brain slams against the inside of the skull it will not make one lose consciousness. The person also does not show certain signs of a concussion, making it difficult to find out whether they have a concussion or not. Many players sustained a concussion in practices, preseason games, and/or regular season games in 2015. These numbers grew thirty percent from 2014. The head injuries that occurred during the regular season by themselves went up sixty percent, from 115 to 182 (Breslow). These injuries can lead to serious brain
The cranium provides maximum protection with minimum weight, the ideal combination. The other twenty bones make up the face, jaw and other parts of the skull. Another way the brain keeps it self safe is by keeping itself in liquid. Nearly one fifth of the blood pumped by the heart is sent to the brain. The brain then sends the blood through an intricate network of blood vessels to where the blood is needed. Specialized blood vessels called choroid plexuses produce a protective cerebrospinal fluid.