Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Brain trauma case study
Traumatic brain injury review of literature
Essay on brain trauma
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Should the fear of brain trauma, change the rules of sports for good? Athletes have been susceptible for brain injuries since contact sports were invented. Although some are familiar with this, many people are unaware of the long term ramifications that often come with these types of injuries. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, (ALS) is a disease that is slowly plaguing our nation, starting with athletes. It is one of the fatal repercussions of repetitive head trauma, that is often overlooked. CTE, also known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is also a disease caused by head trauma that can drastically impact one’s life. CTE’s have a subset of different associated diseases such as Alzheimer's, Dementia, Parkinsons, and Huntingtons disease. …show more content…
This is a neurodegenerative disease, meaning it results in progressive loss or death of neurons. It often starts off with effecting simple motor skills like writing and holding things, after a few months usually patients start losing the ability to walk, talk, or move any of their limbs. Although the brain trauma is what causes it, ALS has little-no-effect on the brain. This fatal disease is typically diagnosed around age 60 and most patients are given about 3-5 years to live after being diagnosed. It has been found that 10% of cases are shown as genetic. It was brought to attention that athletes were beginning to get diagnosed with ALS at a younger age than most. After extensive research in the early 2000’s, Brain Analyst, Dr. Mckee ran tests and finally came to the conclusion that the toxic proteins in the brains of ALS patients were coming from repeated blows to the head. It was then made evident why so many athletes in contact sports such as football, soccer, boxing, etc… were being diagnosed at such a young age and more frequently than …show more content…
CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the brain most commonly noticed in athletes with repetitive head trauma. This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, also the build up of a protein called Tau. Tau buildup causes an overuse in enzymes and damages the part of the brain that controls memory and learning. Athletes in sports such as soccer, may not realize the damage repeated impacts to the head can actually have because it seems so innocent. Therefore, the causatum of these impacts will be much more drastic. There are 4 different types of CTE that are associated with this type of brain trauma; Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Dementia, and Huntington's Disease. Alzheimer's and Dementia have more similar symptoms like, erratic behavior, cognitive decline, also mood and behavior changes. Although they are similar, Alzheimer’s is generally fatal and has a more drastic effect on the patient’s memory and mental decline whereas Dementia is not always incurable. Parkinson’s and Huntington's diseases also have similar symptoms such as; tremors and spasms as well as speech impairments muscle weakness and changes in behavior. In the past, CTE was only diagnosable through diseased patients, but research shows some cases being diagnosed in living subjects by using brain scans to search for the tau
Gladwell describes how the effect of contact to the head can have on the neurological system. He shows in his article that players that play in the league can suffer from brain damage that is similar to Alzheimer or dementia. This damage is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy and it occurs when individuals suffer from many concussions or any other form of head injury. This damage has a lasting affect and can cause people to die at an earlier age then which they should. The life expectancy goes down for people with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. In this article it talks about many play...
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS, is a disease that can alter the daily life of a human in monumental and unending ways. In one of her articles about ALS, Caroline Ingre (2015) states that the disease is a “fatal neurodegenerative disorder” and further supports this by noting how the disease is marked by the degeneration in motor neurons in the brain, brainstem, and spinal cord (p. 181). This basically means that
Athletes are one of the most highly paid professions, and with that comes a great responsibility to everyone but themselves, even it means putting their lives, and others around them at risk. A football player’s goal is to entertain the fans that tune in to watch them, however their only job is to win their games, and untimely a Super Bowl Championship, but not for themselves, for the franchise that owns them and their bodies. As long as they can run a play and take a hit foot players are gold to their employers, or if you will their owners. “Toughing it out, turns out, can kill people.” (Diaz Truman, M 2013), and cause irreversible brain damage to football players. Continuing to ignore evidence that supports the growing concern of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and how it relates to the NFL players is troubling because of the long term affects it has on a player’s mental s...
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 Effects of Concussions on Human Beings. Did you know, that someone suffers from a brain injury every 21 seconds (Haas)? Children get concussions all the time, and most of the time they go unnoticed. The majority of concussions happen when one is playing a sport such as football, hockey, or lacrosse. Many famous athletes have had their careers, even their lives, cut short due to concussions.
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 years 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). The specific brain regions affected by CTE are often debated, but some of the areas most commonly agreed upon to show deterioration are: limbic system (thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, mammillary bodies), hippocampus, cerebral cortex, frontal lobes, substantia nigra, and the brainstem (McKee et al., 2009; Baugh et al., 2012).... ...
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, specifically the motor neurons. Motor neurons carry signals from the brain and spinal cord to all of the muscles in your body. When a person has ALS, they are not able to generate enough motor neurons, and the brain cannot then initiate and control muscle movement. After some time, when the disease gets progressively worse, the patient has difficulty speaking, swallowing, breathing, etc. These kinds of tasks are essential to the body, so when it gets to a certain point, the patient dies. There are several other names for this disease, such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Motor Neurone Disease (MND).
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.
In sports, the best athletes are the individuals that give each team a chance to win every game. The bad news for the best athletes is that sometimes their health gets put second to their abilities. Roughly 1.8 to 3.6 million sports related concussions happen each year (Concussion Statistics). Stronger and faster athletes as well as more impact of the hits or falls have doubled the number of concussions in a decade (Concussion Statistics). Concussions can happen to every athlete, but when it happens to the star athletes, it is different. Schools have to follow direct concussion safety laws, but professional sports have more leniencies (Get). Wins are more important in the professional leagues compared to the high school and amateur levels. Wins lead to the coveted playoffs. The playoffs can lead to an even more coveted championship. During the playoffs, the games are shown on national television, seen by millions of fans. In the games, players can shine in the national spotlight. If an athlete performs well that individual can be paid more money in the future. If the coaches win their respective divisions, conferences, make the playoffs, make the championship game, or win the championship, it all leads to a higher pay for the coach. It also leads to more money for the team and city as well. Winning means so much in the professional leagues. But is it really win at all costs? As much as I personally love sports with a passion, I would prefer each player get fully recovered and then come back, rather than rush back still not at one hundred percent. I want my favorite players to play for a long time not for short stints between each injury. The player’s health is way more important to me then the championship. Rushing players back in...
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a degenerative disease affecting the human nervous system. It is a deadly disease that cripples and kills its victims due to a breakdown in the body’s motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells in the brainstem and spinal cord that control muscle contractions. In ALS, these neurons deteriorate to a point that all movement, including breathing, halts. Muscle weakness first develops in the muscles of body parts distant from the brain, such as the hands, and subsequently spreads through other muscle groups closer to the brain. Such early symptoms as this, however, can hardly be noticed.
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 long term effects of brain injuries caused by football. Mike webster was the first former NFL player diagnosed with CTE. After retirement, Webster suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression, and acute bone and muscle pain. He lived out of his pickup truck or in train stations between Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, even though his friends and former teammates offered to rent apartments for him. In his last years Webster lived with his youngest son, Garrett, who though only a teenager at the time, had to act as the parent to his father. Webster's wife Pamela divorced him six months before his death in 2002 of a heart attack when he was 50 years old. Football has the highest injury rate of any team sport. Each child aged 9 to 12 who plays the
In 2005 Dr. Bennet Omalu first discovered CTE In the Brain Of the retired player Mike webster, after he passed in 2002, at the age of 50. However CTE has been identified, there is no way to diagnose it in living individuals. In a study done by the National Institutes of Health, and the Concussion Research Funding, they came to the conclusion that, “Current tests cannot reliably identify concussions, and no technique reliably differentiates individuals who will recover quickly, suffer long-term symptoms, or develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)” (NIH, NFL, and Concussion Research Funding). Therefore, currently there is no way to treat or identify whether or not a person has CTE officially until they have died. Doctors only way of identifying if a person has CTE is to diagnose based off their symptoms. CTE symptoms vary based on the severity of the case, However according to researchers at the CTE Center at Boston University School of Medicine; “CTE is associated with “memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse-control problems, aggression, depression, and, eventually, progressive dementia” (Karaim). Theses Symptoms have a dramatic effect on the everyday lives of the people that have CTE. With nearly anywhere from 1.6 million to 3.8 million concussions occur each year, leading professional athletes and
CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Along with ALS, CTE is formed when the motor neurons are no longer able to communicate with each other which is caused by an individual receiving a blow to the head or head trauma. However, there are some differences between ALS and CTE that distinguishes them as two different diseases. CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain with a history of repetitive head trauma along with concussions. When someone develops CTE, there will be a few symptoms causing the person to change their behavior. These symptoms include: memory loss, confusion, aggression, erratic behavior, impaired judgement, and possibly progressive dementia. CTE is sometimes mistaken with Alzheimer's, however CTE is more common for athletes. Like ALS, CTE is developed when someone receives a head trauma. However, CTE also forms from receiving a repetitive amount of concussions and blows on the body. Since most athletes are involved in sports that involves physical impact, they are more vulnerable and their chances of getting this disease is higher than most average
“Researchers found that players approximately head the soccer ball 1000 to 1500 times a year, once they exceed that number researchers observed significant injury”(RNSA). Recently the Major League Soccer association decided that kids under 12 can’t head the ball during the game. Soccer players ages zero to 11 can't and shouldn't be able to head the ball. Heading can cause brain injury plus cognitive impairment.