Cause And Effect Essay On Concussions

Concussions

Concussions have lifelong effects that are detrimental to people's health. 99% of people who have had concussions have C.T.E. which is a very traumatic brain injury. A substantial amount of NFL players have C.T.E., and studies show that former NFL players get dementia six times faster than other people their age. Some must wonder if trying to play professional football or just playing football in general is worth the lifelong risks that may be acquired. NFL player make lots of money, but they also endanger themselves. College athletes obtain a free education, but they also put their health at risk. Even with the potential of free college education or monetary gain, full contact sports such as football are detrimental rather than

beneficial.
Most football players obtain undiagnosed concussions which can be very fatal. In an article Shaw says, “A study from the National Center for Injury Prevention found that 47% of high school football players say they suffer a concussion each season, with 37% of those reporting multiple concussions in a season. But according to the American College of Sports Medicine, some 85% of sports-related concussions go undiagnosed” (Shaw). Since 85% of concussions go undiagnosed that leads to a greater risk of people obtaining either severe brain damage or possibly death if they keep playing with a concussion, which actually has happened in the past couple of years. Shaw also states,
Many former players, still young, report persistent headaches, fatigue, difficulty
paying attention, memory problems, mood swings, and personality changes.

Even a study commissioned by the football league itself found a higher rate of dementia among retired players than in the general population -- about six times as high in players over 50 compared to other men in the same age group (Shaw).

Concussions have lifelong effects that are detrimental to people's´ health. Former NFL players will get dementia six times faster than other people their age. That is because football is such a fast and physical game, that if 85% of concussions go undiagnosed, it will lead to severe brain damage. It is not worth the risks of obtaining an injury that is life long. Undiagnosed concussions are detrimental to people's health. Undiagnosed concussions can not only lead to severe brain damage but players could also end up dying on the field. That is why undiagnosed concussions can be

fatal.
The speed of NFL football games is too fast and dangerous for people’s health. In an article Giles says, “According to the NFL, there were 271 documented game-related concussions this past season — the most recorded by the league since 2011” (Giles). The number of concussions increases every year and will continue to increase unless they change the game completely. Players are at a higher risk for concussions since the game is too fast and physical. Players are getting faster and stronger every year, and without the proper technique and proper training there will continue to be more injuries such as concussions every year. Giles also states, “The hit, at an estimated 707 miles per hour, carried about 1600 pounds of tackling force. It flattened Brown on his back, seemingly knocking him unconscious” (Giles). There will always be hard hits and cheap shots in football. Unless they change the game completely there will always be injuries caused by hard hits. In addition, “Jim Nantz, the NFL’s normally unflappable play-by-play guy, was apoplectic, calling the assault "disgraceful” (Giles). Hits like that are very disgraceful because it is hurting a lot of the players. Also hits like that are making people realize that it is a very dangerous game to play. The popularity of the sport will continue to decrease unless they do something to try and take these hits away. Even with the advanced up to date equipment, they won’t prevent injuries especially with hits like that. Head injury expert Kim Gorgens, a neuropsychologist at the University of Denver (DU), says, “most concussions deliver 95 g's to the human body upon impact. G-force is a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity. In addition, the average football player receives 103 g's when hit during a game” (University of Denver). The average football player gets hit hard enough everytime they get hit to cause them to obtain a concussion. The advanced equipment make it so there won’t be as bad of injuries, but injuries will still occur because the game is too fast and dangerous for people's health.
The number of concussions increase annually. In an article Gessel says “An estimated 300 ,000 sport-related traumatic brain injuries, predominantly concussions, occur annually in the United States. Sports are second only to motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury” (Gessel). There are a lot of sports related brain injuries and they are second only to vehicular crashes. Since the game is getting faster and the players are getting stronger there will most likely be more than 300,000 sports related brain injuries next year and even more the year after that unless they change the rules of the game. Gessel also states “Concussions represented 8.9% (n = 396) of all high school athletic injuries and 5.8% (n = 482) of all collegiate athletic injuries. Among both groups, rates of concussions were highest in the sports of football and soccer” (Gessel). Football is one of the most physical sports which leads to more injuries such as concussions. Even with the protective equipment football still has one of the highest rates for concussions. In addition, “Even after more than 5,000 ex-players sued the NFL, saying it hid the dangers of head injuries, the league has so far denied claims the sport is dangerous” (Bellware). The game is very dangerous and now that more people know that there will be less people wanting to play and there will be less people actually playing. The number of concussions will continue to increase annually unless they severely change not only the rules of the game but the game itself.
The risk of injuries is so high in football that there is less people wanting to play and less parents that want their children to play football. In an article Byars says “In the 2008-09 academic year, 1.14 million high school boys played football. In 2016-17, that number had come down to 1.09 million. The percentage of age-eligible high school boys playing football also declined, from 13.2 percent in 2012-2013 to 12.7 percent in 2016-2017”(Byars). If they don’t change the rules of football or make them teach the right technique there will be less people playing with more injuries occuring every year. Also the popularity of the game keeps decreasing because people don't like seeing other people get severely hurt. Even if they severely changed the game, there is no guarantee that the popularity of the game would increase. Byars also states that “A recent study by Boston University found that 99 percent of players who donated their brains for postmortem research had CTE” (Byars). CTE is chronic traumatic encephalopathy which is a traumatic brain injury. Most NFL players end up with traumatic brain injuries and because of these brain injuries it has led to a lot of former NFL players to commit suicide or pass away early. Since the risk of injuries is continuing to increase and that these injuries have lifelong effects, there is less kids wanting to play and less parents wanting their children to play football.
Concussions cause lifelong brain injuries that can lead to either suicide or death on the field.

In an article Scott Fujita, a former NFL player, talks about his experience in the NFL and if he would let the hypothetical son he doesn’t have play football. In an article he states “I’m just glad I have three daughters and will never have that conversation” (Fujita). Scott Fujita is just glad he has three daughters that aren't interested in playing football so he doesn't have to make that decision. Even though football was a big part of his life he doesn’t know if he would let his hypothetical son he doesn’t have play football because the speed of the game is increasing which causes injuries to increase as well. One of the reasons he doesn’t want his son to play is because of concussions. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, stated that the game is safe and that he would encourage his son to play football. They are trying to make the game safer, yes, but the game is not currently safe. There are too many risks of getting injured for the game to be safe. Fujita also states “The latest dark reminder came Monday, when a 16-year-old high school player from Brocton, N.Y., died after a helmet-to-helmet hit in a game Friday night”(Fujita). An innocent kid died playing the game that he loves due to a severe brain injury. Football players are getting stronger and faster every year, so unless they seriously change the game there will be more severe injuries including death. Not

only can people die on the field from severe injuries but those injuries can cause death later in life. “Defensive back and Super Bowl winner Tyler Sash died in 2015 at the age of 27 due to a painkiller overdose. After his family donated Sash’s brain, Boston University researchers said he had CTE that advanced to a stage rarely seen in someone his age” (Bellware). Tyler Sash isn't the only person who has committed suicide due to severe brain injuries. Those severe brain injuries have caused some of the biggest names in the game to commit suicide like Mike Webster, Aaron Hernandez, Dave Duerson, ect. The severe brain injuries they obtained while playing football caused them to commit suicide. Not everyone will die on the field from injuries they've obtained but the severe brain injuries can cause death later in life. Therefore playing a full contact sport can be detrimental.
Professional football player are almost guaranteed to obtain a serious brain injury. In an article Crepeau says, “It showed that of 111 brains donated by former NFL players for the study, 110 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (C.T.E.) which causes memory loss, confusion, dementia, and may be linked to a range of other disorders”(Crepeau). Football causes about 99% of people who play to get C.T.E. due to it being such a physical game. In addition,
Even the individuals posthumously diagnosed with "mild" CTE showed signs of behavior
problems, cognitive issues, and mood disorders when they were alive. Substance use disorders, a likelihood of taking their own lives, and impulsivity were also common. In addition to those traits, those with severe CTE were frequently diagnosed with dementia (Loria).
Even people with mild C.T.E. experience different behavior problems. There doesn't have to be a severe case of C.T.E. to have behavior problems or get dementia faster than the normal person. Even with the protective equipment people still get concussions because of bad technique and the speed of the game keeps increasing. Even with the advanced technology and advanced studies to make better equipment football players are bound to obtain an injury. Crepeau also says, “This [equipment] will not make football a “safe” activity. Football and many other sports cannot be made “safe” because they are inherently violent, and their appeal is built upon the violence and risk it embodies”(Crepeau). Since the speed of the game is increasing every year and the players are getting stronger and faster every year the injuries will continue to increase even with the advanced equipment being used. There is no possible way to lower the injuries without severely changing the game. Therefore severe brain injuries are almost always going to occur, so it is not worth the risk of obtaining a lifelong injury.

Football is a very dangerous sport because the speed of the game is so fast and the players keep getting faster and stronger as well. With the speed of the game increasing every year the number of injuries also increase annually. Since the injury rate keeps increasing the popularity of the game decreases due to players not wanting to obtain an injury especially one that has a lifelong effect like concussions do. Concussions have a lifelong effects such as C.T.E. or getting dementia way earlier than the average age on everyone who obtains one. 99% of NFL players that were studied have C.T.E. which is a very traumatic brain injury. That is why even with the potential of free college education or monetary gain, full contact sports such as football are detrimental rather than beneficial.