Concussions: The Causes And Effects Of Concussions

A concussion is a bruise to the brain caused by the contact of your brain hitting you skull with significant force. Too many concussions can cause diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and CTE. The effects of concussions can be seen through former NFL players causing major universities and organizations to work towards limiting the number of concussion in sports.

“A concussion is a bruise to the brain caused by sudden a sudden blow to the head,” (Powell). Symptoms within a few minutes of a concussion are fuzzy images, seeing two of everything, seeing a bright light, memory distortion, and there can be a huge amount of throbbing pain. After the throbbing pain “…an awakening…You asked what happened and someone explain the injury with a cute euphemism. You had you bell rung… reassured you return to action,” (Powell). Once reentering the game the chances of a repeat episode have just multiplied. The chances of long term brain damage have also multiplied. Concussions can also cause changes to brain structure and in the density of the brain’s white matter. MRI’s can detect changes in white matter of the brain but it is very limited. If you’re seeing changes to the brain that an MRI can see that’s if very worrisome (Healy). Players in contact sports also had the worst performances on test of verbal learning and memory than any other non contact sport. There are also other major symptoms that are major diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and CTE.

The effects of too many concussions are Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and CTE. Alzheimer’s Disease is one form of dementia that gets worse over time, and affects memory thinking and behavior. Parkinson’s Disease is a muscle disorder that is caused when the nerve cells in the brain don’...

... middle of paper ...

...ns, and he believes that the were mostly the severe forms of concussions (Farmer). “Merril Hoge, a running back with the Steelers and Bears, left midway through the 1994 season. Veteran quarterback Chris Miller suffered five concussions in a 14-month period and will take a sabbatical this season,” (Farmer). Concussions threaten the lives of every player, but they are being studied and scientists are using new data to find ways of preventing concussions.

It has been proven through former players, their physicians, & current research that concussions cause major mental diseases while organizations and universities are creating rules and regulations to prevent as many concussions as possible. A possible way to prevent concussions is to teach kids at a young age how to tackle the right way. By teaching them at a young age, tackling the right way becomes a habit.