Essay On Concussions

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A concussion can be defined as a traumatic brain injury from a blow to the body that results in a shaking of the brain. Concussions have become a more popular injury throughout the years as sports have progressed. Athletes of any age can get a concussion no matter the sport. One of the most important steps in curing a concussion is recognizing that the athlete has one. Without recognizing that an athlete has a concussion potentially could lead the athlete to have more problems later and may cause their symptoms to get worse. The earlier a concussion is recognized the faster the recovery process can be put into place.
The first position statement about concussions was posted in 2004 by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA). The …show more content…

Most commonly they are recognized by athletes, athletic trainers or medical personnel, and parents. Concussions can be difficult to diagnose if one does not know how to know when they or someone else has one. Parents can be a big help when diagnosing athlete’s concussions because they know their children best.3 Athletic trainers recognize concussions more easily because they are around athletes when they are in competition or in practice. When concussions go unrecognized most of the time it is because the athlete does not know when they have a concussion and because the athlete does not want to miss any playing time or stop playing their sport.3 Other reasons that concussions may go unrecognized is if an athlete says they may not feel good but the parents think that their kid is just being a “whimp” after getting hit in a sport.3 In order to help with the recognition process of concussions parents and athletes need to know more about them.3 Some athletes do not realize the dangers of concussions and underestimate them.3 Another reason that it is hard to diagnose a concussion is because everyone has different symptoms which may be confusing to athletes. Overall there needs to be more teaching of concussions to not only parents and athletes but also to …show more content…

All of these can be very expensive and not readily available on site of the injury. Brain imaging is the easiest way to fully be sure that an athlete has or does not have a concussion. Another easy way to see if an athlete has a concussion is to use sideline testing. Sideline testing can be done on sight and right after an injury or possible injury happens.4 Sideline testing can help an athletic trainer be sure that an athlete indeed does have a concussion. It can also be used to see if an athlete should or should not return to play.4 Coaches could be taught how to do this as well if medical personnel or an athletic trainer is not on the premises. Sideline testing can be a useful tool but it does need some improvements. It also needs flexibility in how testing is done because every athlete experiences something

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