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Concussions over the past 30 years in the NFL
Concussions around the world
Hockey concussions in around the world
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Hockey and football both the national sports of Canada and the United States are both extremely popular among many different cultures and the revenue these sports create for the leagues, cities and players is absolutely incredible. Us, as fans see the great moments within sports we see the big goals and game winning touchdowns but in reality there is a very dark side to these activities that is not talked about in the media. That dark side is concussions, concussions are a constant threat across the world of sports. Football and hockey are two sports with a level of play that causes an increase in concussions. Medical experts and leagues are doing the best they can to understand this growing issue but it is one of those things that is harder than a rock to understand and deal with. In order to understand concussions role on the game of hockey and how to prevent and treat these awful things, one must open there eyes wide and look firstly at the actually game and its development and then look at the causes, symptoms, …show more content…
Recently the University of Calgary conducted a study on concussions in the NHL. Conducted over seven seasons and led by the Faculty of Kinesiology. Many groups and organizations within the league are doing their best to bring about recognition and proper screening for these injuries. The NHL board members and team owners have historically paved the way in professional sports for establishing a concussion surveillance and recovery programs. The recovery process for these injuries takes time but with help from doctors and concussion boards, the NHL is taking a precautionary course on concussions. Which is huge, with almost weekly tests on every player ensuring the concussion is not present. This increases safety and awareness when a concussion is present. Overall, a great step in the direction of lowering the effects of concussion within
Injuries are a huge part in professional sports. When playing a professional sport athletes do not always take into consideration that their bodies are vulnerable to injuries. One of the leading injuries that can end athlete’s career is concussion. According Kia Boriboon author of the article “Concussion Management In Football: Don 't Shake It Off” concussion occurs when the brain repeatedly collides with the skull. Concussions are serious and cannot be taken lightly they are detrimental to a person’s athletic career as well as life. Players who have suffered from a concussion or like symptoms of a concussion are at risk and should not continue playing their sport until cleared by a medical doctor, who is an expert in concussions. If concussions are not treated with the appropriate medical care, it can cause physical and mental health problems for athletes well after their professional career have ended. In
Researchers and doctors had little information on the proper management and care of someone who sustained a concussion. There were 2,350 participants in this study, with each player being enrolled in any one of the Ivy League schools, University of Virginia, or University of Pittsburgh. Players who experienced a mild head injury during practice or a game were removed from the field to be examined and assessed for “cognitive and psychosocial dysfunction through the use of neuropsychological techniques and self-reported questionnaires up to four times after injury” (Barth, et al., 1989). In order for a player to be diagnosed with a mild head injury, he must have had either a head contact injury or a complete loss of consciousness that lasted under two minutes and displayed some sort of memory and/or attention deficient. The results of Barth’s study showed that there were 195 documented mild head injuries.
Even after the new standards, what do we do when a player gets one? That’s where the advancements in concussion detection and treatment come into play. According to the article “Advancements in Concussion Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment” the writer states “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 207,830 trips to an emergency room annually between 2001 and 2005 due to sports participation injuries” ( “Advancements in Concussion Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment | The Sport Journal” ). The report from the CDC shows how many reported sports injuries occur in a short period.
The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.
Ice hockey is a fast-paced and full contact sport whether you are in a body checking league or not. However with a full contact sports, concussions are unfortunately inevitable. There are numerous factors that play into the number of concussions in ice hockey. Body checking and numerous head impact injuries that occur in hockey are a huge reason for concussions. Although administrators are taking steps towards concussion prevention and education, this education is proving to be ineffective. This paper will take a look at the various injury mechanisms that contribute to concussions and other head-impact injuries in ice hockey, as well as discussing concussion education.
Even though the devastation of concussions is just rising to the surface, they have always been around. In 1994, the NFL started a committee called the MTBI (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury). Dr. Elliot Pellman was appointed as chair, and he was quoted saying, “We think the issue of knees, of drugs and steroids and drinking is a far greater problem, according to the number of incidents” (Ezell). This quote shows how concussions did not hold much importance, even though it should have been the committee's main focus. This is ironic, because in today’s sport world concussions are a highly talked about topic. They hold such significance that some rules are even being changed to lower the risk for players.
Through sports or through everyday life, concussions tend to happen. 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 among people aged 15 to 24 years. (U.S National Library of Medicine). Coaches and parents often do not go through the right procedures or protocols when dealing with a teenager who has received a blow to the head. The usual questions that are asked when there is a head injury are, “what day is it, what’s the score, and how many fingers am I holding up?” Now these are not poor questions, but these questions alone cannot determine if a person has suffered a concussion. The correct method, which they are now implementing in most professional sports leagues, is for anyone with a head injury to take a legitimate concussion test performed by the team doctor. (WebbMD) At present the symptoms can be hit or miss. After receiving a concussion, research shows that an “estimated 80 to 90% of concussions heal spontaneously in the first 7 to 10 days”. (Barton Straus) But, it is important to remember not to return until all symptoms are
How can a concussion be prevented? What is the minimum time an athlete needs to be out of the game after a concussion? What are the chances of an athlete suffering post-traumatic stress disorders after a blow to the head? In all sports athletes are prone to injuries, they can happen at any time and at any given moment. Nevertheless, people that have suffered from a head injury or concussion will also have problems dealing with their learning processes in the long run.
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. Brain damage and death can result from serial concussions (Schafer). When one suffers from a concussion, one’s brain needs time to recover physically and mentally. Between 2002 and 2006, statistics showed that 52,000 people died from concussions and about 275,000 were hospitalized (Fundukian). Everyone’s recovery process is different (“Injury and Pain Care”). Although concussions seem minor, they are very serious brain injuries that may result in severe damage to one’s brain.
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. Concussions occur time after time throughout different sporting events and many are familiar with the word concussion, but what really is a concussion?
From the year 2001 to 1005 children aged 5-18 accounted for 2.4 million emergency room visits due to sports related injuries. Of these visits around 6 percent involved a concussion(The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Every athlete that receives a concussion does not necessarily go to the emergency room. Athletic trainers, when available and certified, can oversee the recovery of an athlete without a trip to the emergency room. Some concussions go untreated altogether. While the percentage may seem low, looki...
s football too dangerous for players? Because of recent discoveries about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), many believe football is too dangerous, and rules need to change. Those on the other side of the argument believe football players know the risks and thus should be allowed to play. Today, I will discuss why I believe that football is a game with risks, but football should be allowed to continue in high school.
This is shown in the studies conducted in article 1 which show that in the past 7 years there have been 300 plus accounts of concussions in the US, while between the years 1982 and 1996 there were only 101 total accounts. It is staggering to see just how high the number of cases of concussions have risen over the years. This can also be dangerous because adolescent brains are more likely to have long lasting/permanent damage since they're still developing. It is also because of their developing brains that it takes longer for them to heal from concussions. This is yet another reason why there should be required time out period for athletes, especially for the younger people who take longer to recover from it's
In the article “Hockey Hits Can Lead to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury." by ABC News, it states that “Blows to the head and body cause a series of changes in the brain, including mechanical injuries to brain cells and their connections, stress on cells that are not receiving enough oxygen, and, in more severe cases, damage to specific regions to the brain that are next to sharp interior surfaces of the skull, Doctor Turkstra explained.” (ABC News 1) Dr. Turkstra’s discovery has proved that the brain can easily get damaged during contact hockey. The brain can heal after some time for mild injuries, but not correctly. After multiple injuries, certain regions of the brain can get permanently damaged. Also in the article “Concussions in Hockey May Cause Brain Damage” by H. Laird, it talks about the occurrence of concussions in the sport of hockey. The article states that “Each year, more than 300,000 sports-related concussions (SRC) occur in the sports of hockey in the United States, according to a 2013 ‘Ice Hockey Summit II’” (Laird 1) Concussions have been occurring more and more often through the years in ice hockey, and the risk is increasing. Many neurologists advise that hits to the head be penalized for the safety of the
Tracking rates and longstanding repercussions of injuries from sports will be vital. The yearly rate of disastrous damage to an athlete's body related to 6.9 per 100 000 participants in sports or recreation, and an extraordinary degree of those impaired are athletes younger than the age of 21 years old. Hockey, like many other sports is a major factor of youth injuries that last a lifetime. Youth athletes eleven to twelve years of age who participate in minor hockey leagues that approve of bodychecking contain more than a triple increase in risk of brain trauma from concussions or other damages to the body. Concussions are unpublicized by sport officials and teammates; “a topmost of 24.3 concussions per 1000 player and hour of the game was