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Essay on football injuries and prevention
Short term and long term effects of concussions
Short term and long term effects of concussions
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Football is one of America’s most played sports, a fan favorite. Roughly an estimated 1,088,158 high school aged kids play each year. This leaves the question, are the risks of injury of football at this level and other levels too dangerous to play? There have been a lot of studies to show that this to be true. I personally, would have to agree. The risks of football injuries are not worth playing the game in my opinion. I have heard the old saying my whole life growing up, “start them while they’re young”. This to me is the worst advice anyone could give concerning young kids and football. At the young age of 5 pee wee football usually begins. Therefore creating an increase in the same types of head injuries that are suffered in the collegiate and professional level. The long term effects of such injuries are over whelming. Research shows that numerous concussions over a period of years cause long term damage to the brain including, memory loss, sensory impairment, and neurological diseases. All of which are preventable without the injuries. Then too, there are those injuries that are so serious that it causes death on impact or days later. An average of twelve high school football players die each year due to such traumatic head …show more content…
If by chance you are one of the lucky ones who make it that far, the effects of the injuries are compiling with each hit you take for this sport. At this point in your life the amount of hits you’ve taken and dealt are probably reaching a serious number. Research has found that 243 football deaths have occurred from 1990 to 2010. Out of the deaths 62 were due to brain injuries, this does not take into account the accumulating long term health issues caused by such hits. 38 of the deaths were from other issues such as an undiagnosed heart condition. These statics are
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
Children who are active recklessly engage in activities where injuries can occur. Nobody can predict when or how seriously anybody will get injured during an activity, however, the risks of children playing tackle football is prevalent where the dangers are imminent. The game of tackle football on a youth level is dangerous for children since they are developing physically and mentally. According to an article from The Atlantic, “America’s most dangerous football is in the peewee leagues, not the National Football League” (Barra, 2013). According to a journal article, “sports injuries account for approximately 23% of pediatric emergency department injury related visits” (Podberesky, Unsell & Anton, 2009). “Of these sports injury-related
Everyone has heard about the so called “Concussion Epidemic” in the National Football League. The stories are everywhere from SportsCenter to local news stations. Concussions are when a person gets hit on the head or even somewhere else on the body and the brain slams into the skull due to the impact. If concussions are such a big deal in the pros, what does it mean for youth sports in America? Nearly 15 percent of all sports related injuries in high school athletes are concussions(American Headache Society). Concussions are a major health concern for youth sports and everyday more research is being shown about the long term effects of repeated blows to the head.
The National Football League was formed on August 20, 1920. Players wore pads, not quite as protective as the ones today, helmets and legs pads. Even though their protective gear wasn 't all that protective they still made contact with the players of the opposing teams. As the years progressed the league made many changes to the rules due to player safety. They invented better protective gear for the players and they also made more strict rules regarding playing guidelines. The main goal of those rules, like the targeting rule that is so controversial today, is to protect the players. The targeting rule itself states that no player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown of his helmet, when in
Since football’s inception, it has been considered a manly sport. Young boys have been encouraged by their parents to participate in the game. For many boys, it is considered a rite of passage. However, football is a dangerous sport. A study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy found, “an estimated 5.25 million football-related injuries among children and adolescents between 6 and 17 years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments between 1990 and 2007. The annual number of football-related injuries increased 27 percent during the 18-year study period, jumping from 274,094 in 1990 to 346,772 in 2007” (Nation 201). These reported injuries include sprains and strains, broken bones, cracked ribs, torn ligaments, and concussions. A concussion usually happens when a player takes a hard hit to the head or is knocked unconscious on the playing field, and if not diagnosed and treated quickly, a concussion can result in death.
In the article “Should Kids Play Football” from the Scholastic Scope on February 2015, writer Jennifer Shotz discusses both issues of the benefits and dangers of playing American football. For example, Jennifer Shots mentioned that tens of thousands of young football players get concussions every year. She states that most players return to the game after they are healed but some never return because their concussion was too severe to their health. On the other hand, the writer also discusses how football isn't the only sport that encounters concussions. The rules of football are always changing and each new rule provides a safer way to play the game. For example, the writer notes that Pop Warner has reduced the amount of practice time dedicated
“Concussion rates for children under the age of 19 who play football have doubled in the last decade, even though the overall sports participation has declined” (Youth Football Concussion Statistics). Football is extremely popular in American culture. Children all across the world love watching and playing the sport. However, many studies have shown numerous possible long term effects of starting the beloved sport when young. Undeveloped brains have a harder time recovering from bumps and blows that occur during playing time. After examining the long term effects of children playing football, it is clear that the tradition of tackle football in youth should be held off until the brain is more fully developed,
“Maybe I´m stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and carry a football, then I´m not telling anybody”, Ricky Williams, NFL Football player. The argument about whether kids should play football or not is an important topic to argue. People need to understand that the concussions and other injuries are more serious with young kids. The problem is that many people think that it could be stopped by not allowing kids to play at all. Although parents can reduce risk of injury by not allowing their kids to play football, parents should let their children play football because it lets kids follow their dreams, it helps kids become more mature and independant, and if kids use proper technique they can reduce injuries.
Football is America’s sport. In many American households, Sunday afternoons are dedicated to watching professional football on TV with family cheering on their favorite team, and going to a football game is the ultimate fan experience. Children idolize the best football players and want to grow up and dream to play football just like their heroes. Youth tackle football is a part of American culture, and the age of starting tackle football seems to decrease as time has progressed. More kids at a younger age are being exposed to football that involves extreme physical contact, especially constant contact with the player’s head.
The Columbus Children’s Hospital was the first to compare injuries between college and high school players. I can infer this when I read this from the text, “Four out of every 1,000 high school football exposure resulted in an injury, while eight out of every 1,000 collegiate football exposure resulted in an injury.” In conclusion, I could say that yes, high school football is dangerous. Most of its danger would come from not having the correct equipment, or running plays with too many head hits. If coaches would reduce plays with head hits, punish those that hit too hard for no reason in need, and provide better gear, high school football would be safe.
Not only do we know the effects of playing football at a young age, we also have real life stories that have occured to real people. For example, In 2006 a 13 year old named Zachary Lystatdt’s head hit the ground in a routine tackle. He was in pain, so the coach took him out of the game for two plays. He returned to the game and on the last play he collapsed. Zachary was rushed to the hospital and was required to have emergency neurosurgery. After this life changing surgery, 9 months later he was finally able to communicate. Now, he is still learning how to walk (Hamblin, James. “Football Alters the Brains of Kids as Young as 8.”)This story sets an example of why children should not be able to play contact sports until adulthood. Unfortunately, this is not the only sad story about a child who has had life changing effects from playing
Following behind motor vehicle crashes, traumatic brain injury in sports is the second leading cause of traumatic brain injuries for people fifth-teen to twenty-four years of age. Immense concerns follows given that American football accounts for the highest incidence of concussions (Rowson and Duma 2130). In addition, th...
From long practice hours, hot summer workouts, and many Friday nights, my personal observation of this dangerous sport is exceptionally prevalent. My initial experience of the damage that football brings came my eighth grade year when I witnessed a senior football player on my team try and eat a phone on the ride home after receiving a concussion in the third quarter of the game. Which is a prime example to defend the fact that football related injuries to the head result in people not “being all there.” Not only have I seen someone try and eat a phone, but I have also witnessed head injuries resulting in my own friend randomly yelling at me after a game for no reason, and also a friend trying to jump down a full flight of stairs thinking he was starring in a movie. The fast paced, high intensity contact that comes with playing football is nothing to think flippantly of when it plays a role on brain trauma, and the results of brain trauma.
Football isn’t even the most dangerous contact sport that you could play. Other high school sports have recorded just as much, or even more concussions than football. In an article on WebMD.com Robert Preidt writes that, “Between 2010 and 2015, the concussion rate was higher in girls' soccer than in boys' football, the findings showed. During the 2014-2015 school year, concussions were more common in girls' soccer than in any other sport in the study.” Despite being viewed as one of the most dangerous sports, football does not even have the largest rate of concussions or the most serious concussions. In fact, in another study on Fox Sports.com, soccer was seen to be responsible for more of the serious concussions. Concussion numbers can be dropped with attentiveness and responsibility as kids play the game of football. Most concussions in youth football are a result of the player being irresponsible or intentionally violent while they play. But, new rules are in place that diminish this style of play. The amount of concussions can be reduced, and organizations are working on making football a safer game to play. In an article on the New York Times Marvin Washington, a former NFL player, says, “I know this is contrary to public opinion, but the game of football is safer than it has ever been, and is evolving into an even safer game.” The safety of football players at all
There are many critics that say football at the high school level is too dangerous. For example, Nationwide Children’s Hospital has published an article that’s cited statistics regarding student player injuries. If a high school athlete is going to undertake the risk of playing football, he should know the possible injuries that he may possibly face while playing football.