Horror story of sports injuries begins with a young man by the name of Austin Trenum. He was only 17-years-old when misery struck him while playing a football game. Austin’s final play left him with a serious concussion. He got up from the play showing no signs of a brain injury. Austin’s parents took him to the emergency room just to ensure there was no need for further treatment. They were advised not to allow Austin to do anything except (bed rest to rest his brain) for forty eight hours. Since Austin showed no symptoms, his parents allowed him to participate in hunting activities, to go to a party, and to play video games because Austin assured them he was fine. For no apparent reason at all, Austin went upstairs two days later and hanged himself in his room. There was nothing in his life, in his character, no depression, or any mental problems. He was a bright, popular, well liked young man with future plans. There was nothing that preceded or showed signs after his injury to suggest that he even had thoughts of suicide. His concussion affected the part in his brain that affects judgment and impulse control. Proof of this came when his parents donated his brain to be studied for any useful knowledge that would prevent this from happening to any other family. The most important fault to his injury was his parents didn’t protect him from further damage and heed the warnings. “I never realized they were traumatic brain injuries.” said Gil Trenum about his son’s concussion. (White 2011)
Just this past year there was a case of an athlete suffering a serious brain injury that was brought to the forefront here in the Central Louisiana area. The athlete, Josh Mercer, who at the time of the initial injury was a junior at Alexand...
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... Strategies for Remaining Healthy.” Ultimate Conditioning. June 20, 2011: September 19, 2011. http://www.tacfitcammandoreview.org
College Football Player’s Suicide Raises New Issues on Link Between Concussions Brian Disease. ND. Justice and American Politics. 2011. http://www.subtlebraininjury.com
Patricios, Jon. “Sports-related concussion relevant to the South African football environment: the incidence of concussion is lower in football then in other contact sports such as Rugby.” CME: Your SA Journal of CPD. May 1, 2010. September 19, 2011. http://www.thefreelibrary.com
Partsch III, Raymond. “Mercer overcomes brain injury to find success on the field with Alexandria High.”November 10, 2011.September 19, 2011.
http://www.thetowntalk.com
White , Joseph. “Parents seek answers for son’s concussion, suicide.” Durangoherald. 2011. http://www.durangoherald.com
Thiel, Art. “NFL’s Plight on Brain Injuries Not Over.” Al Jazeera America. N.p., n.d. Web. 10
What does Jovan Belcher, Ray Esterling and O.J. Murdock Have in common? They all were famous football players who commented suicide. Each player had something called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. This is a condition where sufferers have had repeated hits to the head that leads to concussions and ultimately head trauma. In this research paper, we will go over the data about the NFL to see could they have prevented CTE in these players if they had placed the player’s safety first.
Kremer, Andrea. "Health of the Game: Brain Injuries beyond Concussions 0." NFL.com. N.p., 7 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. (Online Video)
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...
Melissa, Block. “Sidelined By Brain Injury, Ex-NFL Player Copes with “Desperation”.” All Things Considered (NPR) (2014): Newspaper Source. Web. 4 April 2014.
Not many sports are as physically demanding on the human body as football. The physical toll that football players pay is almost impossible to comprehend unless one has actually played the sport for a significant amount of time. However, until recently any connection between the hits taken by football players and their health down the road was largely ignored. A common, yet difficult injury to detect in football is a concussion, the most common traumatic brain injury (Pearce). A concussion is defined as “a brain injury that is caused by a sudden blow to the head or the body. The blow shakes the brain inside the skull, which temporarily prevents the brain from working normally” (Heiner pa.5). Reports and studies have surfaced shedding light on just how much damage is inflicted upon the brain due to crippling hits. These studies suggest that NFL athletes who received concussions suffered lasting damage to the brain, which opens the gate to a multitude of other health issues such as dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical depression (Pearce). This is an aspect of the game that not many are aware of and it is a serous issue that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later. There have been too many heartbreaking stories such as that of Justin Strzelcyk who heard voices and died in a crash while fleeing police or that of Andre Waters who shot himself in the head after struggles with depression (Zarda pa.1). Many current and former players are suffering in silence; this shouldn’t be the case. The National Football League needs to extend a hand to former players debilitated by head injuries. The problem of concussions and other head injuries in the NFL is one that needs to be tackled head on.
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.
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.
Adirim, Terry A. “Concussions in Sports and Recreation.” Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine 8.1 (2007): 2-6. Print.
An anonymous person once said, "He who has health has hope; and he who has hope has everything." Ever since I was a young girl, I always knew I wanted to do something with helping people. But as I grew up, I also took an interest in sports, which leads me to where I am today. I would like to be able to help people in the sports ' world. In this essay, I plan to research concussions and how the long-term effects can impact people for the rest of their lives. Through research, I have learned exactly what a concussion is, the long-term effects and severity, and finally the treatments for a concussion. This relates to my senior project because for my final product, I will be presenting the lasting effects of concussions.
... Bradley, and Stuart Glassman. “Concussions and Student Athletes: Medical-Legal Issues in Concussions Care & Physician and School System Risks.” New Hampshire Bar Journal. Autumn 2011: 26-35. Web.
In recent stories local retired NFL player Junior Seau suffered many head injuries while playing in the NFL. Well known and loved in all surrounding San Diego communities had committed suicide in 2012. Coming upon the 2 year anniversary of his passing people still wonder what exactly did it to him. The problems of head injuries in the NFL is they are always occurring. In 2010 over 154 head injuries happened in practices and or games, but in 2007 the NFL had released a pamphlet to the players about head injuries. since then the NFL has taken many different safety precautions to fix the recurring problem. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy also known as CTE had been discovered in a deceased football player. Other ex-NFL players who played who had sustained head injuries from repetitive have issue still with them for the rest of their lives. Such as depression, dementia, Mental Illness, and possibly death or paralysis. there really isn’t ways eliminate head injuries unless their is a no contact rule in the NFL or the NFL gets abolished. even with the advances in technology and equipment getting better it still will happen. But some players don't only suffer the injuries from the NFL but from playing pop-warner, high school, college, the progressing to the NFL. Not only are the athletes involved but the families. Because the families are going to be the ones to deal with the injuries of the victim.
At the snap of the ball a whole players world could come crashing down. The game of football holds a whooping 47% of all concussions reported in the world, while ice hockey and soccer trail behind. Football is America’s sport and its athletes become the world’s pride and joy, but what happens when an athlete is injured and is struggling to mentally get better. This topic hits close to home for me because it was the one sport my family praised and adored. My older brother who is now twenty five, played highschool football for the Laconia Sachems. Just the name Sachems is enough to make me get the chills. In 2007 the Laconia Sachems the only undefeated team to go on to win the New Hampshire state championship saw success, but my brother went
One reason, out of many, that football should be banned from high school is because it can, eventually, cause C.T.E. – a head-trauma-induced disease that causes impulse-control problems, memory loss, and dementia. C.T.E. is a problem because it can cause someone to commit suicide; how one acquires this
Today, many professional, college and high school athletes throughout our country suffer from a common injury. It is an injury with serious side effects that can permanently change their lives. This injury is a concussion. Concussions are a constant threat in the game of sports. Coaches and athletes were under the assumption that a head injury that didn’t require a trip to the hospital could be ignored. We have been raised in a culture that celebrates hard knocks as a rite of passage, we don’t think twice about the bandages around our heads. (Carroll and Rosner 11). According to the Disease Control and Prevention Center, there are an estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million sports related head injuries in the United States each year. With the increasing number of concussions, the issue is relevant in today’s society. Concussions are a traumatic brain injury. In order to understand this growing issue, we need to become aware of what a concussion is, the testing and treatment that is used and the lifelong effects that concussions can cause. It is important for athletes to know this vital information about concussions in order to keep safe.