Brain Trauma In Sports

Junior Seau, one of the greatest linebackers in the history of the NFL. He played football for twenty years. He started most of those years for the San Diego Chargers. After retiring as a very wealthy man in 2010, he committed suicide on May 2, 2012. After he died scientists examined his brain and found evidence of CTE. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE “is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma” (CTE Center). CTE was first identified in 1928 and called “punch drunk syndrome” in order to describe the effects several boxers were having. Over the next 75 years, researchers found similar findings in boxers and others with brain trauma. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

You can get one just by simply falling or getting in a car crash. However, in sports there are many several ways an athlete can get a concussion. In soccer, you get one from heading the ball or even hitting someone else 's head while trying to hit the ball. In football, you get them by getting hit directly in the head, getting hit in body then falling to the ground, or even getting the ball kicked into the back of your helmet. “Athletes at certain positions (eg, linemen) may sustain up to 1400 impacts per season, and high school players who play both offense and defense potentially sustain closer to 2000 impacts” (Stern 460). Other sport with a high risk of concussions are hockey, wrestling, rugby and lacrosse. The military is also at high risk of CTE. Military personnel who are deployed in war zones often encounter impacts from explosive devices. No matter the severity of the injury, these injuries are all very serious and should be taken care by medical professionals. The symptoms should never be ignored. Symptoms of a concussion vary depending how bad the concussion is. Many concussion symptoms include headaches, loss of consciousness, dizziness and slurred speech. They can also include nausea,

“An estimated 1.6-3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year, although the true figure is unknown because most concussions are not recognized and reported. Players in collision sports such as American football may experience many more subconcussive impacts throughout a season and career” (Stern 460). The people at risk for concussions and CTE range from amature athletes to professional athletes and even highly trained military personnel. The cause and effects of concussions and CTE are becoming more prevalent in all levels of athletics, however athletes themselves are still slow to acknowledge them and take themselves out of the game in order to allow their brain to heal. There are millions of athletes participating in contact sports as well as military troops who are at risk for repetitive brain trauma. Athletes, coaches, and service men and women, need to be aware of the causes, symptoms, and effects of concussions and