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Concussions In The NFL

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"Now that I 'm getting older, I start thinking about it more. In 10 years, am I going to be one of those guys that 's suffering?" Denver Broncos defensive end Vonnie Holliday. Concussions, in the NFL, should be taken more seriously. It may cause depression, may lead to serious health issues, and it may cause domestic violence. Concussions in the NFL may lead to depression. Concussions are detrimental to the life of a football player. Studies conclude that risk for depression is greater for the players who have been through trauma to the head. For instance, “According to the data, players who’d had three to four concussions had twice the risk of clinical depression as players who had no history of concussions. Players who had five or more …show more content…

In the first study, the researchers compared depression scores of 34 retired NFL players with those of 29 similar people with no history of concussion. “On average, the former football players reported having experienced four concussions, and they were more likely than the people without concussions to show depressive symptoms, not just in their mood and thinking skills but in physical ways as well” (Blue, …show more content…

Concussions in the NFL may lead to serious long-term health issues. A concussion does not simply vanish. It will be embedded in its victim’s brain and will change a person’s life forever. For example, “A recent breakthrough in the detection of brain pathology related with these injuries was developed by researchers from UCLA, who were successfully able to identify abnormal tau proteins in retired NFL players using a brain-imaging tool - a protein also associated with Alzheimer 's” (Nordqvist, 3). This study done at UCLA is a powerful resource to the harsh effects of repeated head trauma. There is proof that these tau proteins are anomalous and should not be in the professional football player’s brain. It is no coincidence that these proteins are found in the NFL players. According to Boston University, “However, recent reports have been published of neuropathologically confirmed CTE in retired professional football players and other athletes who have a history of repetitive brain trauma. This trauma triggers progressive degeneration of the brain tissue, including the build-up of an abnormal protein called tau.” This quote may substantiate that tau proteins are found during a football game where there are periodic impacts to the brain. Alzheimer 's, a very serious and detrimental disease, is associated with these tau proteins. This puts NFL players at a great risk to get this disease. Alzheimer’s is not the only disease or health issue resulting from concussions. The

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