ipl-logo

Essay On Concussions

1233 Words5 Pages

The topic that will be displayed in this research prospectus is how the NFL has poorly handled the ongoing concussion epidemic amongst its players and the problems that come along with it. Every time players step foot on the field they are taking the risk of suffering from a concussion due to the physicality of the sport. Concussions have an everlasting lasting effect on humans and can lead to serious mental health problems. After their careers, there have been many instances where concussions have led to players developing serious mental health issues. There have been many concerns around the league about the concussion protocol and how it has been processed. Over the past years, there has been an effort to upgrade league protocols and equipment …show more content…

Mental illnesses like CTE and Depression are developed in NFL players who suffer from multiple concussions. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a head injury that occurs from suffering multiple concussions. CTE develops into dementia if the brain has suffered around seventeen concussions. The NFL receives a lot of backlash for the safety of their players and the multiple reports of players who suffer from CTE after playing in the league have led to that. Depression is a mental health disease that is when a person always feels sad and losses interest in many things. This is also caused by NFL players suffering concussions and why the league has received criticism for the way they have carried out the protocols. According to Mez et al. (2018), a study in NFL shows that 99% of the players in the NFL have shown signs of neurodegenerative disease. Players tend to have a higher percentage chance of suffering from a concussion the longer they play in the league. Another reason the NFL receives so much criticism for the lack of support for players who suffer from concussions is due to the permanent effects it leaves on the players. In a study from Faure and Cassanova (2018), more than 70% of NFL wives have said that the symptoms of suffering from a concussion have become permanent on their husbands. The same study states that there many unreported …show more content…

A study by Lessley et al. (2020), states that players have a higher chance of getting a concussion based on their position on the field. This is due to the player's purpose on the field and the type of helmet that is required for the position. The three positions that suffer the most concussions in the NFL are Cornerbacks, Running Backs, and Linebackers. These positions happen to suffer the most concussions because they have the most helmet-on-helmet contact plays compared to any other positions on the field. The same study also indicates that the teams do not report some of the concussions suffered by their players to the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) which is the database for the league's medical records. These are all alarming a strongly indicate there needs to be a change in how concussions are looked at and handled in the NFL’s future. Many retired players have participated in studies and around 50% have displayed serious mental concerns after suffering from a concussion, while the other 50% have shown moderate to low concerns about their mental health. This is still a problem because everybody who has suffered a concussion from the study is showing a level of concern for their mental health. Also, the concern levels have raised

Show More
Related
1670 Words | 7 Pages

According CNN’s article “NFL Concussion Fun Facts,” there have been 692 combined concussions diagnosed throughout the preseason and regular season in the NFL over the past 3 years. It may be evident by these numbers that the NFL has a major problem with players getting concussions, and over the years their concussion protocol has been questioned by former players and other people around the football community. Ken Belson stated in his article “Brain Trauma to Affect One in Three Players, N.F.L. Agrees,“ that a third of retired football players are subject to long term brain issues, these issues may include the disease known as CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) which has been brought to light in a more recent time. CTE has effected a good

Read More
1007 Words | 5 Pages

Concussion injuries have been a big speculation in the National Football League (NFL). Documents filed in federal court showed the NFL expects nearly a third of all retired players to develop some form of long term cognitive problem- such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in their lifetime as a result to head injuries or concussions suffered on the field. After years of denial the National Football League is starting to come clean. In this editorial the author is trying to inform the public about these accusations.

Read More
417 Words | 2 Pages

Many people question why concussions happen so often within the NFL? After all, these players know how to tackle properly and have they best equipment however the size of these men along with the violent nature of the game is what causes these concussions. Concussions happen at around 140 per season with several players receiving multiple concussions within the same year (Halchin). Team doctors have been extremely cautious in letting these athletes return to the filed of play after being diagnosed with a concussion. Halchin believed that the NFL does a wonderful job in protecting it’s players and said that until hitting is eliminated from the game completely, concussions will be a reoccurring injury and a risk that players have to deal with

Read More
1105 Words | 5 Pages

An NFL football player will endure somewhere between 900 to 1500 blows to their head over the course of a single season. With an immense amount of blows like this comes an immense amount of damage to a player’s brain. This extensive amount of brain damage has been decided, by Dr. Bennet Omalu, to result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. Over the course of these discoveries and much controversy, the NFL has been targeted, denied all accusations, done very few things to lessen the risk of concussions in football, and the risks and number of concussions have steadily increased throughout the league’s

Read More
992 Words | 4 Pages

I. Introduction A. Attention Graber: For many people there is nothing better on a crisp cool Sunday afternoon, than sitting down and enjoying a good football game. The NFL, hosts usually the football games people watch. Recently, however the NFL has had a huge conflict on its hands regarding player health and safety, specifically regarding repeated head injury and concussions. Research indicates, the NFL has not done enough to protect its players from the damage of repeated head injury B. Ethos Statement:

Read More
305 Words | 2 Pages

One major problem that many doctors have recognized is that concussions not only affect players while they are playing the game of football but their lives long after their career ends. Articles written by (Nancy Didehbani) and (Marshall Kerr) discussions how player’s brains functions long after their careers end. Some of the issues they found with concussions are Short and long term memory loss, prescription drug abuse and depression and in some of the worst cases, suicide (Kerr). Studies of the brain after a NFL athlete’s careers show strong correlations linked to concussions. Which raises the question should the NFL require players who are diagnosed with concussions during their playing careers receive therapy and treatment in order

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Concussions in sports have been on a rise more than ever, not only just in football but also in other sports such as kids’ soccer and ice hockey. There are major outcomes that can occur with concussions, as in C.T.E. (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). This condition occurs when a player is hit, gets a concussion and part of the brain vessels block off with dead brain vessels. This has caused multiple deaths in many athletes like Mike Webster, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, who lived in his truck while going insane. He would taser himself just to go to sleep because of concussions in his former football career.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

Football concussions can lead to brain injuries or other serious health issues that can be fatal. Concussions can happen in many different ways, which all involve big hits to the head. Hard hits to a player's head can cause his or her brain to move in different ways which can cause brain bruising or bleeding. A hard hit to a player’s forehead causes the brain to accelerate in a back and forth motion that can make a player feel nauseous or unstable. If the hit is focussed in the left or right side of a player's forehead it can cause the brain to move in a twisting motion which will leave the player light headed and with a headache.

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

In 1994, after concussion injuries to start such as Steve Young and Troy Aikman, the NFL Commissioner at the time, Paul Tagliabue, established the Mild Traumatic Brian Injury Committee. The committee consisted of NFL team doctors whose aim to conduct comprehensive clinical and biomechanical research on mild traumatic brain injuries. Although the committee was originally established in 1994, it wasn’t until October of 2003, after Dr. Omalu’s findings, that the committee released its first scientific study. Furthermore, the MTBI committee concluded that concussions had no long-term health effects, which was contradictory to Dr. Omalu’s findings. This wouldn’t be the last time that the MTBI committee contradicted or discredited research conducted

Read More
947 Words | 4 Pages

Although, the number of concussions a player can get is not linked to the extent of brain injury found on the MRI. That shows that it’s not the huge hits that show so much controversy that is the only culprit for brain injury, but also the accumulative effects of many, the little hits are not the hits that actually cause concussions on their own but altogether they are probably just as

Read More
1216 Words | 5 Pages

More than 100 concussions are reported every year in the NFL, and as athletes are getting bigger and faster the consequences of tackles and hits are bound to increase. Popular Mechanics described a study done by Timothy Gay, a physics professor at the University of Nebraska and author of The Physics of Football, “At 5 ft. 11 in. and 199 pounds, Marcus Trufant is an average-size NFL defensive back (DB). Those stats don't stand out in a league where more than 500 players weighed 300-plus pounds at the 2006 training camps. But a DB's mass combined with his speed -- on average, 4.56 seconds for the 40-yard dash -- can produce up to 1600 pounds of tackling force.”

Read More
528 Words | 3 Pages

Concussions in Sports In sports, concussions occur frequently across all age groups. From little leagues to high school sports to the professional leagues, concussions pose a high risk of long term Traumatic brain injuries. Because of the high rate of concussions in sports more attention should be paid to protocols and treatment to prevent traumatic brain injuries. High school athletes that partake in a sport that requires intense physical activity are the most vulnerable to concussion and need more time to recover. According to the Head Case “High school football accounts for 47 percent of all reported sports concussions, with 33 percent of concussions occurring during practice.”

Read More
1346 Words | 6 Pages

According to dictionary.com, a concussion is “an injury to the brain or spinal cord due to jarring from a blow, fall, or the like.” Concussions have become more of a problem over time. For many years, the NFL did not pay any regards to concussions in their players. As time progressed, doctors started looking into them more and started seeing a link between football and concussions. This issue has become important because this is these players’ lives on the line and they need to be taken care of.

Read More
815 Words | 4 Pages

    People participating in sports any sports besides football has about 50% of all concussions; players that do not participate in football also have a risk. However, people could fall or get hit you still can get concussion. People who have concussion or had more than one concussion

Read More
1019 Words | 5 Pages

Brain trauma affects one out of three people in the national football league. In 2012 the stats of diagnosed concussions were 261, in 2013 they went down to 229, in 2014 concussions decreased to 206, in 2015 there were 275 diagnosed concussions and 2016 is decreased to 244. More concussions occur later on in the year. Half of the concussions are caused by contact with another helmet. Cornerbacks and receivers suffer more than other players.

Read More

More about Essay On Concussions

Open Document