Cause and Effect of Hiding Concussions
Austin Messenger
Dr. High
College Comp II
8 February 2013
Cause and Effects of Hiding Concussions Symptoms You hear almost every day now about, the dangers of sustaining a concussion. With all the recent attention this issue is receiving, new studies and research are being funded to further determine what damage a concussion does to the brain. However there is something more dangerous than just getting a concussion. Hiding a concussion and its symptoms is an extreme risk athletes have taken for decades. What causes these athletes to take such risks? The answer is simply to keep playing. Athletes have stated in numerous research articles that is why they don’t report their symptoms. This leads to possibly dangerous effects. There may be few reasons to hide a concussion, but the effects can be life changing. The cause is the simplest part to this whole crisis in sports today. Athletes don’t want to be taken out of competition. Possibly the greatest risk an athlete can take, and yet they are willing to take that risk. According to a 2012 article from momsteam.com 54% of contact athletes stated they would hide their symptoms to keep from having to stop playing (Lench 1). Think about that over half of the athletes in this study say they would hide a concussion even knowing the dangerous that we have found out over just the past 3 years. I speak for myself as a former football offensive/ defensive linemen where over my career, I hid many concussions. My cause to do so was simple I didn’t want to be taken out. I had goals and dreams, and having to stop playing, I felt would have possible ended those dreams. Now that’s just as a middle school and high school athlete, for professionals the cause is the same but their thinking is different. For professional players in the NFL, the cause to hide their symptoms is again to keep them not playing. According to an associated press interview with Maurice Jones- Drew in
Dr. High
College Comp II
8 February 2013
Cause and Effects of Hiding Concussions Symptoms You hear almost every day now about, the dangers of sustaining a concussion. With all the recent attention this issue is receiving, new studies and research are being funded to further determine what damage a concussion does to the brain. However there is something more dangerous than just getting a concussion. Hiding a concussion and its symptoms is an extreme risk athletes have taken for decades. What causes these athletes to take such risks? The answer is simply to keep playing. Athletes have stated in numerous research articles that is why they don’t report their symptoms. This leads to possibly dangerous effects. There may be few reasons to hide a concussion, but the effects can be life changing. The cause is the simplest part to this whole crisis in sports today. Athletes don’t want to be taken out of competition. Possibly the greatest risk an athlete can take, and yet they are willing to take that risk. According to a 2012 article from momsteam.com 54% of contact athletes stated they would hide their symptoms to keep from having to stop playing (Lench 1). Think about that over half of the athletes in this study say they would hide a concussion even knowing the dangerous that we have found out over just the past 3 years. I speak for myself as a former football offensive/ defensive linemen where over my career, I hid many concussions. My cause to do so was simple I didn’t want to be taken out. I had goals and dreams, and having to stop playing, I felt would have possible ended those dreams. Now that’s just as a middle school and high school athlete, for professionals the cause is the same but their thinking is different. For professional players in the NFL, the cause to hide their symptoms is again to keep them not playing. According to an associated press interview with Maurice Jones- Drew in
Cited: Lench De, Brooke. “Athletes’ Resistance to Self- Reporting of Concussion Continues Despite Increased Education. <http:www.momsteam.com/health- safety>. 18, July 2012. 25, January 2013. Associated Press. “Players Still Willing to Hide Head Injuries. <http:www.espn.go.com/NFL/story/id/7388674>. 26, December 2011. 25, January 2013 “What is CTE”. <http.www.bu.edu/cste/about/what- is- cte/>. Boston University. 2009. 28, January 2013.