Concussion
Keland Carter
College Writing II
Mike Pitoniak
3-24-13
Concussions in the NFL
When watching a football everyone looks out for the “Big Hit” but what people don’t look out for is the after math of these so called big hits, which a lot of the time leads to concussions. These concussions are becoming much more severe and there is a lot of concern about the safety of players who attain multiple concussions, not because of the immediate problems it might bring but the future toll that it could take on the athlete’s brain and body. The feelings of dizziness, headache or short loss of memory at the moment may not seem so dramatic at that point in time In some instances a player will attain a concussion but won’t alert anyone because they fear being benched but don’t realize the real danger that they are making themselves susceptible to in the long run. For these reasons, the NFL office officials are carefully changing rules and regulations to keep these players safe from possible concussions and head trauma. Concussions in the NFL are at an all-time high which is not a positive sign for these current athletes who attain multiple concussions because of long term symptoms such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and possibly brain damage. Alzheimer’s disease is something that is very common with NFL players because of all the head to head contact during a game or over the course of their careers. In a study of more than 3,400 retired National Football League players, the researchers found that death rates from the two brain diseases(Alzheimer’s & Lou Gehrigs) were four times higher than those in the general U.S. population. The study looked at nearly 3,400 retirees who played for at least five seasons between 1959 and 1988. Of the 334 former players in that cohort who have died, neurodegenerative disease caused or contributed to 17 deaths. This statistic is very alarming because this means most players have had more than just one serious brain injury,
College Writing II
Mike Pitoniak
3-24-13
Concussions in the NFL
When watching a football everyone looks out for the “Big Hit” but what people don’t look out for is the after math of these so called big hits, which a lot of the time leads to concussions. These concussions are becoming much more severe and there is a lot of concern about the safety of players who attain multiple concussions, not because of the immediate problems it might bring but the future toll that it could take on the athlete’s brain and body. The feelings of dizziness, headache or short loss of memory at the moment may not seem so dramatic at that point in time In some instances a player will attain a concussion but won’t alert anyone because they fear being benched but don’t realize the real danger that they are making themselves susceptible to in the long run. For these reasons, the NFL office officials are carefully changing rules and regulations to keep these players safe from possible concussions and head trauma. Concussions in the NFL are at an all-time high which is not a positive sign for these current athletes who attain multiple concussions because of long term symptoms such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and possibly brain damage. Alzheimer’s disease is something that is very common with NFL players because of all the head to head contact during a game or over the course of their careers. In a study of more than 3,400 retired National Football League players, the researchers found that death rates from the two brain diseases(Alzheimer’s & Lou Gehrigs) were four times higher than those in the general U.S. population. The study looked at nearly 3,400 retirees who played for at least five seasons between 1959 and 1988. Of the 334 former players in that cohort who have died, neurodegenerative disease caused or contributed to 17 deaths. This statistic is very alarming because this means most players have had more than just one serious brain injury,