Concussions From Pee Wee To Pro Football
Robert Wilson ENC 91 10-06-10
Concussions in the NFL
Concussions, something that most players, from pee wee to pro football admit to
having had sometime in their career. As sports evolve, players are bigger, faster , and
stronger. NFL players are million dollar machines, they are owned, and are the product
of a business empire. Many players are forced to retire due to injury, but many don’t
begin to feel the long term effects until after retirement. …show more content…
These behaviors
include deep depression, headaches, sleep disturbances, and severe memory loss. One
ex-NFL player has to write all his thoughts and activities in a small notebook. If the
events are not timed and documented, they never happened. Another player became so
depressed that he did not leave his house for two years, or interact with family or friends.
Some families became so concerned with the erratic behavior, they turned to the
NFL for help. At the time, the NFL did not have any studies being conducted, or any
assistance to offer the players or their families. They then turned to the Center for the
study of traumatic encephalopathy (CSTE). Currently the CSTE can only examine the
brains of dead athletes with informed consent. Concussions are considered to be
invisible injuries, since they are not detected on MRI, or CT scan. They are unable to
reveal the extent of brain damage, until they can directly examine the brain. So far over
one hundred NFL players have consented to have their brains studied after death.
When NFL players brains were studied, five of five were found to have
Concussions in the NFL
Concussions, something that most players, from pee wee to pro football admit to
having had sometime in their career. As sports evolve, players are bigger, faster , and
stronger. NFL players are million dollar machines, they are owned, and are the product
of a business empire. Many players are forced to retire due to injury, but many don’t
begin to feel the long term effects until after retirement. …show more content…
These behaviors
include deep depression, headaches, sleep disturbances, and severe memory loss. One
ex-NFL player has to write all his thoughts and activities in a small notebook. If the
events are not timed and documented, they never happened. Another player became so
depressed that he did not leave his house for two years, or interact with family or friends.
Some families became so concerned with the erratic behavior, they turned to the
NFL for help. At the time, the NFL did not have any studies being conducted, or any
assistance to offer the players or their families. They then turned to the Center for the
study of traumatic encephalopathy (CSTE). Currently the CSTE can only examine the
brains of dead athletes with informed consent. Concussions are considered to be
invisible injuries, since they are not detected on MRI, or CT scan. They are unable to
reveal the extent of brain damage, until they can directly examine the brain. So far over
one hundred NFL players have consented to have their brains studied after death.
When NFL players brains were studied, five of five were found to have