The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and opinions on concussions of high school coaches from a geographi- cally large yet rural state in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. Few medical issues in sport are more important, or have had as much publicity recently, as concussions. The exposure gleaned from tragic health issues among professional athletes post- concussion has motivated college and professional sport agencies to modify and enact strict guidelines in the diagnosis and treatment of suspected concussions. Yet underdiagnosis and mistreatment by some (former University of Michigan coach in 2014) highlight the need for continued education and enforcement of the current guide- lines. Obviously, when a head…
The life threatening spinal-cord injury that Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett suffered on Sunday while trying to make a tackle adds urgency to a question that gnaws at the NFL with each passing season — is playing pro football worth the risks?…
The movie concussion was the first time of the correlation between concussions and football. As I read Nationwide Children’s article, “Concussion in sports”, allowed me to increase my knowledge. Throughout the article, the author categorized what is a concussion and how it affects players. During reading, I found that concussions are a serious issue in sports, because it can cause severe brain damage to an athlete. This is concerning because the brains is one of the most important parts of a person’s body and if effected it could change a person life forever. Furthermore, I found it upsetting that the NFL does not make the risk of playing football known. Although, I understand the NFL provides minorities with opportunities to become successful.…
Soccer is a sport with a rich competitive tradition celebrated by millions of people spread over more than 200 countries on six continents. However, soccer can be very hazardous to the player, professional, or the common fan who picks it up, playing soccer could result in several devastating injuries such as, a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), stress fractures, and concussions, which all have negative effects on a player’s performance.…
McCrory, P. (2002). What advice should we give to athletes postconcussion? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(5), 316-330. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.libdbauth.nait.ab.ca/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA93451576&v=2.1&u=naitl_main&it=r&p=SPJ.SP12&sw=w…
The topic that I have found the most intriguing in the sport of hockey is the increased speed of the game through the decades. The movement speed, puck speed and decision making has all increased since the game first began, this is resulting in a much higher risk of head injuries. The players in the game today are very susceptible to concussions, as many superstars of hockey world have been affected by head injuries which have resulted in many early retirements or a lot of time spent off the ice. To consider how dangerous and easy it is for players to get concussions, it seems quite ludicrous when you see historical games when all players on the ice would play the game of hockey without helmets. Given the nature of competition and how much more competitive the league (NHL) has become; players are now becoming bigger, stronger and faster than ever before. This is causing a higher percentage of players becoming injured and more importantly serious head injuries. If the current trend of improving athletes continues, then the hockey athletes of the next generation will only become bigger, stronger and faster which has the potential to cause much bigger problems as players will become more vulnerable to head injuries. As much as helmets have improved since they first came out, it still doesn’t fully protect a players neck and head when a hit of high velocity is delivered. The use of lighter equipment and more aerodynamic gear, players are become faster and lighter. Players today have been taught to protect themselves by absorbing body contact and to anticipate body checks by keeping their heads up. However given how the game of hockey is played, there is a high level of aggression and retaliation especially at the higher level when there are superstars on the ice that so called “enforcers” would target. These injuries are mostly incurred through the hitting aspect of the game; however fighting also plays a part. Hits from behind, body checks into the boards, open ice…
Injuries can affect a player’s career depending on the severity of it. From concussions, ACL tears, being paralyzed from the neck down, can really destroy a player’s life on and off…
Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, has been under a lot of scrutiny for the past couple years for his attempts to change the rules to decrease and pretty much get rid of violent hits to the head and neck to protect the players. These rules are under scrutiny because there are many people that are saying these rules are making the game of football a “soft game” and ruining it in a sense. Football has been a game that since its beginnings has always praised and celebrated toughness and violent hits. Now these rules are making it frowned upon. These rule changes drastically started popping up before the 2010 season. There are a couple big events that have pulled concussions to the forefront of concern in football. One of the biggest ones is the Concussion lawsuit that was brought against the NFL by4,500 members of former players families and even former players themselves. The lawsuit was just settled last Thursday that will cost the NFL $765 million. Much of that money is going to players and families to compensate for all the medical treatments. Also some of it will be going to baseline testing for retired players, and $10 million will fund research and education for concussions. Another big event that has been occurring over roughly the past 10 years has been many ex NFL players such as Dave Duerson, a former Chicago Bear, who shot himself in the chest after struggling from “chronic headaches, blurred vision and memory loss.” Before he died, he left messages to his family requesting that his brain be donated to a lab where it would be studied. He was only 50 years old. There are many like this including Andre Waters, 44, and Shane Dronett, 38, who both also committed suicide in the past six years. All 3 men were diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which you get in part from multiple hits to the head. The NFL players are not the only ones that are being affected by CTE. Doctors found the CTE in 21 year old…
Doctors proved that, “Recent studies have shown that head injuries sustained by NFL players can eventually lead to debilitating, chronic brain diseases such as dementia” (“NFL Head Injuries). This is a problem because the NFL isn’t doing enough to protect their players. Yes, the players do provide entertainment for everyone, but if the NFL keeps being careless many franchise players won’t be able to play. NFL players should be better protected by the NFL so players don’t develop brain disease, and won’t have to get sidelined during games due to concussions. Doctors researched and found out that, “A total of 87 out of 91 former NFL players have tested positive for the brain disease” (“FRONTLINE”). This shows that the NFL doesn’t protect their players enough. Only 4 former NFL players out of 91 weren’t diagnosed with concussions. The NFL needs to take better care of players so this doesn’t happen as often. Although brain diseases due to concussions are a tremendous problem, one thing that is much worse than that is a player's chances of getting another concussion. Once a player suffers their first concussions they are more likely to develop a concussion. “Studies show, after the first concussion, the athlete is four times more likely to suffer another” (“Concussions in Sports”). This is very important because as players get more and more concussions. Eventually they will develop permanent brain damage or they…
The coach also has a lot of knowledge in this field as well because they have to set up realistic goals, help build confidence, and also need to evaluate the athlete before they should let them back to game style play. Statistics say that it has nothing to do with the physical therapist; it is all a mental thing that athletes go through when they have an injury that will put them out of the season. The coaches are supposed to have some kind of strategy that they have when someone is coming back from an injury so they don’t get hurt again and or they aren’t scared.…
The alarming effects of Concussions in the NFL has become a major topic of discussion with a wide variety of opinions from medical professionals, NFL representatives, academic institutions and Anti-NFL advocates. While there has been action taken on behalf of the NFL, some believe that these actions still aren’t enough and that the complete mitigation of concussions has yet to be addressed. There has been many new outlets and sports forums that have called out Roger Goodell and the NFL on their continuous practice of masking the true dangers of head trauma. The New York Times published an expose that revealed that the “NFL omitted 100 diagnosed concussions from its supposedly all-encompassing study from 1996-2001, which understated the risks…
Dr. Bennet Omalu is a Pathologist in Pittsburgh who studies the brain. While working here, Dr.Omalu discovered a new disorder that he named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE. Omalu did not discover this disorder until he did an autopsy on a former NFL Pittsburgh Steeler Football player, Mike Webster, who died at the age of Fifty. Webster was living out of his car, he would tase himself with a taser just to go to sleep. He was suffering from severe back pain, dementia,depression, and amnesia. He became angry with his wife and was very confused about a lot of things, he could barely answer any questions because of the loss of memory. Dr.Omalu figured out that this was a normal brain and all he wanted to do was “fix this brain”.…
Concussions, not a great experience for anyone, but could everyone be more protected from concussions if hockey helmets were made safer? Scientists are working hard to test top-brand hockey helmets, such as Bauer and CCM, to see how much power it takes to cause a concussion on each helmet and if scientists figure this out, hockey helmets could be made to almost prevent concussions. If hockey helmets were made safer, concussions would be less common, which would cause more hockey players to continue playing hockey. Hockey helmets being made safer have definite advantages for youth hockey players, as well as pro hockey players.…
Sports are an integral part of American culture. Throughout the year, friends and families will spend enormous amounts of time and money to gather together to eat, drink and cheer on their favorite teams. American football has been named the most watched sport in the nation and continues to grow in popularity. There is something about the thrill of watching your favorite team score touchdowns and win championship games that makes watching football a nationwide form of entertainment. Beyond all of the wins and losses however are the many injuries that often occur in every game. Broken arms, legs and shoulders are only minimal injuries compared to the, often over-looked, head injuries that happen more often than not. Even though there are protective measures taken to prevent concussions and other head injuries, many football players are still being hit so hard in every game that they may experience one or more concussions in a single game day.…
There are more than 3 million cases of concussions per year. Concussion can happen to anyone in any sport. A concussion is a jolt in your head causing the brain to move in your skull. Concussions are most common in the youth population. Although many people think that sports should have fewer rules towards injuries received to the head and neck, it is better to have more rules because it could lead to a better concussion protocol, could lead to a better understanding of concussions and there symptoms, and change the culture of head injuries.…