Essay On Concussions

Football, America’s sport may be the most dangerous sport because of the long-term effects that one may have after one’s career. Many unsuccessful attempts to come up with a solution to concussions still puzzle those who are influenced by the game While the NFL would be concerned at the loss of fans and there revenues that maybe the least of the worries that NFL have. The number of concussions among the players becomes an enormous concern for the rule makers and the equipment makers and even the agents of the players. The rule makers create new rules to the game almost every year to take away from the physicality and keep all players safe despite the demand of the fans. Equipment makers and managers continue to update the pads and are trying
to make the rule that all players must wear all pads instead of only being forced to wear shoulder pads and helmets. Recently there was a new helmet released called the Riddell SpeedFlex which is supposed to tremendously reduce the number of concussions in players. As for the agent, there’s nothing they can do. They support the new rules because it’s safer for the players but they can’t make a direct impact on the game. Legality issues are the most important things to take care of after the player’s health. Players are beginning to shorten their careers rather than taking the risk of getting a brain injury and having to live the rest of their life with a brain injury. The National Football League (NFL) is being spotlighted for the number of concussions among players who now have symptoms of brain injury. Players that have these symptoms now bring legal allegations against the league, causing rules to change that some argue are taking away from the original game of football, leaving the audience unhappy. Brain injury has always been important in athletics but focused on more recently because of the number of athletes who are suffering from concussions.
In the NFL there’s been an increase in the number of players suffering from multiple concussions. Concussions are a short-term disturbance in brain function caused by a mild or sever head injury. A sudden impact jolts the head in a certain direction, then the force of the impact slams the brain against the inside of the skull and the brain bounces back against the opposite side of the skull consequently causing a concussion. The most common symptoms of concussions consist of headaches, confusion, dizziness, blurred vision, slow reaction time, nausea/vomiting, amnesia, and neck pain. If concussions are treated correctly then they can be short-term injuries, but if they aren’t diagnosed or the player doesn’t choose to stop playing then there can be long-term symptoms. The best way to prevent long-term injury is to stop playing immediately when one feels symptoms of a concussion. To stop playing immediately when one feels symptoms of a concussion is easier said than done when one is playing for the job. In the NFL a player is only as good as the last play they make so they choose to try and play through small and injuries and a lot of times concussions in fear of losing their spot on the field to someone else. At that point that’s when things fall on the doctor who originally diagnosed the player with a concussion should not allow the player to continue to play because if they do that raises the risk of the player suffering from multiple concussions this possibly causing long-term
damage. In 2012 there were 261 diagnosed concussions in the NFL. In 2013 there were 229 and most recently in this past year 2014 there were 202. Although the numbers are decreasing year-to-year 202 concussions a year is still a large number that has players and their families on the edge about continuing to the play the game that they love. According to Steve Rowson an engineer at Virginia Tech, he test “how helmets hold up against different types of hits,” and he has concluded that evidently there is no helmet can prevent concussions entirely. Although there is no way to completely stop concussions from happening, the positive outlook Rowson discovered is that “newer football helmets absorb more force which lowers the risk of concussions because the head doesn’t accelerate as much after it takes a hit. Athletic companies are doing everything in their power to help prevent concussions from happening. They have even recently developed “wearable sensors that measure how hard a player has been hit and these sensors alert coaches when an impact may be hard enough to cause injury.” Recently helmet making companies have redesigned helmets to make them safer by thickening the linings on the inside and making the outside shells more flexible. It’s noticeable that those who can help make a difference and help prevent injury are doing so. Another preventive step that some coaches are trying out is re-teaching tackling technique. Coaches are taking away the physicality at practice and slowing practice down to show the players the right way to hit. The NFL is being spotlighted because it’s an ongoing problem that has been brought to everyone’s attention and also because of special woman Gay Culverhouse. Gay Culverhouse former owner and president of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers insist that her audience of retired football players seek help using their disability plan. Retired players who are now suffering the long-term effects of their years as football players are also nationally promoting the issue. Culverhouse argues that she does not want to destroy the game of football, however she only wants to make it safer. She wants the players to receive the appropriate treatment when they are injured rather than continuing to play. With the number of concussions being such a high number the rules of the game are starting to change. In recent years there are a couple of new rules that have been implemented to increase player safety. The two most common and the ones that pertain to this the moist are the targeting rule and the no helmet-to-helmet rule. The helmet-to-helmet rule is pretty self explanatory, and if you are flagged for using helmet to helmet it is a 15-yard penalty and the player is fined. The targeting rule also the newest was implemented so that players don’t lead with the crown of their helmet when they are hitting. If you are flagged for targeting then it’s a 15-yard penalty and that player is automatically ejected and faces a one game suspension. The new rule changes have seen to benefit the NFL as well as try to lower the number of concussions received by the players. The rules are making the game safer but it conflicts with what the fans like and what they call the original game of football. Fans and supporters aren’t as happy with rule changes as the NFL and the players. They argue that the new rules are taking the physicality aspect of the game away and that is drifting away from the original game of football. Even though the game mainly revolves around those who are in the league the fans and supports of football play a huge part in the NFL as well. The fans and supporters keep the NFL running in a sense. They bring in a lot of money to the NFL so if the league starts to lose its fans then the NFL income will drop tremendously. The NFL is in hard place in trying to keep the players safe and keep the fans happy at the same time. Concussions in the NFL will forever be an important topic in the sports world because it bring a huge risk to the game, but also there’s no solution to completely prevent them from happening so there will always be research going on trying to find a solution. Between the National Football League and the athletic companies they are doing everything in there power to continue to decrease the number of concussions that are diagnosed yearly and one day to hopefully create a helmet that completely prevents concussions from happening. Until engineers or athletic companies produce a solution players will continue to play with the risk of getting a concussion and having brain trauma. Player safety should always come first and a player should give up the game before having to suffer from long-term brain damage due to multiple concussions.