Speech On Concussions

We must focus our attention to a serious issue that haunts a lot of athletes around the world. Concussions are making the lives of athletes difficult and they need to be prevented. Having a concussion is a big problem if you’re an athlete playing sports. Not only are concussions traumatic brain injuries, but if you get multiple concussions in a certain period of time you might be susceptible to diseases that will later occur in your life.
Why are concussions so serious? A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that can occur after a whiplash-type injury, causing the head to brain to shake quickly back and forth. Concussions are usually not life threatening, but if you get multiple you can be susceptible to diseases that will make your life very difficult in the future. Symptoms may include headaches, confusion, lack of coordination, memory loss, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, ringing in the ears, sleepiness, and excessive fatigue. According to nhs.uk, during a severe concussion, your brain is moved out of its normal position for a short time. This rotation disrupts the electrical activities of brain cells that make up the Reticular
activating system, which triggers symptoms that concussions cause.
Getting multiple concussions and having these symptoms multiple times may cause injuries to the brain that may not be noticeable until years after the concussions go away. According to medicalnewstoday.com, a recent study was carried out comparing healthy athletes to those of the same age who suffered from a concussion 30 years ago. The results showed that those who experienced head trauma had symptoms similar to parkinson's disease. Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system mainly affecting the motor system. Symptoms include shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of repetitive brain trauma. Symptoms of CTE include loss of memory, difficulty controlling impulsive or erratic behavior, impaired judgement, behavioral disturbances including aggression and depression, difficulty with balance, and dementia.
How can concussions be treated?
How can we prevent these head trauma injuries from happening? Take over the counter medication. If possible stay with a person for 24 hours to look over you while injured. Strengthen your neck muscles so you have less of a chance to get whiplash which causes concussions or other head traumas. Drink a lot of water to keep hydrated, which in return, gives better blood flow throughout your head and body. According to sethheywood.blogspot.com a group of researchers has developed the first potential solution to reducing sports-related concussions that doesn’t involve helmets. A simple collar worn by athletes that compresses vessels in the neck to increase cranial blood volume, thereby reducing internal movement of the brain. This new invention could really change the lives of some athletes in a huge
way.
Concussions can be extremely dangerous and maybe even be life threatening. They need to be prevented and dealt with immediately, not in the future because it may be too late. As an athlete, I would love to see safer ways to play sports so athletes around the world can play the sport they love without being haunted by such a serious injury.

Work Cited
Concussion - Symptoms ." Concussion. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
"Chicago Health." Researchers Develop New Potential Solution to Concussions. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.