Untreated Injury Research Paper

The injuries some students attain can be physically life changing. Student athletes are different than adult athletes because they are still growing. “Growth is generally uneven: Bones grow first, which pulls at tight muscles and tendons. This uneven growth pattern makes younger athletes more susceptible to muscle, tendon, and growth plate injuries” (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons). An untreated injury alone is devastating as it can cause permanent damage or disability.
Safety equipment is not enough to stop damage to the neck or head and result in damage to the spinal cord or brain.Like the rest of the body, the brain is still developing. When players suffer a sudden trauma or repeated knocks to the head they are at greater risk
for brain damage. The NFL did a study and “the controversial research concluded that repeated knocks to the head, especially but not limited to concussions, cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease that can cause symptoms of dementia, including memory loss, aggression, confusion and depression, often times many years after the trauma”.