...I am so happy you wrote to me a topical question. Football is the most popular sport in America. More than hundred people tune into watch the Super Bowl every year. Playing football is the great way to improve healthy lifestyle, teamwork, and concentration, etc. Although there are a lot of great reasons to playing football; there are also some problems that must be considered. Injuries are the part of football. Getting hit happens normally and the most dangerous problem when playing football is head injuries which can lead to health issues later in life, or cause a person’s psyche. Professional football players have stand a lot of jarring hits to their heads, and getting hit regularly will cause concussion. Brain damage is an important problem in football and you need to be aware of there are a lot of research showing that it is dangerous to let kids play football and there are also some true stories about kids died because of brain...
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...Occupational Safety and Health Case Study Draft Introduction Concussions have casted a dark shadow over sports throughout the last decade. They are the most common head and brain injuries suffered by athletes. A concussion is “a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull” ("Concussion - WebMD: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention"). The major problem regarding concussions is that they are not visible to the human eye. Concussions occur all the way from Pop Warner leagues as a child to the professional leagues. My friend has played football his whole life. Unfortunately, he has been plagued by concussions ever since he started to play the sport. He is a prime example of an ordinary kid who plays a sport he loves, but has altered his future forever. Commissioners are actively trying to reduce the number of head injuries that occur while playing. However, the main problem regarding head injuries in sports is that players tend to rush back to their respective sports, without proper testing and treatment. This results in athletes risking their playing careers, a life filled with long-term head complications, and eventually putting their lives in danger. As an injured athlete, there comes a point where you have to ask yourself, is rushing back to the game really worth a lifetime filled with head injuries and complications? So what do team doctors need...
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...Concussions In The NFL The Problem * A hit or a bolt to the head ultimately causes a concussion, which is classified as a traumatic brain injury. * Concussions can also be caused by an excessive blow to the body that causes a person’s head to move back and forth, which causes the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull. * Concussions within the National Football League have become a serious health risk due to the fact that athletes were playing in games before their concussions had completely healed, which puts athletes vulnerable to increased injury. * Many retired NFL football players have suffered memory and cognitive issues, such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and depression. Indicators of Concussions * During the 2012 NFL football season, there were 265 concussions reported. * From the 2010 season to the 2012 season, the amount of concussions per season only decreased from 270 to 265. * In the 2012, players who suffered concussions have been linked to severe memory loss, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and player suicide. * Mike Webster’s death in 2002 was the first to relate concussions in the NFL with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and death. * In 2012, autopsies of Ray Easterling and Junior Seau both showed evidence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. * This concerning evidence led to relation of concussions and deaths for several more NFL players. * Chris Henry, a former Cincinnati...
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...Specific Aims When we think of football players what is the first stereotypical remark that comes to an individuals’ mind? As judgmental as we all are, most individuals consider these subjects exceptional athletes without the highest intelligence quotient (IQ). With an increased focused being built around concussions in football it is important that we determine the mechanisms behind concussions and how they affect intelligence quotient from high school to the professional level. An increased number of law suits are continually being filed against the National Football League (NFL) and more concussion based research is being driven towards retired players; however, a greater focus needs to spent on how concussions affect these players from a younger age. Specific Aim 1: To test the hypothesis that multiple concussive episodes, commonly associated to football, results in a decreased intelligence quotient. Rationale 1: Studies indicate that one of the most significant effects of concussions and head trauma include memory loss; however, less focus has been placed on more measurable determinants of actual intelligence. In this specific aim, IQ test will be administered to every athlete at the high school level prior to starting a football program. Focus will be placed on highly recruited high school programs such as St. Thomas Aquinas, which currently has the most professional football players in the NFL. After every concussion and post recovery from the trauma...
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...Jessy Pasch Effects of Sport Concussions Sport concussions are a major scare in all sports today and it’s a problem in youth leagues as well as professional sports. While an athlete plays a sport they will suffer multiple concussions throughout their career in sports. In the last 3 years in high school football 400,000 concussions occurred. Concussions are a problem, at times is hard to detect, because the symptoms are sometimes hard to spot and in many cases symptoms can last for day, weeks, years and even life time. Through study they found that adults can heal faster than young athletes, and they can heal in just two weeks. Sport concussions are becoming bigger problems in all sports and researchers are trying harder to find how concussions occur, how to prevent them to make all athletes safer while playing and how to make sure all athletes are safe to play after a concussion. One way to help preventing concussions is to understand how they occur. Fist a concussions is defined as a complex pathophysiological process that affects the brain, typically induced by trauma to the brain. A concussion happens when there is trauma to the brain. Trauma can happen when you take a blow to head region. It can also happen when you get something called the whiplash effect to the body. The whiplash effect is when the impact to your body accelerates your head causing the trauma to your brain. With contact sports there are many ways concussions can occur. In any tackling sport, without proper...
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...Reflections of Concussions Doctor Omalu studied the lethal form of illness in the brains of former football players, and how they have already turned into a long and painful fight. Omalu was a black man and also an immigrant. NFL coaches were so in denial of the situations that were being discussed. This is a terrifying implication on concussions. Omalu work on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy also known as CTE. This movie “ concussion” is spiritually and emotionally accurate all the way through. This is the best study that we have on NFL players and mortality, yet its findings never seem to enter public consciousness. The simple truth, that former players aren’t dying, that in lots of ways they’re much healthier than you or me , smacks against...
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...Playing football as a kid was always every little boys dream of one day becoming a professional player in the NFL. Suiting up in cleats, shoulder pads, and helmets was always a fun time. Back in high school when the coaches would make you have two a day practices to get ready for the fall. In the back of the players minds, and even their parents is the idea of a very bad injury or even a concussion. What is a concussion you might ask? Concussion is a temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head. The term is also used loosely of the after effects such as confusion or temporary incapacity. Concussions can be very difficult to spot especially since plays don’t necessarily have to be knocked out in order to receive a concussion. This is why players who suffer from head injuries are often told to shake it off and get back in the game. Many concussions in high school go undiagnosed due to lack of staff, player, and family knowledge about concussions. Being able to recognize a concussion is the first step in protecting athletes. Ways to recognize a concussion that has either been knocked out or still conscious would be if a player feels dizzy, confused and forgetful, complains about headaches, and/or vomit or feels nauseous. Concussion symptoms can either occur right away or in some cases they can begin weeks later after receiving the hit that caused the concussion. Concussions have been around since the beginning of time even out of sporting events like Football. Times have...
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...Today, concussions are a serious factor in most sports and have moved to the center of attention in public awareness. According to the Sports Concussion Institute, a concussion is “a complex pathophysiological process that affects the brain, typically induced by trauma to the brain” (2016). Most concussions occur without the individual losing consciousness yet these impairments can lead to dementia, aggression, confusion, impaired judgment, and depression and may not be treatable. In fact, per Marcos Abreu, “the American Academy of Neurology discovered that athletes are at greatest risk of repeat injury in the first 10 days’ post-concussion and suggested that the more head injuries a person suffers; the more likely they are to face complications...
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...Head Injuries in the Game of Football Head Injuries in the Game of Football 250,000 people age 19 and younger were treated in emergency rooms for concussions and other sports- or recreation-related brain injuries in the country in 2009. That was an increase from 150,000 in 2001 (Cleared to Play). Did you know that high school athletes sustain an estimated 136,000 to 300,000 concussions per year (Moms Team)? How about that 24.7 percent, out of all the patients who were admitted into an emergency department with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), obtained their head injury while playing football (Swarm Interactive)? That is higher than any other sport or activity associated with TBIs. Brain injuries contribute one third of all injury-related deaths in the United States and 75 percent of those injuries are concussions (CDC). It is easy to conclude that head injuries are extremely dangerous and can be easily obtained. For these reasons, people should be informed of how football can be immensely risky to play and how the sport is associated with brain injuries. Numerous retired professional football players now suffer from a degenerative disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). This disease is caused by countless hits to the head or body, causing small concussions (ESPN). CTE is a build up of a protein that garrotes brain cells that control one’s emotions, memory, perceptions, and more. As far as we have seen, the disease also causes serious depression, dementia, and...
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...increased intense scrutiny by former players and the media for their lack of action towards preventing concussions. The NFL is often compared to a gladiator arena, where players push through serious injuries and perform spectacular feats in front of a roaring and bloodthirsty crowd. Many people look at professional football players and forget that they are still human. They are not invulnerable to pain, and they are not immune to the side effects that come with playing such a violent game. Former players who played in the 1980’s and 1990’s played with rules that allowed dangerous helmet-to-helmet hits, and in a society that expected them to play through injuries, such as concussions. Players at particular positions are at an additional risk for concussions, with 18.2% of defensive backs suffering concussions sometime in their career (Pellman, Viano). Players that suffered repeat concussions were found to have a much greater risk of “increased neuronal vulnerability”, and that there is an increase in the likelihood of “recurrent concussions with each successive previous injury.” (Guskiewicz). Former players are experiencing increased rates of brain injuries such as depression, dementia, early-onset Alzheimer’s, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (Pellman, Viano). Over 2,000 former professional football players are now suing the NFL over allegedly hiding the fact that concussions can cause these effects later in life, and argue that the NFL should be responsible for their health...
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...Introduction The National Football league is America’s most popular sporting league, drawling millions of fans each year. Fans wear jerseys, hats, and other merchandise to represent their favorite player(s). However, over 70% of National Football League fans, don’t realize the battle players (and retired players) have been facing for the past 20 years. For the two last decades, players have been facing life-threating health challenges that have resulted in mental illness and even death. The National Football league failed to acknowledge these medical conditions until 2010. The argument faced is whether or not players should be allowed to file a lawsuit against the National Football League, even though players sign contracts which has a acknowledgement of the possibility of injury during gameplay and practice. In 2013, the National Football League had revenue of $9.5 billion, not including the amounts that the teams earned throughout the season. A total of 1,696 players played for 32 teams in 2014. Football is the most physical athletic sport played, in the Untied states of America. Injuries are often expected to occur to players each year. However, most players only expect to miss a few games before they return from an injury, not realizing the potential risk of long term injury. Every play on a National Football League field consists of head to head contact between some player, or with the ground. Retired National Football League players have proceeded to file a civil...
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...focus more on the dangers of concussion sin football. In sports everyone who commits to playing for an organized team knows that there is a large risk involved by the time you are stepping onto the field, Court or Ice Rink. One of the most common sports that athletes are being injured in is the sport of football. Every one knows the dangers of the the full contact sport because it is so widely commercialized in for all ages. From High School all the way to the NFL football is a big deal but what about the injury's that come along with playing this violent game. Concussions are one of the most common injures that occur out of the football field and it has...
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...Introduction Concussions and CTE are extremely important in today’s society and have a strong connection with the sport of football. The current popularity of concussions today is due to deaths of former athletes who have suffered from CTE and concussions. As we learn more and discover new information on this subject, we can better develop our sciences to help treat people who suffer immensely from concussions and CTE. To narrow my research, I focused on the amount of concussions in the NFL. Also I focused on studies done by Boston University on deceased football players. With that being said, these studies led me to my research question: How many NFL players/former players could be affected by CTE? Literature Review CTE is a disease that...
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...10/2/14 Concussions in Sports “As Larry got checked out by doctors’ moments ago, he re-enters the game on offense as the Cardinals attempt to win the game.” Concussions are becoming a huge topic in all four major sports leagues, The National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Hockey League (NHL). Most of the concussions do tend to happen in football or in hockey, but even boxers, professional wrestlers, Mixed Martial Artists (MMA), and soccer players have been diagnosed with concussions. “Over 250 current or retired athletes - including 50 NFL players and 12 hockey players - have pledged to donate their brains, including Keith Primeau, who retired from the NHL in 2006 due to post-concussion syndrome” (McIlroy and Mick). That itself is a pretty crazy number and that is just in the past five years. That kind of shows how committed to fixing and understanding the concussion crisis is upon us. Concussion protocols in all sports needs to be redefined. There have been concussion protocols for the NFL and NHL that have been put into place since the frequency of concussions started happening. Teams across the nation and even world have started to employ neurologists for when a player gets a concussion so that the proper steps are taken. Usually a player has to sit out if he has failed a part of the concussion test. Recently an Arizona Cardinals player named John Abraham had his first serious concussion. He had...
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...Concussions in the NFL Concussions have been and will continue to be a major threat and liability risk to the National Football League. Head related injuries can have devastating long-term effects, causing serious brain damage, neurological disorders, and other cognitive health problems (“Concussions in Sports”). Within the past couple of years, suicides by former professional football players have been linked to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a disorder attributed to multiple concussions (Hanna). As a result, numerous class-action lawsuits have been filed against the NFL alleging “negligence, fraud, and concealment” (Brandt). Although the League has implemented new safety mechanisms and rules regarding head injuries, the main focus of the lawsuits is based on the NFL’s past failure to perform its legal duty of protecting and informing players about the true dangers and life-long impacts associated with concussions. The various lawsuits filed by football players demonstrate a liability risk to the NFL. Under the United States legal system, a liability risk arises when a person or entity can be held financially responsible for the life, income, or health to someone else (Rejda). Brain injuries and severe cognitive repercussions suffered by former NFL players can be categorized more specifically as bodily injuries. This type of liability damage imposes legal responsibility “for losses a person may incur because his or her body or mind has been harmed” (Rejda). In addition...
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