Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

How can college football programs promote more awareness in concussions education?
Leroy Cummings
Coastal Carolina University

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

Table of Contents
Title Page ....1
List of Figures..3
Problem Investigated...4
Purpose of the Study....4
Justification of the Study.4
Research Question...4
Definition of Terms..5
Brief Overview of the Study...5
Literature Review6
Procedures...9
Description of the Research Design....9
Description of the Sample...9
Description of Instruments.....9
Explanation of Procedures Followed.9
Internal Validity.....9
External Validity10
Justification of Statistical Technique.....10
Findings.....10
Summary and Conclusion..10
Results10
Discussion of the Implications of the Findings..10
Suggestions for Further Research...11
References..12
Appendices.....15

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

List of Figures

Figures One and Two

Page
1. 14

2..15

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

4
I.

Problem Investigated.
The purpose of this study is to see if college football programs can yield to higher

administrator involvement and achievement within the wellbeing of our football athletes. The
goal is to educate and see the usage of healthy promotion and awareness throughout our
everyday college football programs all over the county. I would definitely argue that this is
an important topic to investigate in the sense of the knowledge research contributed and
contain that provides an outstanding break through for our younger generations to come. The
results can and will help save lives. As a current athlete and a future educator, I can
completely debate that my experience and both knowledgeable and cultivating situations,
will not only benefit for others, but also allow open doors for many competitors to help
contribute to vase research of concussions within our students. As for future educators, we
should all think about whats best for the students. So what is best for the students? The
student athletic world is changing very vapidly over time. Should students health not be
taking seriously while they are required to keep a certain grade point average to continue and
compete at the collegiate level? This research gives an analysis on different promotional
events and strategies that help cultivate with the lack of acknowledgement giving to
concussions and how it affects our student athletic society. The results could help
improvements and both promotion and awareness across college campus all over the world.
My stated research question is How can a college football program promote more
awareness in concussion education? As stated earlier, concussion are one of the most life
threatening compensation that a football player can obtain. Concussions come with many

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

5
different terms of constitutive definitions, that provide a step and stone for individuals who want
intonate on the required subject.

My constitutive definitions of these terms are as follows:

Concussion. n. a temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head the term is also used
loosely of the aftereffects such as confusion or temporary incapacity. (Google Dictionary)
Motivation. n. the general desire or willingness of someone to do something
Student Achievement. n. the quality and quantity of a students work (Google Dictionary)
Survey. n is a method of collecting information by asking questions. Sometimes interviews are
done face-to-face with people at home, in school, or at work. (Google Dictionary)
Also, here are my operational definitions of these terms:
Concussion: A concussion has hands down been the most devastating injury provided to football
athletes. They come with symptoms of memory loss, dizziness, drowsiness, headaches, vomiting
and death.
Motivation: Motivational advisement within football is a huge aspect to look at. Most players
are motivated to continue to play despite having an extremely bad concussion because of the
motivation from coaches to continue playing under the MOCHO man environment.
Student Achievement: A students positive or negative game on content material or
assessments during competition can completely diminish the decision to play hurt or play healthy
within the conversation of concussions.

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

6
Survey: The vase number of football players will be taking a brief survey measuring their
knowledge on the information of concussions.
This research study should provide a great aberration of equip information for individuals
programs to help promote concussion awareness throughout their student body.
II.

Literature Review
As we know the world of sports is forever evolving. Sport philosopher and researchers
are always finding ways to better serve students athletes throughout their everyday advances.
The eruption of concussions surrounding the football world has completely taken a turn for
the worse. Concussions are one of the leading injuries in football today. During 2012-2013,
there has been 489 concussion diagnosed during the preseason and regular season practices
and games combined in the NFL alone (Cable News Network, 2014). According to USA
Football, a concussion is not a bruise to the brain, but occurs when the brain is moving back
and forth at a rapid pace within the skull. The injury causes many problems inside the brain
such as memory loss, vision change, and confusion. Concussions can start occurring in males
when they are in high school and the effects can become lifelong or even death if not treated.
Some lifelong complications can be symptoms of Alzheimers disease, vertigo, and a disease
that has been taking lives of NFL players, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as
CTE. CTE was discovered by Dr. Bennett Omalu; after doing autopsies of six NFL players, it
was said that CTE was the cause of death (NFL Concussions Fast Facts, 2014). Each player
committed suicide.

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

7
Two disciplines that deliver vital insights on concussions are health promotion and
exercise and sport science. Without knowing if a player has suffered a concussion, it makes it
very difficult to diagnose them.
Exercise and sport science can help doctors figure how the brain needs to heal, what a
player should do in order to heal and what signs to look out for after a concussion. Even after
receiving a concussion, it is difficult to figure out if a player is completely healed. The
brain is not like any other bone or muscle in the body; in order to heal, it needs lots of rest.
From the years, 1996-2006, over 75.5% of players returned to the field to play only seven
days after receiving a concussion; in the same years, over 32.4% of those players lost
consciousness when they were hit (Casson, 2006). Being that players are going back on the
field so soon can cause bigger problems within the brain. Steven DeKosky states that,
traumatic tearing of neuronal connections caused by concussions can have multiple effects
on the brain (2010). Instead of being so eager to get back on the field, players should take
the time to heal their brains, especially since it is such a vital organ in the human body.
The discipline of health promotion provides background knowledge of the disease and
gives players the information they need in order to prevent concussions. Stated before,
concussions are not bruises to the brain, but instead are mTBIs, which are mild traumatic
brain injuries (Saulle, 2012) that occur when the brain moves back and forth at a rapid pace.
Concussions can lead to CTE, which will have a lifelong effect not just on the brain, but the
players themselves. In order CTE, we have to know more about it. According to Michael
Saulle, CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that begins to affect the brain after
multiple hits to the head (2012). Because CTE has only been determined so far as a cause of

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

8
death, it is very important that players go and get checked periodically whenever they feel
woozy or confused after being hit.
The biggest relief when it comes to concussions is all the technology that we are
beginning to have that will help research and diagnose concussions faster. Head Impact
Telemetry, infrared technology and Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment Test have all
been very helpful when it comes to diagnosing concussions and even keeping an eye on the
brains progress post-concussion. In 2008, infrared technology was introduced to the United
States Marine Corps; four years later the Pittsburgh Steelers neurosurgeon, Dr. Joseph
Marion began using it in the NFL (Anderson, 2014). This technology not only is a safer way
to check for concussions, but it also is faster. It does not use the radiation like a MRI
machine, which could possibly cause cancer, and it can detect intracranial hematomas in a
few minutes (Anderson, 2014). At three different universities, they were able to use Head
Impact Telemetry, also known as HIT; the football teams at Virginia Tech, Dartmouth
College and Brown University used the equipment from Fall of 2007 all the way to when the
freshmen graduated in Spring of 2011 (Duhaime, 2012). HIT was made at SIMBEX, LCC in
New Hampshire and it measures the gravitational pull when a player is struck, the location,
magnitude and impact frequency of the hit (Mackay, 2013). Known as ImPACT, the
Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment Test uses neurocognitive exams to see how the brain
is working after suffering a concussion (Bonds, 2014). According to the Advancements in
Concussions, Preventions, Diagnostics, and Treatment, ImPACT interprets verbal
recognition memory, visual processing speed, reaction time and many of the brains abilities.

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

9
Between researching and gaining all the information from the distinctive disciplines,
others should be able to understand the reason why concussions are a serious in football. It
may not be a simple task and there is a lot more that might need to be done. But with
anticipation, we can further this investigation on the disease. With the technology and
knowledge that we have about concussions, we should be able to find a way to answer
questions that have been or still are unanswered and continue with a strategy to help put a
stop to this brain injury.
III. Procedures
The procedures for this research are very simple to follow. I intend of using the word of
mouth promotion system within student athletes to help exceed the notation of knowledge. As
stated below and my findings, I decided to create a survey with informational questions about the
injury of a concussion. The survey was intended for fifty students on the football team. Each
student will be required to answer all their questions to their best of knowledge. Students that
answer I dont know or students that write the wrong answer are asked to attend a 45 minute
session where there will be free snacks and a discussion on causes, symptoms, and identifying
concussions within the locker room. The three survey questions were:
1. Would you describe a concussion as trauma to the brain or skull injury?
1. How many concussions do you think happen per year?
2. Would you say that a change in ones personality after being hit in the head a possible sign
of a concussion?

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

10
After the experimented event took place, the internal and external validity of this research can
also be viewed when finding true data to review. Regardless of how hard we work to help
promote and educate our college campuses on the devastating injuries of concussions,
concussions will still occur and be researched. The validity that we are following is the one that
requires us to work at a repetitive state, involve mental change in the mind on how this injury is
considered and our raking of lives health problems. As stated before, most individuals dont
know the true meaning of concussions, nor know when they have one.
IV. Findings
After a lengthy evaluation, all fifty students answered at least one question incorrectly.
Thirty-seven students answered I dont know on at least one of them. Twenty-three students
came to the session about concussions. Each athlete took turns explaining to students everything to know
about concussions. Datarius, Tyler and Kenneth took turns explaining what concussions are and their full
effects on the brain. RaQuan, Dontay and Samson explained the importance of recognizing signs of a
concussion when someone has had a head injury. After this, all seven teammates, including myself,
performed a small skit to better the students understanding of noticing concussions. Students are taught
what questions to ask when looking for signs of a concussion. This action took place inside of the locker
room of the Coastal Carolina Football Team.
V. Conclusion

My stated research question is How can a college football program promote more
awareness in concussion education? To follow up to that question, I do have the answer. Having
been the leader and promoter of this awareness process within this research, I give it big thumbs
up. Subsequent to seeing all the reactions and ongoing conversations about my topic of choice

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

11
rooming around the locker room, it really brought joy to this continuing situation. For years now,
concussion has been the number one catastrophic injury that a football player at any level can
receive, causing numerous of bodily damage and also death. To all my athletic student football
athletes, within colleges around the world, educate yourself with the research giving; know that
your body is more important than a game, and that your health should be the main priority of
your life.

Suggestions for further research

After completion of this research, there were some intakes that I wouldnt mind explaining while
collecting more data. One of those is the results of concussions while wearing a football helmet
to the comparison of a soccer player coincidently hitting his head on a soccer ball.

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

12

References
1. Anderson, Paul D. "Infra-Scanner Concussion Awareness and Advocacy. NFL
Concussion Litigation. N.p., 12 July 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.
2. Bonds, Gregory B., William W. Edwards, and Brandon D. Spradley.
"Advancements in Concussions Prevention, Diagnostics and
Treatment." The Sport Journal. N.p., 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Oct. 2014

3. Casson, Ira R., Dr Med David C. Viano, John W. Powell, and Elliot J. Pellman.
"Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library
of Medicine, 01 May 2006. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

4. Duhaime, Ann C., and Jonathan G. Beckwith. "Clinical Characteristics of Diagnosed

Concussions." Journal of Neurosurgery. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

5. Mackay, Steven. "Professor Seeks Way to Limit Concussions." Virginia Tech.

Feb. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.

N.p 3

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

13

6. "NFL Concussions Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 21 July 2014. Web. 6 Oct.
2014.

7. Saulle, Michael, and Brian D. Greenwald. "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A

Review." Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct.
2014.

8. "USA Football." Heads Up: Concussion in Football (n.d.): n. pag. Centers for
Diseases Control and Prevention. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
9. DeKosky, Steven. Traumatic Brain Injury Football, Warfare and Long-Term
Effects. New England Journal of Medicine. N.p., 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 09 Nov.
2014

Figure One: This all 50 individual surveys that was giving out to my CCU teammates, all
having the same 3 questions implemented. All signed with their names.

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

14

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

15

Figure Two:

Running head: How Can Football Programs Promote Concussion Awareness and Education?

16

Percentage of Student out of 50% with current knowledge of Concussions

Total Students
Answered
;
;
ust gave Answered and
imput"