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Keaton Cook

Mrs. Jackie Burr

English 2010

March 20, 2017

Risks and Consequences of Concussions

In the recent years the topic of Concussions has started to come up more and more. There

have been many studies and many articles written about concussions and how they affect the

brain and body. There have been major sport leagues (The National Football League is the major

one) that have come out and acknowledged that concussions are a real thing and have stated what

the severity and the impacts of concussions on humans lives. It has been a hot topic for the last

few years as new information has come out and different experiments/test have been ran. The

word concussion is so recognized on a national basis that if you were to walk up to a random

person on the street and ask them what a concussion is, odds are they can give you standard

definition. But a question that I have come to think of is, is this broad knowledge of the word

concussion hurting the public from realizing how serious of a problem this is and what major

long lasting effects it can have on one person's life. Do people realize that concussions arent just

a little nagging headache that goes away over time? Do they think about concussions before they
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let their kid go play sports. These are questions that some parents, coaches, and fans have started

to ask but they arent the majority. Concussions have become a considerable part of the realm of

sports and are we as a people taking the right steps the protect one another's lives

What is a Concussion

People often associate concussions with sports and mainly football. Over the last few

years it has started to just become something to expect when the topic of football is brought up.

Although it does help with concussion awareness it doesnt necessarily help give people the

insight needed to really learn about concussions. Yes people might know about the word

concussion but do they know they severity of getting even just one concussion. In a way talking

about concussions so much in a casual way may be a negative effect on the topic. By people just

throwing the word around and talking about it as if its nothing serious makes concussions seem

like they are irrelevant and just a little bump in the road. This kind of thinking unfortunately

leads people to not treat a concussion as serious as it should. Whether that be the person taking

care of someone with a concussion or if it is the actual person with a concussion. Learning all

the different aspects of concussions can give parents, fans, coaches, and even teammates a

different perspective of how to treat someone with a concussion and what to look for to prevent

the concussed from further injury and causing more serious damage to themselves.

Example of Concussion

There have been many stories of players that have suffered sports injuries while playing

the sport they love and it has unfortunately altered their life. Now there are a few stories in

which a player has died immediately after suffering the injury. These types of stories are very

rare and when they do happen they spread really quick. One of these sad unfortunate examples is
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of Chad Stover. Chad attended high school in Tipton, Missouri. He played as a defensive back

for his high school football team. His team had made it into the playoffs but in this particular

game they found themselves down with less than a quarter of the game left. The other team

(Sacred Heart) had the ball and if Tipton Cardinals wanted a chance at winning they needed a

stop. Sacred Heart ran a running play towards Chad and he went to make a play. While

attempting to tackle the running back he hit his head on the ground. Not an unusual thing in the

physical game of football. To everyone that was watching it was just another normal play. The

opposing player that was blocking Chad on that play was later asked if it was a hard hit Was it a

crazy-hard hit?(Gregory, Sean) His answer was plain and simple No. (Gregory, Sean) Chad

got up feeling dizzy but was asked by a coach twice if he was good to play and both times he

responded that he was. But before the next play while breaking the huddle he turned to his

teammate and said Somethings wrong.(Gregory, Sean) Shortly after he collapsed and another

teammate had to catch him. His parents immediately rushed to the field and was later carted off

and taken to a hospital where he soon died. Now

these stories are very rare but they still happen. It

leaves people asking why and how something like

this can happen. This particular injury wasnt even

from some bone crunching hit that Chad sustained. It

was from a regular play that at first glance seemed

like nothing.

(Chad Stover featured above. Photo Source: Columbia-Missourian)

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How to Heal

With stories like Chads and the National Football League making national news it has

really kicked into gear the research of and cause of concussions. There are many different tests

that are used to see if you have a concussion. One that is often used during either a game or

match is a trainer will give a few things to remember. Often it is a color, number, and then an

object. After telling you the things to remember the trainer or coach will leave you on the

sideline for awhile and then after some time has past you have to repeat what they originally had

told you to remember. If the player cannot remember one of those things they most likely have a

concussion. Now from there things get different because each doctor and each facility has their

own protocol that they are made to follow. Some say that you should sit out a minimum of two

weeks and then if their symptoms (headaches, nausea or vomiting, memory loss, dizziness, etc. )

are gone they are cleared to play. Others say once the symptoms stop you are cleared to resume

physical activities. Either way there is a time period where you arent supposed to do anything.

No sports, television, reading or even talking that much. When concussed the person is supposed

to let the brain rest and do as little thinking as possible. By doing these things to rest the brain it

will help it recover on its own.

http://www.riders4helmets.com/have-you-ever-suffered-a-concussion-as-a-result-of-a-horse-ridi

ng-accident/
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Precautionary Measures

With the test results of concussions and how it affects the body and mind many leagues

are putting in different steps and rules to follow to ensure everybodys safety. These range from

the professional leagues like that NFL all the way down to little league youth sports. Along with

the protocols the NFL and NCAA have put into action they have also implemented new rules.

One of which is helmet to helmet contact, also known as to targeting. Now even though it is

probably the most criticized rule that gets a lot of backlash because of how hard it is to determine

the call on the field it is still there to protect the players. Without some of these rules it leaves the

players at risk of injury that would soon lay blame on the league for not doing enough to protect

its players.

Conclusion

In Conclusion I think that concussions can be a big deal if not treated and cared for

properly. Without taking the necessary steps to get back to health can lead to permanent long

lasting damage that just isnt worth it. By learning the symptoms and signs of a concussion it can

better prepare parents, coaches, and players for when a circumstance comes up. If you play

sports its not a matter of if, but when. There is no way to fully prevent concussions from

happening, but there are ways to minimize them and notice them when they first occur. By

everyone being better informed of the dangers and seriousness of concussions it can only help

prevent people from a lot of pain and heartache.

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Works cited

Gregory, Sean. "'IT DIDN't CROSS MY MIND THAT I WOULDN't SEE HIM COME off

THAT FIELD.'. (Cover Story)." Time, vol. 184, no. 12, 29 Sept. 2014, p. 32. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tth&AN=98381901&site=ehost-live.

Mead, Maggie. "Hard Knocks." Scholastic Superscience, vol. 26, no. 3, Nov/Dec2014, p. 4.

EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tth&AN=98853754&site=ehost-live.

ELLIOTT, CLARK. "Fighting through the Fog." Discover, vol. 36, no. 4, May 2015, p. 56.

EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tth&AN=102066598&site=ehost-live.