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Thomas Obando

Mr. Smith

Writing for College

25 April 2018

Heads Up; The Hazards of Concussions

On December 10, 2017 Tom savage, quarterback of the Houston Texans was removed

from the football game after a hard hit by San Francisco defensive end Elvis and je was

evaluated for a concussion and was injured for a whole 6 weeks. Concussion are caused by a

sudden blow to the head or body “Today, more than 20% of all traumatic brain injuries among

American children result from sports and recreational activities”. Many current and former

athletes are experiencing this pain and suffering every day, and the reason for this is long-term

brain trauma which is a direct result from concussions. Unfortunately, concussions have been

rising in a dangerous rate. This injury has not only been occurring in professional sports, ut also

in youth sports. Concussions are quickly becoming an epidemic across the entire sports world.

Concussion are quickly becoming an epidemic across the entire sports world. What is known

about sports concussion risk and recovery? That's what is needed in order to pursue the safety of

sports athletes. sports athletes.

One of the most concerning factors of head injuries Is how uneducated we are: more

studies must be done and the athletes and coaches must become more aware of this issue. This is

the embarrassing reality in today’s sports world, is that athletes know very little about the causes

and risks they have when not taking the concussions protocol seriously. The two-other point I’m

trying to prove is the effects of a concussion are cumulative in athletes who return to play prior
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to complete recovery. The five leading sports which account for concussions include football,

basketball, boxing, bicycling and soccer

Section 2

Once an athlete is symptom- free, they should slowly work their way into doing more

vigorous activities. Throughout the world of sports, the choice to return to play after some sort of

injury has caused a lot of controversy in the recent years of the Twentieth. The responsibility

these actions should be directed by health professionals involved for such decisions remains with

the health personnel involved, both on and off the field of sports. Across the U.S, laws have been

enacted addressing concussions. Most states require that before returning to action, an athlete

must be examined and cleared by a licensed healthcare professional. “The CDC has established

stepwise return-to-play concussion guidelines whereby athletes move to the next stage only if

they remain symptom free”. Nonetheless, fitness professionals can also be involved in the

rehabilitative process. Getting an athlete ready to “return to Play” is a multistep protocol with

activities gradually progressing to greater levels of intensity’s and exertions. The effects of a

concussion are cumulative in athletes who return to play prior to complete recovery.

“While recovering from a concussion, the brain is vulnerable to repeat injury. Returning

to play before the brain is fully healed can put an athlete at risk for another concussion from a

second impact”. That is why most sports have tests that trainers will perform specific test to

prevent players getting hit a second time. A second blow can cause a rare condition known as

second-impact syndrome. Repeated concussions have been linked to a variety of neuro logical

disorders among athletes including CTE, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinsonism. Second-impact

syndrome is when an athlete suffers a second head injury before the brain has adequate time to

heal in between concussions. This is one reason that it is crucial that parents gain an
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understanding of concussions, possible signs and symptoms, and what to do if they suspect one

has occurred. Bottom line, nothing can be done to prevent all youth, concussions. But fitness

professionals can be an integral part of reducing the risk through, evaluation, preparation and

rehabilitation

“Recent research also suggests that even sub-concussive hits in children and adolescents

may result in longer-term health effects such as decreased cognitive functioning, increased rates

of depression, memory problems, and mild cognitive impairment (a pre-Alzheimer’s condition)”

according to American Fitness Association. The help of focusing on youth athletes’ protection

and the information related to concussions are highly needed for a player’s health. The necessity

of a professional medical trainer before the player can return to the sport of choice needs to be

highly enforced throughout the world. These brief ideas in concussion recovery also shows how

educating the coaches and the student athletes in helping them to recognize the signs of a

concussion can be a huge game changer when it comes to a player’s health. “The date of the

injury and injury description in the patient pass history is a good way to start the recovering

process to help the athletes return to their sport of choice according to National Institutes of

Health”, As we get to know this information, trainers always should be taken seriously because

they help protect the layers safety.

Student Athletes of any type of athletic sport should be careful how they handle their

concussions, in Hawaii I am an amateur football player. This sport is one of the most vigorous

and physical sports out there in order to keep the players safe, guidelines and rules have been

told to us that any headaches or dizziness have to be administered by a medical professional

(Trainer or Doctor). One of the biggest reasons that players don't like to say they are hurt or

injured is in their eyes showing that their weak they don't want to be made fun of by their team
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mates, or miss game time. Athletes need to break out of their shell and have some confidence

and take action for their own benefit. By not reporting a concussion or returning prior to their

recovery time, players are risking long-term as well as some short-term that can occur during the

recovering process time from a concussion. Post-concussion syndromes can also be a result from

a original concussion that hasn't recovered fully yet. These post-concussions symptoms can last

for weeks, months or in some cases years. It has researched that athletes who have sustained a

concussion are highly likely to sustain another one. This being said, If a person happens to

receive a second concussion during the time of the recovering process you are eligible for a

second impact concussions. This can highly due more harm to the players and also increasing the

long-lasting effects. “Long lasting effects include depressive disorders, anxiety problems, and

physical and cognitive disturbances”. The person who experienced the concussions also can

experience psychological symptoms that can affect the person daily function in life. The

recovery time from a concussion depends on how baldy the concussions is. Overall the risk of

playing when not yet fully healed highly outweighs the risk of playing

In the article “Youth Concussions” , Matt Brzycki he talks about physical and cognitive

rest is well needed to recover from a post-concussion. In regard to the recovery time, players

should listen to the time given by a professional medical caretaker and should sit out of any type

of vigorous activities that can cause a secondary concussion. Educators should be more informed

and be more concerned about the effects of a concussion. Teachers and family members should

be diverse in this problem to help benefit all the players to help them play to the best of their

abilities and achieve greatness in life.

“The fact that every year, some 10 million individuals sustain some type of traumatic

brain injury baffles me. Traumatic brain injuries represent a significant and growing cause of
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disability and death worldwide, and is estimated to become the third largest cause of global

disease burden by 2020, according to National Institutes of Health”. These types of injuries can’t

be stopped because it is a part of the game but we as a society can help reduce the after effects

that happens during the concussion to help the person in need.

Section 3

Whether it be amateur or professional sports, Some sports are supposed to be designed to be

that harmful and dangerous between other players but they can result in concussions as

well.“Such as, in 2012 finals for the National Basketball Association. Former Oklahoma City

star James Harden suffered a concussion right before the beginning of playoffs.” According to

Med Star sports medicine the five leading sports which account for concussions include football,

bicycling, basketball, boxing and soccer”. Concussions among high school athletes are most

often caused by contact with an opponent, a team mate, the ground, or a piece of equipment or

object in the playing area.

“Research from the National Institutes of Health has shown that high school athletes are far more

prone to receive concussions and taking them more seriously than professional sports.” Every

school follows the direct concussion safety laws that prohibit the student athlete from playing

until the recovery process is complete, but professional sports players have more leeway. Wins

are more significant in the professional leagues then compared to high school or youth sports

levels because it is basically their job, the way they earn money. Wins lead to fame and money.

In the game, it gives the individual players an opportunity to shine in front of millions of people

in the spotlight we can only dream of. If an athlete performs well that player can be paid more

money in the future and people will remember that specific name (Lionel Messi or Cristiano

Ronaldo). Not just the players but the coaches as well if they win their divisions, make playoffs,
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make or even win the championship game. It all leads to a higher pay grade, it also leads to more

money for the team and the city as well. Wining means so much in the professional leagues. But

winning isn’t everything! Believe me I love sports with a burning passion, but I would want

players fully healed and then comeback rather than rush back still not 110 Percent. Rushing

players back into the game after a concussion is too dangerous, the safety and cautious

concussions laws that keep high school players safe should be implemented (within reason) in

professional leagues to ensure the safety of the player.

Many different sports results in sustaining a concussion, one of the leading ones is boxing

or Mixed Martial Arts type of fighting. Over a long period of time , professional and non-

professional boxers can suffer in most cases permanent brain trauma injury’s “The force of a

professional boxer's fist is equivalent to being hit with a thirteen-pound bowling ball traveling

twenty miles per hour, or about 52 times the force of gravity. According to the journal of

combative sports.” There are some boxers with varying degrees of speech difficulty, stiffness,

unsteadiness and memory loss due to traumatic damage to the brain. “Fifteen to forty percent of

ex-boxers have been found to have symptoms of chronic brain injury, most of these boxers have

these symptoms.”

According to CDC “reports show that the amount of reported concussions has doubled in

the last 10 years> rates such as one in five high school athletes Will sustain a sports concussion

for almost any type of sport they play” concussions are a direct result from physical contact that

damages the brain when playing a vigorous sport that involves some sort of violence. Athletes of

any sport can get a concussion but with the help of trained professionals we can reduce these

numbers.
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For boys, the leading cause of high school sports concussion is football. For girls, the

leading cause of high school sports concussions is soccer. These sports lead to many injuries that

can severely harm the players health. Medicine in today’s time is wonderful. Things that were

considered harmful in the past can now be treated. Torn muscles and broken bones can be healed

with time. Medical staff and researchers now know more about the brain than ever before.

Medical professionals have live saving knowledge on the effects of a concussions. When a

player gets traumatic impact in the brain area, the athletic trainers know the correct protocol

process. The player is examined to see if dizziness, nausea or loss of conscious has or is

occurring. The athletes then must be taken to the emergency room for MRI scans (Magnetic

Resonance Imaging) Or Car scans (Computerized Axial Tomography) of the brain to see how

sever the hit was and if brain damage occurred. However, athletes do not show any signs or

symptoms, the players are allowed to continue to play. This is brought up in the nation to be very

controversial because high school athletes are very passionate for the games they play for it is

hard when it comes to staying off the field when you’re an essential player to the team. This may

cause players to play through the pain and disregard the injury that you should be trying to

recover from. I should know because I have done this myself many occasions because I did not

want to let my team down, I wanted to finish the game off strong. This is one of the bigger

reasons.

Section 4

An athlete who has had a concussion often will complete a post-concussion symptom

scale at each visit with his or her healthcare provider. These self-reports of symptoms not only

provide information relevant to concussion diagnosis but also serve as the foundation of

monitoring recovery and decision making about the individual’s return to school and physical
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activity. A doctor or professional trainer can help fasten and reduce the time of treatment of a

sports concussion can take, as well as letting the players return safely to the sport he or she is

playing. Rules regulated by the trainers make it so any sports activities must be stalled as long as

the player shows signs of a head injury. Focusing on amateur athletes and information on

concussions safety are highly need for a player protection.Lack of a proper diagnosis and

management of a concussion may result in serious long-term consequences, or risk of coma or

death

According to Diagnostic Terminology, research has found that 28 percent of the athletes

who initially seemed to have regained their cognitive abilities such as memory or reflexes saw an

increase in dizziness after vigorous to moderate exertions, Diagnostic test, is the current method

of concussion diagnosis. By confirming the presence and symptoms after an individual has

experienced a hit to the head or body. The trainer can better understand the correct procedures

and actions to do. Symptoms are usually self-reported or by specific test run by trainers, often

using a symptom scale. Reliance on an athlete’s will to report his or her symptoms is not always

the smartest choice. Diagnosing a concussion is complicated by the possibility of an athlete

underreporting the symptoms or not reporting them at all. Using multiple evaluation tools, such

as symptom scales and checklist, balance testing, and neurocognitive assessments is the most

effective method to making sure an athlete does not have a concussion or the players isn’t lying

about his or her symptoms. This helps by increasing the rate of identifying the concussion and

this is currently the best method of identifying and diagnosing a concussion. these brain test help

protect the young athletes throughout the states and help keep them safe from harm.

I am a Varsity football player and every two years an athlete must take a baseline test

before the player can practice in the sport of choice. The Baseline test are pre-and-post head
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injury test. Computerized assessments that measure your reaction time, memory, speed of your

mental processing, and functioning of the brain. They are also used to record baseline concussion

symptoms and provide information about an athlete’s history with concussions. If a player

sustains a concussion the same player must match or beat the test when he or she was not hurt.

Section 5

Proper treatment of concussions need to be taken seriously otherwise the player is risking

his or her safety. When a player sustains a brain injury he or she may require specific

accommodations that is in the best interest of the player for instance, academic leeway for the

student, he or she may not need to participate in the learning that is going on at the school.

Knowledge of concussions spread throughout the schools and families would benefit help to see

if the player shows any signs or symptoms that a player is going through. Other benefiting

factors to keep players safe is to make a national law to make it necessary for once a person

sustains a concussion before the player can return to play, the athlete must pass a set of test

including the baseline test. After this step to recovery is passed the player would need a written-

out clearance document signed by a medical professional (trainer included) that gives permission

for the player to return to the sport. Proper evaluation, education, rehabilitation is key for the

recovery process for concussions. By educating family’s, teachers, coaches and students we can

help our student athletes perform to the best of their abilities.

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Work Cited

Brzycki, Matt. Youth concussions. American Fitness [serial online]. Fall 2016 2016;

Available from: Master FILE Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 27, 2017

Dachtyl, S. A., & Morales, P. (2017). A Collaborative Model for Return to Academics After

Concussion: Athletic Training and Speech-Language Pathology. American Journal Of

Speech-Language Pathology, 26(3), 716-728

"Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Brain Injury Research Institute." Brain Injury Research

Institute | Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, www.protectthebrain.org/FAQs.aspx.

“Head Case Complete Concussion Managements.” Stats on Concussions & Sports Head

Concussion www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions-sports

Kelly, K., & Erdal, K. (2017). Diagnostic terminology, history of concussion affect return to play

expectations and anticipated symptoms following mild traumatic

brain injury. Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology,

Kos, Abby. "The Risk of Returning to Play Too Soon After a Concussion." Performance

Therapies, 29 Sept. 2016, www.ptforhealth.com/risk-returning-play-soon-concussion/.

Concussion www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions-sports

Kroshus, Emily, et al. "Pressure on Sports Medicine Clinicians to Prematurely Return Collegiate

Athletes to Play After Concussion." Journal Of Athletic Training (Allen Press)

(September 2015): Teacher Reference Center, EBSCO host (accessed October 18, 2017).

Remington, Alexander. Sports Related concussions and traumatic brain injuries: Research

roundup, May 2012.

Wasserman E, Bazarian J, Mapstone Academic Dysfunction After a Concussion Among US

High School and College Students. American Journal of Public Health. July 2016