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Lorenzo Luna

Dr. Sharity Nelson

ENGL 1302-231

12 April 2024

A Delve Into the Brain of Athletes

Every year, millions of people attend and watch sporting events to watch their favorite

athletes put their body on the line for entertainment. Oftentimes, society views these athletics as

just machines or simply vessels to fuel their need for entertainment. However, these athletes risk

the possibility of injury which further impacts their “civilian life” outside of sports. One of the

most concerning injuries in athletes are SRC or sports related concussions. In recent years,

numerous studies have been done to further realize the consequences of SRC and as well as

preventive measures needed to be put in place to lessen the chance of obtaining this injury.

Studies ranging from SRC suffered in the youth, lingering effects after obtaining SRC, as well as

the risks that come with getting re-diagnosed with SRC. These athletes for the most part partake

in sports at a young age and this brings up the question whether or not it is worth enrolling a kid

into sports at such a young age with the possible risk of obtaining a SRC. This paper argues that

an athlete is significantly more likely to obtain SRC at a younger age and re-risk at diagnosis

down the line.

Athletes all begin somewhere and most begin playing sports in their youth which adds a

kickstart to the possibility of them being diagnosed with SRC. More laws were also put into

place in order to improve the screening process in regards to SRC due to hopefully reducing the

risk of kids playing contact sports with an undiagnosed concussion. Beilder, et al. makes a

statement using a graph showing the statistics of states that quickly adopted some sort of law in
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order to combat SRC (7). Washington was the first to lead closely followed by other east coast

states and soon followed more of the country (8). Contact sports are the leading type of sport

leading to SRC also claimed by Beilder, et al. (9). In agreement with Beiler et, al., Musko,

Patryk, and Andreas K. Demetriades both agree that contact sports are the highest “type” of sport

in regards to diagnosis in SRC mainly in the youth. Beilder et.al, also claims that advancements

at the school levels in technology are improving, but is ultimately not where it needs to be in

regards to public schools as opposed to private schools (9). Most professional athletes have come

from a public setting as opposed to a private setting which in return can lead them for a chance

of re-injury as the number of kids enrolled in public schools is much higher than private schools

(10). A much smaller sample size is easier to keep track of SRC cases as more trainers and

equipment is readily available compared to a public school where they can be triple the size of a

private school. A child can easily play with an undiagnosed case of SRC and not know until it’s

too late due to these factors.

There has always been a division in the sports world regarding differences in gender and

with this comes variability in SRC rates compared to men and women. Musko, Patryk, and

Andreas K. Demetriades also chime in and state that the risk of concussions is significantly

higher in men than women (132). This is due in large part to men participating in contact sports

such as football, soccer, basketball, etc. compared to women who don’t often take part in contact

sports (133). Musko, Patryk, and Andreas K. Demetriades further conquered football as

ultimately the sport leading the pact in SRC diagnosis due to the high impact hits sustained in the

sport (133). This has been re-iterated and is relatively well known, but often athletes in the NFL

come out and say that tackles sustained are often worse than car crashes. Women don’t have to

face the same fear of being hit by a 300 pound athlete as women don’t participate in football,
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however there are some rare exceptions, but it does not affect the overall study as a whole due to

the small percentage of women who participate. This study done by Musko, Patryk, and Andreas

K. Demetriades also mainly focused on Division 1 athletes who are the next step above

adolescents, but before professional which covers another range of athletes. While they might

not be at the “professional level” this just adds to the argument that parents should not be

enrolling their kids in sports at such a young age because there are multiple “levels” to be getting

into the big league and it’s always an inherent risk.

Like any other injury, some sort of recovery is required in order to be brought back to full

health. The diagnosis of a concussion is rather unique as it’s not a physical bone that can be

repaired with a cast or medicine. This directly affects the brain and the way it affects your

decision making abilities according to Bunt, et al. Bunt, et. al also makes the claim that It is of

utmost importance to clear the protocols in place because if an athlete were to return to their

contact sport it can possibly risk them either further complicating the injury or worst case

scenario could be deadly (377). Bretzin et. al also agrees with the recovery time period, but

mainly covers the collegiate side of the game. Bretzin et al. reiterates that the gender differences

makes it a case by case basis in regards to recovery by providing a graph of recovery times.

Kelly et al. and Henke both concluded each of their indivail studies regarding small recovery

times and low aerobic exercises. This small repetition of exercises soothed the brain’s rhythm,

and ultimately helped shorten the recovery time by a couple of days compared to the actual

national average (378). The human body can only do so much in a short amount of time, so

having these aerobic exercises is a small step in the right direction to hopefully be cleared for the

return to action. A question can be brought up whether or not the effectiveness of these exercises

can be used multiple times or how much more can the body withstand this type injury unitl it
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completely “checks out”. Parents should view these studies as a wakeup call to hopefully see that

the human body is a complex vessel and it can be outright dangerous to have their kids

participating in these high impact sports especially when the child's brain isn’t even fully

developed yet.

In essence, though there has been more of an emphasis on cracking down on SRC

diagnosis, it still remains an emerging issue within the sports world. While this has always been

an underlying issue, it has not been taken as seriously as it has now as technology continues to

advance. The involvement of the youth in high contact sports such as football, basketball, soccer

etc. is not helping the overall cause as determined by scholars. Parents now have to make the

decision on whether or not it's worth the risk of enrolling their kids into the sports. Their

“civilian life” can be negatively affected outside of their sport which can be further more

impacting down the line in the instance they were to suffer another concussion. Now the parents

with all the data and research out there have to make the decision to either risk their child’s

health or to maybe delay their enrollment a few years when their brain is more developed. These

choices will help decide where the next generation of athletes ultimately land and whether or not

the fame or their health is more valued to them.

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Sources Cited

Beilder, Erica, et al. “Going Beyond the State Law: Investigation of High School Sports-Related

Concussion Protocols.” The Journal of Athletic Training, vol. 57, no. 1, 2022, pp. 32-43.

EBSCO doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0505.20.

Bretzin, C. Abigail, et al. “Clinical Recovery Timelines After Sport-Related Concussion in

Men’s and Women’s Collegiate Sports.” Journal of Athletic Training, vol. 57, no. 7,

pp. 678-687. EBSCO. doi: 10.4085/601-20

Bunt, C. Stephen, et al. “Resilience and recovery from sports related concussions in adolescents

and young adults.” Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology”, vol. 43, no.

7, 2021, pp. 1-13. EBSCO, https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2021.1990214

Hardesty, Kelly, et al. “Treatment of non sports related concussions in adolescents following an

irritability algorithmic approach: a case series.” Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, vol.

38, no. 10, 2022, pp. 1570-1578. EBSCO.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2020.1855683

Henke, D. Ryan, et al. “Does Early Low-Intensity Aerobic Exercise Hasten Recovery in

Adolescents With Sport-Related Concussion?” Journal of Sports Rehabilitation, vol. 29,

no. 9, 2020, pp. 248-252. EBSCO https://doi.org/10.1123/jsr.2019-0070

Musko, Patryk, and Andreas K. Demetriades. “Are Sex Differences in Collegiate and High

School Sports-Related Concussion Reflected in the Guidelines? A Scoping Review.”,

Brain Sciences, vol. 13, no. 1310, 2023, pp. 1-18. EBSCO,

https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13091310