Should Concussions Be Allowed In Schools

This paper will go into detail about the mental and physical health effects of CTE and address what the NFL is doing to reduce concussions. CTE affects players not just mentally but also physically. One out of every three NFL players are affected by CTE and it is becoming a bigger issue everyday. CTE used to not be as common in football payers, but more in boxers, it was very common due to various amounts of headshots taken by the

In the article "heads up: concussions in high school sports", it exemplifies how high school athletes are more vulnerable to concussions and may take longer to recover based upon immaturity of the central nervous system, the lack of recognition that a concussion has occurred, and the reliability of symptoms. The document, "concussion: potential causes and long-term impact", supports the conclusion of how repeated injuries can result in permanent brain damage. If an athlete where to experience a concussion more than once, then these effects can be permanent. The damage can affect them in other careers too. This is why it is important to let athletes have more recover time for concussions: another concussion occurring in that same time frame can alter their mental status and the team may loose that athlete forever.

As has been discussed previously, the role of concussive injuries in sport is currently controversial and subject to much discussion. It is notable that there are specific sports related attitudes to concussion as well as more general mechanistic approaches. The following section will seek to address these points in more detail utilising published literature. The tern concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury, is derived from the Latin concussus which means to shake violently (Cantu, 1996).

However, it is also important to note that a concussion can also take place outside of sports, meaning it can happen to anybody. For instance, there have been incidents where a person tripped while running, fell, and the impact of their head’s contact with the ground caused a concussion. Or, in a car accident many front-seat passengers, or even the driver, have slammed their heads against the dashboard/steering wheel, also possibly resulting in a concussion. Concussions when treated can be healed in a timely manner. Unfortunately, throughout history, there has been a tendency for people to overlook a concussion as a serious injury, therefore, making it more problematic than it already is.

In high school, athletes are in greater danger of getting a concussion, and the effects can be even more severe than they would be for adults. According to the second source, many states require licensed medical professionals to check out athletes immediately after a player acquires a head injury. There is no same-day return, with the new laws. Athletes of all different ages and sports are required to sit out for a certain amount of time after suffering a concussion; however, all high school athletes should sit out for a longer amount of time because the brain isn 't fully developed until the age of 21. Also, after teenage athletes have gotten a concussion they are very likely to get another one soon after which can lead to very serious effects.

When student athletes participate in contact sports, they run the risk of getting a concussion. A concussion, according to The American Academy of Neurology, is defined as "A trauma induced alteration in mental statues that may or may not result in loss of consciousness". Short term effects could cause a change in mood, along with headaches and nausea; whereas long term effects of a concussion can range from drastic behavioral changes and mood disturbances to cognitive difficulties. These symptoms are very prevalent in student athletes that may get a concussion and can only get worse when one has been re-concussed. I believe that student athletes should be required to sit out for a longer period of time following the events of a concussion.

“Concussions are potentially one of the most serious, yet the most difficult to diagnose injury in sports,” (Hossler A1). MIllions of high schoolers play football each year, yet, at most, 10 people die each year from the sport. Why do kids keep playing it then? Most of them like it because of the physical aspect, being able to hit other people and is also a good way to keep fit. They also get enjoyment out of it because it’s fun.

These are long term effects of concussions. Miss diagnosing high school concussions has become a major concern, especially to those involved with athletics. Sports in general are getting more physical which is a reason to have a strong concussion prevention program. Concussion testing needs to be federally funded, schools need to provide it, and rules in sports need to be more strict regarding hits and contact. The majority of schools who do not offer in depth concussion testing is due to a lack of money.

Concussions are extremely common now a days and need to be examined properly. Should parents be most concerned about football injuries that could affect their children’s ability to learn new skills or participate in class? Will those injuries put their children at a disadvantage that outweighs the advantages of playing sports? The research is based off of these questions. The injury that I am deeply interested in is dealing with the youth and how a concussions affects them personally and in schooling.

THE INCREASING NUMBER OF CONCUSSION IN ATHLETES ARE DETRIMENTAL TO THE FUTURE OF SPORTS In the recent years, concussions have become a common accident related to various types of sports around the globe. A concussion is a traumatic injury of the brain, they can also be as a result of a sudden blow on the body. Such a blow may cause the head to jerk back and forth in a rapid motion. This may cause a bounce or twist within the skull, which may over stretch the brain, cause cell damage and alter chemical functioning within the brain.

Summary “Children Need to Play, Not Compete,” by Jessica Statsky is a thoughtful insight on the competitive sports for children. She is of the view that the competitive sports can ruin the enjoyment that games are supposed to provide. These methods of playing the games like adults can prove to be lethal for physical and psychological health. The author quotes from an authentic source that “Kids under the age of fourteen are not by nature physical.” (Tutko)

Concussions in Sports In sports, concussions occur frequently across all age groups. From little leagues to high school sports to the professional leagues, concussions pose a high risk of long term Traumatic brain injuries. Because of the high rate of concussions in sports more attention should be paid to protocols and treatment to prevent traumatic brain injuries. High school athletes that partake in a sport that requires intense physical activity are the most vulnerable to concussion and need more time to recover. According to the Head Case “High school football accounts for 47 percent of all reported sports concussions, with 33 percent of concussions occurring during practice.”

More now than ever athletes are being watched out for when there is trauma to the brain. After multiple cases of poor treatment to concussions parents and doctors are cracking down on letting concussions not be a big deal. As more studies advance, it is discovered that every case is different. The range is created by severity, past experience with trauma, and how the patient heals. Concussions in sports can range in severity, and how they affect each individual over time depending on times of impact.

According to a research report from Loehrke, a young athlete suffers a sports related injury that is severe enough to go to the emergency room approximately every 25 seconds, or 1.35 million times a year. The most prominent of these injuries were concussions, which accounted for 163,670, or 12 percent of the total 1.35 million injuries (Loehrke). Dr. Alexander K. Powers, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Health in North Carolina, found that most children who suffer concussions recover, but the prognosis for children who suffer recurring concussions is unknown. Recurring concussions could lead to several disabilities later in life, such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer 's disease, epilepsy, and many other neurological disorders that would require a substantial amount of surgery to cure, if they could even be cured at all (Powers). Putting a child at risk to suffer injuries, such as the ones listed above, is one of the main reasons why the amount of children participating in competitive sports has been dropping

“In the U.S., about 30 million children and teens participate in some form of organized sports, and more than 3.5 million injuries each year” claims Stanford Children’s Health. It’s definitely true that competitive sports can cause all sorts of injuries from big to small. The media teaches people simply that sports leads to horrific injuries and can cause stress, but what the mainstream media hardly discusses are the great benefits of competitive sports. While there may be some negatives to competitive sports, that’s just life, and to add on to that; there are plenty of benefits which are sure to override to media’s facts. Kids should play competitive sports because competitive sports teach children powerful life lessons, contributes to their social and mental stability, and because of the physical gain competitive sports provides.