Long-Term Effects Of Concussions

On the morning of December first of two thousand and twelve, Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher took a .40 caliber gun and shot his girlfriend 22 times inside his master bedroom. He then drove down to Arrowhead Stadium, the Chief’s home stadium, to express his appreciation to his team’s general manager and coach for everything they had done for him, walked away, and then shot himself in the head. This tragic recollection of the murder-suicide case executed by the 25 year old football player paints him as a monstrous and willfully violent man but what if one was to acclaim all of these fatal incidents to too many bumps in the head? Well it has been. Years after this incident, after medical examiners conducted an autopsy on Belcher and they found that his brain showed signs of CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease caused by repetitive traumatic head injuries, also denoted as concussions. There have been many documented cases where after contact sport athletes experience excessive concussions, they then seem to develop a seemingly new character as they come to be ill fully violent, overtly aggressive, or even deeply depressive. Many times this may lead to the diagnosis of a mental disorder or may end tragically, as in Belchers case, in the death of others and/or the athletes themselves.

two concussions, then a third is 2-4 times more likely, and if they 've had three concussions, then

We have all heard of the term “sports injury”. Usually an accident that occurs when engaged in a sport, the ideal can apply from something as frustrating as a rolled ankle to the more debilitating shock of a broken arm. Yet the fact remains that these physical ailments will heal, and properly, if they are treated properly. But what about concussions? What are the long term effects? In her brief editorial in TIME magazine, Alexandra Sifferlin explores the effects of concussions and specifically how they affect children if they aren't disclosed.

Symptoms include imbalance, headache, confusion, memory loss, loss of consciousness, vision change, hearing change, mood change, fatigue, and malaise. Concussions can also lead to dementia, Alzheimer’s, and depression (Carlos Dias Jr.). All of the possible symptoms are very disabling, and some even life threatening. Dr. Frank Conidi reported, “more than 40% of retired NFL players show evidence of abnormal brain structures. And on a series of cognitive tests the players took, half showed serious problems with executive functions such as reasoning, problem solving, planning and attention, while 45% had difficulty with learning and memory (Alice Park).” It is unbelievable that NFL players were experiencing brain damage due to concussions, yet nothing was being done to provide help.

Concussions can cause long term effects if not treated properly. A player can recover from a concussion in a few weeks, but the lasting effects of a concussions still prove relevant. Retired players that have suffered from concussions during their careers and were not treated properly felt the long-term effects of sustaining head injuries that caused many to commit suicide, which has led to the NFL investigating their concussion protocol to keep the players safe. As the NFL uses its lead doctors to investigate and understand more about the brain it will lead to gains in the safety of athletes

It can lead to serious long-term outcomes such as headaches, dizziness, CTE and much more. Concussions occur when the brain is hit against the skull with excessive force. The effects can be a loss of consciousness, tinnitus, disorientation, amnesia, double vision, headaches, confusion and many others. ("Concussions") The constant blows to the head can cause CTE; however, it can only be discovered after death. In football, blows to the head can cause serious concussions, but too many hits to the head can have a long lasting effect on you. Bennet Omalu states "CTE is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head" (ABC News) CTE means Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy this is be caused by repeated injuries to the head that causes a critical protein in the brain called Tau to change shape and misfold. While the Tau is changing it clumps together. These clumps slowly kill neurons and cells. The lack of blood flow to the human's brain is what slowly kills a person later on. However there are ways to try and help solve these

Getting a concussion in NFL football is completely different than concussions in high school, Middle school, or little league football. After getting a concussion myself and watching “League of Denial” I realize how serious they are and how poorly the NFL treated them. The NFL never had any professionals researching what the long term effects of getting concussions over and over were, They just assumed that it wasn't that big of a deal. They would put people back into the game even after they knew that they had a concussion which put them at a bigger risk than before. This makes me scared because they started to say that high school and middle school football players are allowed to go back into the game after their

Concussions can have extremely devastating long term affects. They can cause behavioral changes, and deter cognitive abilities like judgment and memory. There has been research that says the effects of concussions can last up to 30 years. A player can "recover completely" (Virginia Board of Education Guidelines for Policies on

Multiple studies have shown that concussions can lead to severe, debilitating, and permanent brain damage. With these consequences in mind, athletes should be required to be evaluated by a physician and sit out longer after receiving any sort of head trauma. Studies have also shown that concussions are cumulative. After someone receives one, their brain is more susceptible to further injury.

If concussions are related to permanent brain damage, then the amount of time spent in recovery should be increased, as supplying ample amount of time will provide reassurance that the brain has healed for athletes who recover quickly and for athletes who naturally need more time to recover.

How many people believe what they hear and see on television or the internet? It is astounding to believe that some members of the population will believe anything that is reported in the media without any scientific research or backing. With the popularity of the National Football League, it is easy to believe that any information given by ESPN or other sports broadcasting stations are providing accurate information. However, more scientific studies and research should be provided to fans based on the health of the players. Ever since the death of former National Football League star Junior Seau, which was caused by a concussion, there have been multiple reports to come out about the causes and effects of concussions. However, there are still aspects reguarding concussions that need to be clarified and studied regarding concussions: what are the long term effects of one concussion compared to many concussions, are the people who receive more playing time worse off in the long run, and will repeated concussions lead eventually to a complete mental collapse in everyone.

There are many consequences to playing football, but the greatest is concussions. Football is a game of tackles, sacks, and other hard hitting plays that involve big men playing their hearts out. Within the game of football, whoever has the ball is the one to be hit the hardest, on most plays. These immense blows to the body and head lead to awful injuries, both physically and mentally. Most players will be injured in some way during their football career, with the worst injuries being those that are mental. The worst and most frightening injury for a football player to have is a concussion. A concussion is a form of traumatic brain injury that results in a temporary loss of brain function. Concussions have been known since the 10th Century AD of which Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi-Rhazes was the first to use the term. Al-Razi was the first to “make a distinction between a concussion as an abnormal physiologic state and severe brain injury” (Mccrory & Berkovic). He also stated that there would be no physical damage seen, only neurological damage (Mccrory & Berkovic). Football is a very dangerous sport, not just physically, but neurologically as well.

Concussions lead to many different symptoms and are caused by many hits to the head. Any ages can suffer from a concussion. All players found to have C.T.E have committed suicide and hundreds more suffer from long term brain damage. While television can be educational, start kids later on in age because your brain is still developing till age 14 and it can shorten your attention span.

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.

Concussions are some of the most dangerous injuries for football players. Being untreatable, concussions are diagnosed based on basic symptoms. Repetitive trauma to the head causes Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy or CTE in the brains of most NFL football players. CTE causes many symptoms and behaviors that are ruining the lives of players at all levels of the game and something needs to be changed. Leading up to CTE, this process could have no symptoms and could worsen inside the skull with the amount of time and the longer someone plays. New equipment and procedures are the current answers to this problem. Trauma to the head or CTE cannot be prevented. Along with no ways to prevent this disease, there is no treatment to cure it. Families are suffering with the loss of their loved ones or are being affected by this disease which can cause multiple other diseases as the retired players grow old.