Sports : The Implications Of Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries

A nationwide epidemic is occurring throughout the United States and is on the rise. Although many know about it, they fail to realize the side effects and diseases that can that lay dormant, waiting to be awakened and devastate their lives and potentially end them. Concussions are increasing annually among athletes in contact sports. Children and adults participating in these particular sports are potential victims of concussions and the long lasting side effects. The concerns of athletes receiving concussions is rising because as studies progress, many are leading to the conclusion that concussions impose future health complications.

Athletes from over one-hundred high schools and one-hundred-eighty colleges were studied in order for researchers to investigate the epidemiology of concussions and to compare the rates of concussions among high school and collegiate athletes. Two injury surveillance systems, High School Reporting Information Online (RIO), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance system collected data and this data was analyzed to calculate concussion rates, describe patterns, and evaluate potential risk factors for sports-related concussions. It was then discovered that 8.9 percent of high school athletic injuries and 5.9 percent of collegiate athletic injuries were concussions. Rates of concussions for both collegiate and high

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.

The term “concussion” across various areas of clinical and research contexts changes and is not well defined causing confusion in patients and healthcare providers. The term “concussion” is interchangeably used with the term mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), minor lose head injury, and mild closed head injury (Apps & Walter, 2012). Concussion is used in the sports medicine community to place an emphasis on impaired functional status following head trauma, and this concept will be further reviewed in this study.

Football can be a very dangerous sport. And although those who play the game believe that they are being protected by the helmets that they wear, the truth is that this may not be the case. In a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology it has been found that “protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma”(Science Daily, 2014). The study also found that standard football helmets worn by the majority of players on the field today, only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet at all (Science Daily, 2014).

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

“For example, collision sports such as football and ice hockey characteristically have more acute traumatic injuries than sports such as swimming and track. Boxing has more head-related trauma because of the focus of the sport. Within each sport, a general injury pattern and specific types of injury are unique to the sport. One type of injury that can occur in any sport or physical activity is concussion”. (Cerebral Concussion: Causes, Effects, and Risks in Sports).

The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.

In the article, “Sports and Brain Injury,” Michael McCrea, Lindsay Nelson and Julie Janecek report on the surprising prevalence and effects of sport-related concussions (SRCs). Concussions are among the most frequent injuries experienced by athletes participating in contact and collision sports (McCrea, Nelson and Janecek, 2014). Neurologists have increasingly studied the short and long-term effects of these brain injuries on athletes.

Head injuries, including concussions, particularly in the game of American football, have become a subject of deep concern, much study and even Congressional hearings in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to determine the association between having a previous concussion and then experiencing concussive signs and symptoms following head impacts. It was hypothesized that previously concussed athletes would have more severe and frequent signs and symptoms of a concussion following a head impact compared to athletes with no previous concussion. To test this hypothesis, 201 college athletes participated in a questionnaire. They were asked about previous concussions and if they experience concussive signs and symptoms when they had head impacts. After the results were all collected, it showed that nearly 60% of athletes who had zero previous concussions reports experiences signs and symptoms following head impacts! compared to nearly 80% of athletes who have had a concussion. These results show a significant correspondence between previous history of concussion and the reoccurrence of concussive signs and symptoms following a head

In a society where sports have become the focus for most youths, there has been increased attention to identification, diagnosis and prevention of sports-related

This letter is in regards to some concerns for possible brain injuries that are likely to occur when playing sports but specifically rugby. The brain is the most essential function of the human body. In order to not only conduct an analysis but also understand the brain and we must complete a detailed training on how the brain is affected when a concussion takes place. According to several health professionals it only takes one brain injury to adjust the behavior of a person. Many hits to the head can take a devastating tool on the brain. There are studies showing that Rugby Football is destroying the brain of rugby football players. A common head injury is a Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a repetitive brain injury. The initial cause is occurs when the brain comes in

The sports communities that require concussion education include the players themselves; their parents, the coaches, trainers, therapists, and referees; sports organizations/leagues; the media; teachers; and health care professionals. Several gains in recognition and management that impact upon concussion prevention can only be made through widespread of knowledge about concussions. Concussions are a serious issue in many professional sports. Concussions affect multiple sports in many ways. Many sports today are affected by the medical condition of concussions. Today, multiple leagues and professionals are learning how to prepare and prevent these career shattering injuries. With hundreds of medical advancements and a better understanding of the knowledge that the science has, we are assisting athletes to recover from these injuries. In order to understand concussions that lead the role on the games, one must look at the symptoms, injuries, and side-effects of this

Attention for traumatic brain injury has grown over the years and programs have been created to help try and prevent the injuries. As this is an injury to the brain the literature is vast with insight into what part of the brain injured resulted in what change in the individual. Children and athletics have been the main focus in recent years for studies as research have shown that undiagnosed injuries can have long lasting effects.