EMILYWILSONWIX

Ten years ago, teachers and coaches did not really know anything about concussions, nor did they know the proper treatment they needed to do to help the athlete heal properly. Because the brain is such a complex organ, it is complicated for people other than a doctor or health care nurse to understand what is going on up there. So, what is a concussion? Concussions are defined as a “temporary unconsciousness or confusion caused by a blow to the head” (“Concussion”). Concussions are common as a result in the brain hitting the skull and can occur in all sports and are also common after a car wreck. 

The brain, being the most fragile part of the body is no joke when it comes to injuring it. From birth to age one the brain doubles in size and from “one to age five, a child’s brain will grow to about 90%” of what it will be as an adult (“brain development 1”). From age “five to age twenty-five the brains last 10% will grow” and mature. Therefore, it is important it develops correctly because after the brain is done growing, it cannot regrow or fix cells that get damaged (“brain development”). Because of that, it is so important that there is research done to know how to deal with concussions and how to help heal our athletes properly. Because with high school sports and professional sports, it is nearly impossible to prevent them from happening. We cannot force the player to quit, so the only thing we can do to help our athletes is that we can figure out how to safely help the player recover from the injury so that their brain can heal, and mature, to its full potential, so they can get back to playing as soon as possible. 

The reason why sports concussions has become an epidemic is because of how common the injury has become. Records say “Almost 100 precent of pass NFL players who have donated their brains to scientific research after they passed away showed signs of brain injuries” from the constant hitting and crashing into each other (Charlotte 1). Football leads with the most head injuries with 80% of all injuries that occur consisting of some type of brain injury (Charlotte 1). This meaning that concussion have affected a lot of people in this field and that they are in fact a big problem. Despite the constant injuries, the fact the players are voluntarily putting themselves through this and enjoy the sport, it shows the passion they have for the it and that their drive to play the sport is strong. Football is not the only sport that has to deal with this tragic problem, boys’ and girls’ soccer follows closely behind football then being followed by wrestling as the third highest sport (LoBuono 1). 

About “1 in 10 student athletes will encounter a concussion” at some point in their career (LoBuono 1). In 2006 there was a case on a high school student athlete football player. He was going in for a tackle when he had a hard blow to his head and had multiple other players on top of him. Although he had just hit his head, the case states that “the player continued to play in his game with no examination to check if he was okay” and because of this, later in the game the player collapsed on the field and had to be hospitalized (Lau 1). The young guy suffered from multiple long-term injuries because his head was left unchecked for a brain bleed or bruising after being hit so hard. The young guy suffered from long-term memory loss and temporally forgot his own identity (Lau, Chris). He had to undergo multiple months of physical therapy and missed out on several months of high school all because the right actions were not taken when the accident occurred. 

Next there’s soccer. Soccer, being the “second sport with the most amount of head injuries leads with about 22% of all injuries” consisting of a concussion (“What’s Good for the…”). Even though 22% is not as high as 80% in football, it still means about 2 in 10 soccer athletes with an injury will likely have a concussion. Just like we can’t make the football players stop playing their sport we can’t make the soccer players quit either. With all these students in their prime learning age it is extra important that we take precautions. and follow concussion protocol so that each student can enjoy the sports they love while learning in school and taking care of their body.

Lau explains that “after the football players injury in 2006 there was a new law put into place” that requires students to go through a certain amount of cognitive test and certain periods of rest that must occur depending on how bad the injury is (Lau). Because of this, “the number of times a concussion turns out having long term effects has decreased by 30%” because the coaches are catching the signs early enough to act on them (“What’s Good for the…”). If this were to be a law 30 years ago our athletes could have been much healthier and probably could have played in sports longer before having to retire. There are also new accommodations the teachers and professors must follow for a concussed student in the classroom such as less work and no bright screens that help the student learn but also not overuse their brain to optimize full healing potential.

 Concussion protocol is helping decrease the amount of student athletes who have long term effects from sports injuries simply because they are being caught and handled before it is too late. We cannot stop our athletes, but we certainly can try help them as much as possible. 

Works Cited 

“Brain Development.” First Things First, 16 Sept. 2019, www.firstthingsfirst.org/early-childhood-matters/brain-development/. 

“Concussion.” Memorial Hermann, 26 Jan. 2022, www.memorialhermann.org/services/conditions/concussion. 

Lau, Chris., “Leaders and Laggards: Tackling State Legislative Responses to the Youth Sports 

         Concussion Epidemic”. Fordham University School of Law, 2017. 

LoBuono, Charlotte Stacker.com. “High School Sports That Cause the Most Concussions.” Chicagotribune.com, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2021, www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/health-fitness/sns-stacker-high-school-sports-concussions-20210818-mvl7ypd4lreznca6arkmxcwjdi-photogallery.html. 

“What's Good for the Players Is Good for the Game.” NFL Players Association, nflpa.com/posts/whats-good-for-the-players-is-good-for-the-game.