Concussions In Sports

Sports have been played throughout generations and for some, have lead to becoming daily routines and careers. These activities however, are not just games; these sports come at a great cost. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) are two life threatening diseases that can form in an individual's brain when receiving repeated blows to the head. Like ALS and CTE, concussions are another head trauma that can occur when a violent impact to the skull or shaking of the body and skull take place. Furthermore, sports that are considered to be contact sports affect the athletes' possibility of receiving ALS, CTE and a concussion through the high impacts they maintain to the head. The sports world has not made …show more content…
Concussions, like ALS and CTE, is a type of head trauma and occurs when a blow or joint to the head, twist in the skull, and violent shaking of the head and body is absorbed. Concussions can appear with or without loss of consciousness and can lead to temporary cognitive symptoms. Symptoms and signs of a concussion include: loss of memory, slow movement, headaches, loss of balance, and vomiting. Unlike ALS and CTE, tests including neurological examination, cognitive testing and imaging testing can be used to determine if the individual is suffering from a concussion. Many individuals can contain a concussion however, female athletes seem to have had the higher rates of receiving them when compared to male athletes. For example, in an article titled Do Female Athletes Concuss Differently than Males? by Brian Hainline states, “Female concussed athletes perform more poorly on BESS (Balance Error Scoring System) following concussion relative to males”. Hainline also mentions, “Females have a higher rate of concussions compared to males when playing soccer with a 2.1 times greater risk than males” (pg. 2). Thus, explaining that females have an increased susceptibility rate to receiving concussions rather than males. Concussions, ALS and CTE are major issues in athletics today and the sports world is currently finding ways to treat these …show more content…
According to CNN, the NFL will be improving equipment and focusing on the concussion issue in response to these illnesses. The league also says that they are, “providing better information, they are getting care for the disease much better. The NFLPA is also doing a better job at giving awareness to athletes” (www.espn.com). According to CBS Sports the NFL, “donated one million dollars to the same brain bank that helped carry out research published by Frontline” (www.cbssports.com). The NFL’s actions that they have made to better football reveal that they are making efforts to prevent the horrific head traumas from occurring in the oncoming athletes. However, improvements are yet to be made to reassure that athletes remain head trauma free and that they are well taken care

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