Until recently, an NFL football player could get knocked in the head, come out for a few minutes, be approved by their own schools doctor and return to the field only to get knocked in the head once again moments later. Right there, in this one college football game, this 20 year old has received 2 concussions in a matter of 15 minutes, possibly resulting in Second impact Syndrome: a syndrome occurring when a second concussion is suffered shortly after a first concussion that hasn’t healed. It can occur days or even weeks after the first injury is sustained and can result in permanent brain damage, paralysis, or even death (Moore). We have taken steps to fix this: now, by NFL regulation, all football players hit in the head who have a possibility of having a concussion must be released by a non-bias doctor before being able to return to play. Along with this, any player who purposely hits another play head to head in NCAA football must sit out 1 full half before playing again. These are steps in the right direction, but they still aren’t enough
Concussions are bruises to the brain, but the issue is, you can’t see these bruises. And because of this, concussions are harder to recognize from the outside. A concussion received when a player blacks out or throws up can be caught instantly, but the smaller ones, the ones that occur much more often, can only be caught by the person living with them and sadly, for some, their sport comes over the health of their brain. Maybe their illogical train of thought comes from the number of concussions they have had, but more likely it comes from the intensity through which they have participated in their sport. “No days off” they are told.They are pushed since childhood to be the very best, and have forever been picking dedication to their sport over everything else. They rely on passing the soccer ball or scoring the touchdown to pay their way through college or life. But there is an issue with this, an issue that comes from not being properly educated about the balance between sports and everything else. In order to make it through college and to make it through life, you have to physically be able to do so, and surprise: without a brain properly functioning brain, you can’t do this.
Short term memory loss, inability to be in areas of brightness, lowered IQ, and occasionally death are all symptoms and results of concussions(Mayo Clinic), some of which are permanent. NFL player after NFL player ends up with dementia, followed by alzheimer's and “then they’re gone.” (Frontline) These players are no longer theoretically dedicating their lives to their sport, but truly giving up their life to play a sport that they won’t even be able to remember.
Over 4,000 NFL players have now sued the NFL for their lack of protections from concussions (Nordqvist), but suing doesn’t fix the damage they have done. Even if they receive 50 million in their lawsuit, they can’t get back their lost brain cells and rebuild their mind again. The damage is done. Even though past players are suing because of the repercussions they are getting, current players aren't learning from others mistakes. In order to help athletes to start speaking up about concussions they are receiving, we should be educating children from a young age about the detrimental effects of concussions, and instill in them the importance of brain health over their favorite sport. People need to comprehend that sometimes, although it may be hard, we have to be willing to give up what we love so we can stay around to love it.
I personally have received my fair share of concussions, some from sports some not and although it takes everything in me not to say I’m all okay so that I don’t have to give up time playing soccer. This season I received a concussion which caused me to miss 5 of our high school soccer games, some of which I had to miss even once I felt like I should be able to be playing again. It was hard, and at moments I hated myself for not saying I was okay at the beginning and just ignoring the symptoms I had. But then I remembered, these 5 games I missed were a lot less than what I may have missed due to a double concussion. On top of this, due to surgery I had in 7th grade, my tolerance for concussions is much lower. Being a soccer player, headers at time can be a large part of the game and I must do everything I can to avoid taking them. At first, this angered me, but then I thought it through. A few headers, maybe a goal, is that really worth potential major brain damage. A severe headaches and memory loss worth it for a game most people can't even play past college.
Sports are huge, but most sports aren’t a lifetime commitment. Even if you are a football player that goes pro, most people can’t play past 40 and the game becomes just a part of your past. A good memory of what you spent most of your life doing. Concussions change this. Concussions keep a sport from being a memory and make it a lifetime commitment. A commitment to treatment and symptoms that can effect you until or cause you death.
We don’t have to all quit sports to stop concussions though and we don’t even have to start receiving absolutely no concussions. Sports aren’t an evil which destroy our brains, they are simply something we must learn to balance in moderation with our own health. If athletes can be taught, and maybe even forced, to fully recover from head injuries before reentering the game, the long term effects of concussions can be reduced greatly. Along with this, if athletes can realize when they have reached their limit, before they exceed it, they can live to have found memories of their sport. Steps can also be taken to learn how to avoid concussions: knowing the right place to head the ball of judging when it’s better to use your chest off a putting ball, knowing how to tackle without banging helmets or how to catch yourself to keep your head from hitting the ground. If it is a requirement steps and lessons such as these are taught from the beginning, many issues of head trauma can be stopped.
Allowing yourself to receive concussion after concussion is not going to lead you to a life of riches and memories of your great sports days. Instead, your money goes to your help and your medications and your memories leave you as quickly as you brain cells did. Our brains are unique and they can’t be replaced, no medical treatment can be performed to repair it and no one can happily donate half of theirs, so, as a country and as a community work needs to be done to knock some sense it to everyone's brain before all sense is knocked right out.
"Do Concussions Have Long-term Side Effects?" Do Concussions Have Long-term Side Effects? N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
Frontline: League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis. Prod. Michael Kirk, Jim Gilmore, and Mike Wiser. PBS, 2013. Online.
"Head Case - Complete Concussion Managements." Stats on Concussions & Sports -. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
MOORE, JACK. "Is the NCAA Doing Enough to Protect College Football Players from Concussion?"THE GUARDIAN. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Post-concussion Syndrome." Causes. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
SCHONBRUN, ZACH. "‘You Can’t Put Ice Over a Migraine,’ a Lurking Malady in the N.F.L." New York Times 12 Dec. 2015: n. pag. Print.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2015.
Diaz, Dorsi. Hit Your Head Hard? Concussion Symptoms and Care. Digital image. Hub Pages. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://hubpages.com/health/The-Symptoms-of-a-Concussion#PhotoSwipe1450062199704>.
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