Boom!: Long-Term Effects of Sports Related Concussions

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It is important to know the short and long-term symptoms of a concussion. Being informed on these can help prevent serious problems. “Early symptoms of concussion, occurring within minutes to hours of the impact, most commonly include a vacant stare, delayed verbal and motor responses, confusion or inability to focus attention, slurred or incoherent speech, gross incoordination, emotions out of proportion to the situation, memory deficits, repeating questions, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, vertigo, and sometimes loss of consciousness. These symptoms typically resolve spontaneously within minutes to days following a concussion” (Edwards and Bodle 128). It is a long list and not necessarily all of these will occur. In fact sometimes none of them will occur which is just another reason concussions are so scary and hard to deal with. Being aware is ensuring that long-term effects are less likely to occur. “Kevin Guskiewicz, Director of the Center for the Study of Retired Athletes, began in the early 2000s to identify associations between repeated concussions, or recurrent mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), and brain disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and clinical depression” (Robeson and King 336). These long-term effects completely alter a person’s life forever, and the sad part is if they would have just called in quits after a concussion, or even just been more cautious, they may not have happened. Another big problem is being able to fully discover what exactly concussions do to the brain. Scientists still are not fully sure of the all the possible outcomes of a serious concussion. This is the main reason concussions are so dangerous. Over time the research will present new findings and researchers will be able to present a much clearer picture for those affected.

Even with concussions being as serious as they are, there are still those that are opposed treating them correctly and realizing they have long-term effects. There are certain coaches that get so caught up in winning a game that will not matter in the grand scheme of life that they will force a star player to get back in a game even if they could have a serious injury. “Recent studies on the cumulative effects of concussions in high school athletes have shown that even mild concussions can result in serious long-term problems, particularly if an athlete is allowed to return to play too early, or has a history of concussions or other head injuries” (Quinn). No matter how small the concussion may seem, the athlete still needs to sit out for a safe amount of time. It is much harder to send an athlete right back in now due to improved injury protocol and testing for injuries such as concussions. A week is usually the minimum estimated time out of play for an athlete that has been diagnosed with a concussion. However, a week is not even long enough if the concussion is severe. Players and coaches are opposing even if it is just the minimum time of a week. Players are taking a day or two off and then getting right back on to the practice or the game field. This puts them at risk to receive another concussion that is almost guaranteed to be more severe.

There are still certain medical professionals that want to argue that the long-term effects listed cannot be directly linked to concussions. For the most part, if an athlete suffers just one concussion and goes through necessary protocol, they will suffer no long-term damage. However, once they have reached multiple concussions, there is a good chance they will have at least one long-term effect even if it is just mild. “Multi-concussed athletes were 7.7 times more likely to show a drop in memory performance in the acute phase immediately following the injury than other concussed athletes with no prior history of concussion” (de Beaumont et al. 632). With all the studies and statistics that have come out about concussions, it is difficult to understand why some of the most respected individuals in the medical field will not acknowledge that they are a serious problem. The problem will never even have a chance at being fully resolved until all researchers and doctors can get on the same page. If they ever do decide to do this the change will show greatly.

The problem with concussions and their long-term effects has been steadily increasing over the years, but it has finally hit a wall and began to die down. This is due to measures that are being taken in all sports around the world. As far as things have come there is still a ways to go. All trainers and coaches need to be fully informed on concussions and how to diagnose and treat them. They should be forced take whatever classes are necessary to educate them. This will not keep concussions from happening, but it will help mitigate them and hopefully keep long-term effects at a minimum.

Another thing that needs to happen in contact sports is improving the helmets. These pieces of equipment are protecting the most important part of athletes’ bodies, therefore they need to be as efficient as possible. Many helmets are not padded at all, and this not only makes it uncomfortable for the athlete but also makes a blow to the head more severe. Faulty helmets can be a reason a concussion occurs. Helmets need to be inspected and tested multiple times a year. By doing this, the companies are insuring that they are putting the safest products possible on the heads of these athletes and keeping them safe.

In football, helmet to helmet contact needs to be completely outlawed. It is getting there but still has a small ways to go to make the sport safer. The higher levels like the NCAA and NFL need to impose fines and suspensions for players that perform this lethal hit, and they even should discipline the coach of a team if it becomes a reoccurring problem. Coaches at the instructional level need to teach their kids proper tackling technique and to keep their head up when performing a tackle.

Finally, research needs to continue to be done to ensure that everyone participating in athletics is fully aware of what a concussion is and what it can cause. It is truly amazing and encouraging to see how far this issue has come. Trainers and doctors need to know what to do anytime they get an athlete with a concussion. By being fully educated they are improving the athletes’ chances of being symptom-free for the rest of their lives.

Concussions will never be able to be fully prevented and will always cause some sort of problem. However, looking at their history shows just how far they have progressed. The way they are looked at and treated is completely different now. Tests and protocol have come a long way since the 70s and 80s when a player would just get a pat on the head and be told to get back into the game. Researchers, doctors, trainers, coaches,