Malik Lewis

According to WebMD.com, an online medical dictionary, a concussion is a traumatic brain injury caused by a blow to the head or body, that shakes the brain in the skull. Concussions can be hard to detect, because there may be no visible cuts or bruises that indicate that a person has a concussion.

Contrary to popular belief, most people do not pass out or faint when they have received a concussion, which is why they are hard to detect. Concussions are one of the most challenging physical injuries to detect. Concussion test are given to people that a thought to have a concussion.

According to the article Symptoms, by the Mayo Clinic Staff, symptoms of a concussions include: headaches, temporary loss of consciousness, mental confusion, dizziness or seeing stars, ringing of the ears, nausea, vomiting, slurred speech, and fatigue.

Most football players have a mentality that they are unstoppable, and are not subject to being injured. If they incur an injury during a game, they do not feel the need to exit the game. Kevin Patra, an Around the League writer for NFL.com, stated in an article that football player, Rashad Johnson lost the tip of his middle finger after making a tackle. (Patra) He continued to play throughout the game.

For many years football players have even deemed some of their protective equipment unnecessary. Tom Pelissero, a writer for USA Today Sports, reports in an article that nearly 70% of the players do not even wear proper padding which include thigh and knee pads. (Pelissero) The NFLs league officials have instated a new rule that would require players to wear all pads and protection in order to participate in the game.

In past years players have had the mentality to just suck up or shake off their pain from head contact. Some players would receive a concussion from a play and continue along in the game. In some instances the player would get up and run to join the wrong huddle.

Kia Boriboons article, Concussion

Management In Football: Dont Shake It Off,

article states that there are nearly 3.8 million sports related injuries per year. (Boriboon)

In recent years the NFL and other football leagues, have began to focus on concussions and player safety more.

The NFL requires that each player that is suspicious of having a concussion undergo a series of test and assessments, and are required to be cleared by a physician before they are able to play. Each team is now required to have a full time physical therapist that help detect and diagnose concussions.

Most NFL concussions have very long term effects, or symptoms that may never leave a player because most of them have multiple concussions over the course of the their career. Until recently most players were not educated that repeated concussions can cause serious mental injuries, or even death.

The NFL conducted a study that showed that nearly 6.1% percent of retired football players have been diagnosed with dementia, Alzheimers, and other memory loss diseases. (NFL) National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health study found that retired football players are 3 to 4 times more likely to die from diseases of the brain compared to general population. (NIOS)

Kia Boriboons article, Concussion

Management In Football: Dont Shake It Off ,

introduces how concussions were overlooked by nearly every one involved in football. She has accounts from retired players that say that the concussions that they overlooked while playing, still affects their lives many years later. Retired players are one of the main reasons why a great deal of concern about concussions has risen in recent years.

This article was written in support of athlete protection. Its information educates the reader on the dangers of concussions, in order to make the reader and athletes understand why proper protection is important.

The NFL has new rules that were created to help protect players, and prevent concussions. The NFL moved the kick-off up from the 30 yard line to the 35 yard line in an effort to prevent concussions. Jesse David, senior vice president at Edgeworth Economics, stated that the numeber of concussions decreased by 43% from the 2010 to 2011 (David) as a result of this rule change.

The NFL created a rule that defensive players are not allowed to launch themselves or tackle an offensive player in a way that would cause strong helmet-to-helmet contact. Players that do not abide by this rule will get a penalty during the game, but if the tackle was extreme the player could receive a large fine, or even a suspension from league officials.

Many players, coaches, and fans opposed the new NFL rules initially because they felt that the toughness of football was being taken away from the sport. As time went along and as more people were educated on the serious danger of concussions the rules are now more accepted by NFL players, coaches, and fans.

ESPN article written by the Associated Press give the reader information on how the new rules reduced the amount of concussion cases in a season. The amount of player concussions have steadily decreased every season since the rule changes.

The information that I gathered on the topic of concussions strongly supports the protection of athletes. An athletes livelihood and well being should not be placed in jeopardy because of a single game. Personally, I believe that safety should be held highly in importance. All of the concern and new rules on concussions, and all other injuries, are beneficial to all athletes.

"WebMD." . Healthwise, INC, 23 Jul 2010. Web. 06 Oct 2013. Boriboon, Kia. Concussion Management In Football: Dont Shake It Off." PTinMotionmag.org. American Physical Therapy Association, Feb 2013 Web. 08 Oct 2013. "Symptoms." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic, 22 Feb 2011. Web. 11 Oct 2013. Pelissero, Tom. "NFL players must adjust to new padding requirements -- or else." USA Today 10 July 2013, n. pag. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Patra, Kevin. "Rashad Johnson lost tip of finger in Cardinals game." nfl.com. National Football League, 24 Sep 2013. Web. 02 Oct 2013. Sadeghpour, Nura . "Former NFL players at increased risk of death from neurodegenerative causes, NIOSH study finds." cdc.gov. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 07 Sep 2012. Web. 15 Oct 2013. "Study: Concussions down slightly." espn.com. ESPN, 07 Aug 2012. Web. 13 Oct 2013.