From talk shows on major cable networks to the sidelines of midget football games, more and more people are discussing concussions in sports. The topic has taken the sporting world by storm, but most people seem to be uninformed. A closer look into the research reveals some startling statistics.
Sports concussions constitute the majority of brain injuries in the United States (Sosnoff). In fact, each year 300,000 Americans sustain a concussion while playing sports (Tyler and Nelson). The majority of these injuries occur in high-contact sports such as football and ice hockey (NHL players sat out 760 games with concussions in 2006-07 (Maich).), but concussions have been reported in almost every type of athletic competition (Maich). Across the country, leagues are taking action to reduce the number of concussive blows their athletes suffer.
Nowhere is this more crucial than in high school athletics. Doctors have long been alarmed with the astronomical number of teenagers who suffer concussions. It is estimated that 47% of high school football players sustain some sort of brain injury (Maich). Doctors link this increased susceptibility to neck muscles that have not fully developed (McCollum). A concussion is defined as “an acceleration or deceleration injury resulting from biomechanical forces transmitted to the cerebral tissues from impacts to the head or torso” (Sosnoff). Medical experts believe that neck muscles still in development do not resist this acceleration as well as those of adults.
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Increased susceptibility is also found in previously afflicted individuals. People with a past concussion are four times more likely to suffer a concussion than the general population (Tyler and Nelson). This “second impact syndrome” (SIS) is what has neurologists worried. SIS occurs when someone sustains a second brain injury while the brain is still recovering from the initial injury (Tyler and Nelson). Alone, the second impact may be relatively mild, but if it strikes a brain still recovering from an earlier blow, brain pressure increases rapidly and death results approximately 50% of the time (Tyler and Nelson).
The physical effects of concussions are frightening. Blood flow to the brain decreases immediately, causing disorientation, memory loss, unconsciousness, and even death (McCollum). Speaking with a concussed athlete is one of the most worrisome things imaginable.
However, the long-term effects of concussions are much more severe. Those with three or more past concussions are three times more likely to suffer from depression symptoms than the general population (Guskiewicz). But depression is only the tip of the iceberg. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and psychosis are found at a much higher rate in former NFL players than the rest of the American public (Maich). Most suspect that this abnormally high percentage results from the many impacts to the head these players absorb. It has been proven that repeated concussions result in decreased mental performance, dementia, and brain atrophy (Tyler and Nelson). Doctors examining the brain of a forty year old boxer during an autopsy compared the specimen to that of an eighty year old man. “[The brain] looks like Swiss cheese. It literally has holes in it, and we now recognize these as Alzheimer-type plaques associated with trauma,” said Dr. Charles Tator, a neurosurgeon from Toronto (Maich).
The frightening path many former players have taken is putting pressure on doctors and scientists to develop better methods of concussion detection. However, they are faced with a daunting task. Many concussions cannot be detected by X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs (McCollum). Diagnoses are generally given based on the presence of certain symptoms that include dizziness, memory loss, and disorientation (Tyler and Nelson). Relying on these symptoms makes diagnosing concussions very difficult. One must assume that many concussions go undetected, submitting the afflicted patient to the lethal second impact syndrome.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have created a test that measures brain function in different regions of the brain (McCollum). Athletes take the test before participating in sports to act as a baseline. Should a player be suspected to have sustained a concussion, he or she retakes the test. Doctors compare the results of the two tests and can accurately determine whether or not the player is concussed and which region of the brain is affected. Players may return to action once the test yields similar results to the baseline. Many high schools across the country are requiring all athletes to take the test before they are allowed to step onto the playing field. The NHL has a similar screening tool in place for all players (Tyler and Nelson).
However, many times diagnoses are made on the field, far away from a computer. Often, coaches and players make their decisions about a potential concussion based on the shaky system of symptoms discussed earlier. Without the concrete proof of a baseline test, many concussed athletes return to action, exposing themselves to the high risk associated with SIS. Concerned with this potential disaster, researchers have begun developing portable devices to detect concussions on the field (McCollum). Early prototypes have been handheld or helmet-mounted.
Others find it more useful to attempt preventing concussions rather than simply detecting them after the fact. Helmet manufacturers around the world are striving to create safer equipment for athletes in all sports. More and more players are wearing mouth guards that act as shock-absorbers (Tyler and Nelson). The idea is to reduce the acceleration of the head and keep the brain safe.
Across all levels of competition, rules are being implemented to safeguard the health of participants. In high-contact sports such as football and ice hockey, hits directed to an opposing player’s head have been made illegal. After seeing many of their players enter early retirement due to repeated concussions, the NHL and NFL have cracked down on hits deemed dangerous. Increasingly common and severe suspensions have been handed down by commissioners for headshots as the league attempts to promote player safety.
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Across the country, sports fans are beginning to realize the importance of concussion prevention and detection. As new evidence amounts proving that repeated concussions are very hazardous to player health, sports leagues are implementing rules to protect their players. The proof brought forth by the autopsies of former players is finally giving this brain injury the attention it deserves.
Works Cited
Guskiewicz, Kevin M. "Recurrent Concussion and Risk of Depression in Retired Football." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39.6 (2007): 903-9. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Select Edition. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Maich, Steve. "The Concussion Time Bomb." Maclean's 120.41 (2007): 46-8. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
McCollum, Sean. "The Invisible Injury." (2003). Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 13 Jan. 2011.
Sosnoff, Jacob J. "Biomechanical Properties of Concussions in High School Football." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 42.11 (2010): 2064-7. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Mega Edition. Web. 20 Jan. 2011.
Tyler, Jeffrey H., and Michael E. Nelson. "Second Impact Syndrome: Sports Confront Consequences of Concussions." USA Today [New York City] 2000: 72-4. Wilson OmniFile Full Text Select Edition. Web. 14 Jan. 2011.
