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The Danger of Concussions in Football and How We Can Fix It.
Background
Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his cell, hanging from the ceiling on the morning of April 19th, 2017. Just a few days prior, he was found guilty of a double homicide and was sentenced to life in prison. He had played football his entire life, and just shortly before he was arrested, was a rising star for the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots. They later found out after his death, that he had very advanced stages of Chronic traumatic encephalopathy”(CTE). CTE is “a progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including concussions and repeated blows to the head”(Alzheimer's Association, 2023) First recognized and discovered by a forensic pathologist named; Bennet Omalu when he conducted an autopsy of an NFL player in the early 2000’s.-CTE has shown to have effected many retired NFL players such as Mike Webster, Aaron Hernandez, and Ken Stabler. In fact, CTE “has been found in the brains of more than 315 former N.F.L. players including some 24 who died in their 20s and 30s”(Rudder, 2022) Since CTE happens after repeated concussions and hits to the head, concussions have become a very prominent subject in the world of sports (specifically football) in the past couple decades. You’ve probably heard of a concussion before, as it's a very common type of injury even outside the sports world.
What is a concussion?
A concussion is “a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth.”(CDC, 2019) Before the start of the 20th century, concussions were looked at as just another injury that you could come out for a few minutes and go back into the game/match or you can play through the pain. Unless there’s a bump on your head, you can’t really see a concussion, like most other injuries. The symptoms of a concussion can only be felt by the person suffering from one which is most commonly: “Headache, nausea or vomiting, confusion., temporary loss of consciousness., balance. problems/dizziness/lightheadedness, double or blurry vision, ringing in the ears, or/and sensitivity to light and noise.”(Cleveland Clinic, 2020) Those symptoms were largely ignored as people with them were rushed back into playing without letting the concussion heal properly. Just like with any other injury, not letting it heal properly will lead to the injured body part only getting worse over time.
Affects of CTE
The brain along with the heart is arguably the most important organ of your body. Just like any other organ the brain can get damaged, and without proper care and healing, the long-term effects of repeated concussions lead to CTE. Unfortunately, CTE can only be officially diagnosed after the person has died through a post-mortem brain tissue analysis. Even though it can’t be officially determined during a person’s life, there are a few common symptoms such as: “depression, loss of judgment, inability to control impulse, rages, and memory loss, and can ultimately result in dementia”(NYU Langone Health, 2023) Aaron Hernandez suffered from some of these symptoms which is a possible theory on why he killed those people.
How can we limit concussions?
Since the discovery of the brutal long-term effects of concussions, they have become a much more seriously treated injury. The focus became 3 things: how to limit the number of concussions happening, how to diagnose concussions more effectively, and how to make sure athletes return to competition safely and healthy. In football before this discovery, your head was commonly used as a weapon as most players were taught when hitting someone at any level of football. During games, there used to be no penalty for hitting someone with your head accidentally or purposefully. Helmets didn’t have any pads for your ears, underneath the crown of the helmet, or on the back of the helmet to help absorb any hits to the head. Now at all levels, coaches teach players tackling/hitting techniques that get their heads out of the way to keep the head protected. There are now targeting, and “Tommy Tough” rules which state “no player shall initiate contact and target an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul."(SEC Sports, 2022) Every year now there are new helmet models that have safer shock absorbers and padding to help limit the number of concussions.
Diagnosing Concussions
Diagnosing concussions can be very challenging as you can’t physically see the injury, as the only way you can tell if someone has a concussion is by the symptoms they may show/feel. Athletes also typically try to hide the fact they have a concussion to keep on playing which makes it even more challenging. In the NFL, for a player to go into concussion protocol if “a player receives an impact to the head…the player exhibits or reports symptoms or signs suggestive of a concussion” (NFL, 2018) Most high schools, and NCAA colleges have this in place to effectively and efficiently diagnose concussions. The only downside to this is that the athlete might not have a concussion at all, but the overall census is that it's better to be safe than sorry.
How can athletes return safely and healthily from concussions?
Diagnosing concussions can be very challenging as you can’t physically see the injury, as the only way you can tell if someone has a concussion is by the symptoms they may show/feel. Athletes also typically try to hide the fact they have a concussion to keep on playing which makes it even more challenging. In the NFL, for a player to go into concussion protocol if “a player receives an impact to the head…the player exhibits or reports symptoms or signs suggestive of a concussion” (NFL, 2018) Most high schools, and NCAA colleges have this in place to effectively and efficiently diagnose concussions. The only downside to this is that the athlete might not have a concussion at all, but the overall census is that it's better to be safe than sorry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, concussions can be very scary due to them being unseeable, and the long-term effects multiple concussions can have on a person. Luckily more research, protocols, and equipment are being done/made to make athletes of all ages safer now, and in the future.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, February 12). What is a concussion? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/basics/concussion_whatis.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019, February 12). Returning to sports and activities. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/headsup/basics/return_to_sports.html#:~:text=It%20starts%20with%20a%20few,that%20do%20not%20worsen%20symptoms.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/related_conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy
Concussion: Causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, prevention. Cleveland Clinic. (2020, June 2). Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15038-concussion
Head to head: The National Football League & Brain Injury. NYU Langone Health. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://med.nyu.edu/departments-institutes/population-health/divisions-sections-centers/medical-ethics/education/high-school-bioethics-project/learning-scenarios/the-nfl-brain-injury
Nfl. (2023, February 28). Concussion protocol & return-to-participation protocol: Overview. NFL.com. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/health-and-wellness/player-care/concussion-protocol-return-to-participation-protocol
Rudder, P. (2022, July 2). What are the most famous CTE cases in NFL history? Diario AS. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://en.as.com/nfl/what-are-the-most-famous-cte-cases-in-nfl-history-n/
Vann, B. R. A. L. (2022, August 24). Targeting: College football's hard-to-define penalty. The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.secsports.com/article/35053406/college-football-hard-define-penalty#:~:text=Then%20came%20targeting.,defenseless%20opponent%20above%20the%20shoulders.
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