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Concussions in Football

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Concussions in Football
Concussions in football A traumatic brain injury (TBI) also known as a concussion is a serious health problem to athletes, especially to football players. The brain controls the body and gives a person personality and defines every aspect of his or her life. A brain injury can disrupt a person’s life in an instance and like broken bones or bruises; TBI can limit or prevent normal body functions. A brain injury, unlike common injuries can damage mental abilities to include memory and speech. There are only two classifications in TBI; mild and severe. Mild TBI is classified as loss of consciousness and or confusion and disorientation for less than thirty minutes. Severe TBI is thirty or more minutes and with memory loss. A person classified with severe TBI has limited functions of legs and arms, abnormal speech and emotional problems. When a person experiences a brain injury they often do not realize that one has occurred. TBI often leads to Alzheimer or Parkinson’s or Lou Gehrig’s diseases, and other forms of dementia and brain tumors. No two brains are alike and no two brains injuries are the same makes treatment and recovery a complex and challenging task. In football players, TBI is a serious concern because players do not know or don’t let somebody know about the injury and continually play in fear of losing a spot on the team roster. No player wants to let down the team. Football players only want the respect of other players and get the win at the end of the day. The effects of the injury compounds and clouds their judgment and growth until it is too late to correct problems. Some people say football has become an obsession. Fans gather together in support and celebrate their teams. They dress up in their teams colors and some even dress up in crazy costumes to show their loyalty not just to their team but to the sport. The sport is a multi-billion dollar business, motivated by aggressive competition by football players and people craving


Cited: Neurologic clinics: Concussion in the national football league: an overview for neurologists. Carson IR, 2008 Science Magazine: THE BATTERED BRAIN. Vol. 322 3 October 2008 http://www.webmd.com/brain/concussion-traumatic-brain-injury-symptoms-causes-treatments http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/units/scales/glasgow.htm http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/traumatic-brain-injury-types/second-impact-syndrome/index.html%20 http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/326510-overview http://www.sportsmd.com/Articles/id/28.aspx http://www.sportsmd.com/Articles/id/22/n/concussions_and_the_effects_on_athletes.aspx http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/football-concussion-controversy-new-rules http://jama.ama-assn.org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/content/287/4/437.full
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