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Concussions In Sports: Is Enough Being Done To Protect The Athletes?

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Concussions In Sports: Is Enough Being Done To Protect The Athletes?

“Maybe I’m stupid or whatever, but to me if I got a concussion, if I could see straight and I could carry a football then I’m not telling anybody.” Ricky Williams, long time Miami Dolphins running back said this when talking about concussions.  In the world of sports today, too many athletes at risk of further injuries and part of that is due to the overwhelming amount of concussions that are occurring.  Part of the problem with the way sports like Football are being presented to the public revolves around the absence of a proactive behavior, and an unresolved plan of action to enhance the safety of its athletes by organizations such as the NFL, and its commissioner, Roger Goodell.  While fans are enjoying the entertainment of sports, they fail to understand the other point of view, which is that of the players.  For example, when fans see a big hit and cheer, but when a player gets hit or tackled the wrong way, he feels the results of a broken bone or an immediate headache.  To further explain upon this statement, and the problems within the handling of sports today, I gathered information from an article involving the care of present athletes, and athletes in their post-career.  From reading the text, I formulated an opinion on the matter in that the NFL lacks initiative with looking out for the future of NFL players post career, (Goldberg, 2008).  This is due to the information given in an article written by D.S. Goldberg.  He talks about how current and former athletes have not been given the best care during and after their careers.  He further mentions that examples that support the claim regarding a lack of care of the athletes.  At one point, the article describes several different “plans” that the NFL and its players have tried to work through in order to supply their athletes with certain benefits both during and after their careers.  Unfortunately, those plans do not always pan out and they do not necessarily do the best job at providing those benefits to the athletes.

Continuing along the lines of an athlete’s mental health, it is a common theme for brain injuries to continue affecting the lives of athletes throughout their lifespan.  In a study given prepared for retired athletes, the common result elaborated upon the fact that, prior Concussions and Depression are linked with regards to the mental health of NFL players in their retirement (Brett, 2018).  The study measured 45 retired NFL athletes with a history of any type of brain injury.  Based on the results, of the retired athletes tested, 8.7 was the average SRCs, or sports-related concussions, and 29 subjects tested within the minimal depression range (Brett, 2018).  At the end of the study, they concluded that, there was a relationship between sports-related concussions and symptoms of depression in the retired athletes.

In addition, when discussing head injuries in Football, the same applies for Rugby.  Concussions in Rugby are a common theme and that Concussions in Rugby are one of the highest reasons for a player to lose time in a match (Cross, 2019).  As we can see, Football is not the only sport that has problems regarding concussions.  Despite the fact that Rugby has predominantly more of an international fanbase, it is still important to know that even sports outside of the U.S. have a risk of concussions due to the style of play involved within the sport.

Are sports leagues truly doing enough to prevent or minimize the risk of brain injuries and their impact on their athletes lives post-career?  In order to answer that question, the purpose of this project is to review concussion injuries in professional sports, and how the different Leagues are working on intervention strategies to reduce those injuries by changing the quality of the helmets, and the rules surrounding the games.  The importance of reviewing this problem is vital because in sports, injuries are a common occurrence.  For instance, Football is an extremely aggressive sport requiring you to give up your body for the sake of entertainment.  For example, in an article by Brett Siegel, discussed CTE and how it has “threatened the NFL’s reputation, the prospects of its labor pool, and its most dominant mythologies” (Siegel, 1).  With that being said, it is clear that when playing sports like football, there are injuries that will come and go; although, there are some injuries that can stay with you later in life, affecting not just your body but also your mental health.

 

To Start off, it is vital to solidify the importance of statistics for research regarding concussions in sports.  In this day in age, sports are more competitive than ever.  With that being said, concussions start to occur more frequently based on the competitiveness and rules of professional sports.  It is not breaking news that concussions are more frequent today than ever before.  In a 2016 article, the opening text states that the amount of concussions occurred during sports accounted to anywhere between 1.6 and 3.8 million times per year, which in return, makes concussions the leading cause of mild traumatic brain injury (Nathanson, 2016).  The article continues with the fact that football is the leading cause of concussions.  Another statistic that I came across dealt with the number of concussions diagnosed during the NFL league year in 2019. On NFL.com, Judy Battista wrote and article about injury data in 2019.  She states that during the 2019 NFL season, there were 224 diagnosed concussions, which happen to be 10 more than the 2018 season (Battista, pg.1 2020).

In addition, football is not the only sport that deals with countless amounts of problems due to head injuries.  In the NBA, there are many cases that deal with RTP increased and basketball players were more likely to get concussed as a result of returning to action too soon (Patel pg. 3 2019).

In the NHL, there has also been a history of concussions that have spanned over a large period in time.  “From 2008-2017, players who sustained a concussion were compared with the 2008-2017 non-concussed player pool.  Of the 2194 eligible NHL players in the 9-year period, 309 sustained 399 concussions resulting in injury protocol” (Navarro pg. 1 2018).  Not only have concussions in the NHL been pretty severe, but NHL athletes that suffered those head injuries are less likely to play a full season in the future.  “The probability of playing a full NHL season post-concussion was significantly decreased compared with the non-concussed pool” (Navarro pg. 1 2018).

Going back to the NFL, according to research, “CTE is a common post-mortem diagnosis in NFL players” and  “In 2017, Dr. Anne McKee, one of the leading neuropathologists in CTE research, examined 202 brains. (31) Of those brains, 111 were NFL players, and of those 111 brains, 110 were diagnosed with CTE” (Wolpert, pg. 4 2019).[unique_solution]

As you can see, there are many statistics involved with head injuries in professional sports.  If these sports organizations continue to allow their respective games to be played the way they are now, these numbers will continue to get higher.

 

Furthermore, it is important to realize the many different rules and regulations regarding concussions and the effects it has on post playing career retirement.  Professional sports organizations need to come up with ways to make their respective games safer for the athletes involved.  If they fail to do so, their players will continue to get hurt and the risks will only get higher and affect them later in life.  Jon Gruden shared a quote regarding a particular game in 2017, was not a good representation of the game (Fisher 2019).  In addition, and despite some of the rule changes, it still lacked the necessary capabilities to help train players to play the game safer (Champagne 2019).

Over the years, the NFL has struggled with finding a way to solve their concussion problem.  Whether the league tries implementing new helmets, or changing the way an athlete can tackle, there are still arguments that can be made against the NFL’s handlining of gameplay (Siegel 2019).  Head injuries such as concussions and CTE have become a threat to the reputation of the league.  To make matters worse, the NFL has cast aside its former players.  I found this in an article regarding former athletes and the conflicts that transpire between them and the NFL.  The NFL held a “concussion summit”.  An interesting fact that I found in the article pertains to the statement regarding American medicine.  A passage from the article, “American medicine is remarkably successful in saving people’s lives, the infrastructure devoted to rehabilitation and long-term care – exactly the kinds of care likely to be most needed by TBI patients – suffers greatly by comparison” (Goldberg 344).  The article said immediately after that, this disconnect between American medicine and long-term care is the heart of the discussion between the kinds of disability benefits that the NFLPA owes to former players.  If the Sports organizations want to keep their sport around longer, they need to do some serious readjusting.  Especially since BL Brett was quoted with saying, that “studies show a correlation between concussions and depression later in life” (Brett 2018).  Depression is linked to sports-related concussions. Although, the article also states that somatic symptoms are much more related to depression than that of sports-related concussions.

 

The last discussion revolves around the response from Professional Sports Organizations.  With all the responses to injuries in sports, leagues like the NFL are trying to combat these injuries or reduce the risk of the potential aftermath and repercussions of those injuries.  The NFL continuously disregards the professional advice for a concussion diagnosis (Wolpert 2019).  Although, if there is one thing that the NFL has made it clear that they wanted to focus on, it is the implementation of newer and “safer” helmets (Decker 2020).  While the discussion of certain helmets and its safety will always be divided, there is one thing that the NFL has done that not only makes sense, but also benefits the athletes.  Recently, thanks to Roger Goodell’s decision, he has decided that certain drills will be banned due to high impact (Battista 2020).  The Oklahoma drill is a high contact drill that requires a small space to perform the drill.  It was banned by the NFL in 2019.  If there is one position in football that gets the hardest hits, it is the Quarterback.  It was not until recently that new rules were put in place to protect the Quarterback, and thanks to the “Tom Brady Rule,” players in that position have become less inclined to injury (Seifert 2016).  Having changed the way defenders can approach a Quarterback during a play, allows for a safer game and protection of the most important position on the field.  According to the AP Archive, a YouTube video explains what happens when players make contact in football.  Athletes heads are constantly in motion especially during contact with another player.  When a player has frequent shots, his brain moves forward, backward, and rotationally inside the skull.  When he keeps getting hit in the head, that unnatural movement that the player experiences causes the brain to elongate, causing stress to the nerve cells.  As a way of protecting a former athletes’ future, the NFL recently implemented Article 65, the Neuro-Cognitive Disability Benefit, into the CBA (Wolpert, pg. 8 2019).  The plan in place, insures that these retired players who have permanent, neurocognitive impairments, can receive benefits to help them post retirement.  In conclusion, while the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell have lacked with protecting players in some areas, it is shown that they are trying to make sure that their players are taken care of once their careers are over.

 

Are sports leagues truly doing enough to prevent or minimize the risk of brain injuries and their impact on their athletes lives post-career?  In my final analysis, it is brought to my attention that in today’s world of sports, injuries are more likely to occur, and the risk of injuries are higher than before.  Because the risk of injuries like concussions are very common, professional sports organizations are trying their best to implement new ideas, safety measures, and set their athletes up for a better future post-career.  Some limitations of current research include a small variety of test subjects when determining how a concussion can effect a person during their career and after.  Because sports organizations like the NFL are in their offseason, it is not easy to find data on any new rules or regulations pertaining to the upcoming season and how they may impact the safety of the players.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Methods Draft

Question: Are sports leagues truly doing enough to prevent and/or minimize the risk of brain injuries and their impact on their athletes lives post-career?

Procedure: In my opinion, I do not believe that sports organizations are doing enough to protect its athletes from concussion during their career and the effects that come with it well into their retirement. I will be studying two types of data.  The first of which will relate to the effects of brain injuries once an athlete is retired.  The second study will help determine whether certain sports are using proper concussion management guidelines.  In doing so, I found information from a previous experiment.  In this study, the author, Benjamin L. Brett discusses how participants were recruited for a neurological function assessment in former NFL athletes.  The study coordinator obtained consent from the participants that meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria consisted of former NFL players interested in participation, age 60 or less, and are able to tolerate an MRI.  The exclusion criteria consisted of a history of brain surgery, brain tumor, and any cerebrovascular accidents that began before entering the NFL.  To further examine my hypothesis, I found more research pertaining to a study done on the relationship between concussions and multiple sports.  In this study, I will analyze the data presented in the study by the author, Gavin Davis.  I hope to determine if the NFL and other professional sports are properly using proper concussion management guidelines to effectively manage potential concussions.

Instrumentation: For our first study, we will be using (MRI scans) to analyze the data in hopes that is can support our hypothesis.  We are measuring to see whether or not these retired athletes still had brain deficiencies even after their respective careers. Another instrument in use is a patient health questionnaire.  This is where patients would rate the severity of each one of the 21 depressive symptoms on a four-point scale (0-3).  The greater the score, the higher the symptoms.  For the next study, video reviews were assessed to identify possibly concussions.

Data Analysis:  I am using data based off of the first study.  In that study, self-reported inventory was issues and scored by a certified neuropsychologist.  The study also used a moderation analysis that investigates and determines the main effects of somatic-related symptoms, along with somatic-related symptoms on depressive symptom severity, as well as the potential relationship between both the history and symptoms.  The findings in Brett’s study determined that there is a relationship between the retired athletes SRC history and depressive symptoms.  In addition, once I researched the information regarding video reviews and how different sports are using it to determine the possibility of a concussions in its athletes.  In this study, six sports that used video reviews participated.   While the data in the study showed that the video reviews used by different sports turned out to be somewhat effective, the criteria used for this study were not clearly established and there is a pretty decent risk for error if not properly used.  Therefore, if sports leagues want to manage concussion a little bit better, they need to come together to implement new strategies or provide stronger video analysis if they really want to look out for their athletes.  After going over both of these studies, it is in my opinion that sports leagues are still not doing everything that they could to protect their athletes and properly educate not only its players but its staff to make the game safer and provide proper concussion management strategies.

 

 

Reference List

Siegel, B. (2019). Concussions and Capital: Tom Brady, CTE, and the NFL’s Crisis of Identity. Journal of Sport and Social Issues43(6), 551–574. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723519868192

 

Goldberg, D. S. (2008). Concussions, Professional Sports, and Conflicts of Interest: Why the National Football League’s Current Policies are Bad for Its (Players’) Health. HEC Forum, 20(4), 337–355. doi: 10.1007/s10730-008-9079-0

 

Davis, G. A., Makdissi, M., Bloomfield, P., Clifton, P., Echemendia, R. J., Falvey, É. C., … Mccrory, P. (2018). International study of video review of concussion in professional sports. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(20), 1299–1304. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099727

 

 

Cross MJ, Tucker R, Raftery M, et al Tackling concussion in professional rugby union: a case–control study of tackle-based risk factors and recommendations for primary prevention British Journal of Sports Medicine 2019;53:1021-1025.

 

Navarro, S. M., Pettit, R. W., Haeberle, H. S., Frangiamore, S. J., Rahman, N. M., Farrow, L. D., … Ramkumar, P. N. (2018). Short-Term Impact of Concussion in the NHL: An Analysis of Player Longevity, Performance, and Financial Loss. Journal of Neurotrauma35(20), 2391–2399. doi: 10.1089/neu.2017.5611

 

 

Wolpert, J. (2019, Fall). CONCUSSIONS AND CONTRACTS: THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE’S LIMITATIONS TO PROTECTING ITS PLAYERS FROM CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY. Journal of Law and Health33(1), NA. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/apps/doc/A611679308/LT?u=carl39591&sid=LT&xid=c5ba2e24

 

 

Patel, B. H., Okoroha, K. R., Jildeh, T. R., Lu, Y., Idarraga, A. J., Nwachukwu, B. U., … Forsythe, B. (2019). Concussions in the National Basketball Association: Analysis of Incidence, Return to Play, and Performance From 1999 to 2018. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine7(6), 232596711985419. doi: 10.1177/2325967119854199

 

 

Fisher, R. W. (2019). Evaluating a “Concussion Clause”: Why the NFL’s Assumption of Risk Defense Fares No Better As Time Goes On. Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law, 21(3), 651+. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/apps/doc/A589513263/LT?u=carl39591&sid=LT&xid=d0e6daf8

 

 

Decker, W. S., Baker, A. S., Ye, X. S., Brown, P. S., Stitzel, J. S., & Gayzik, F. S. (2019). Development and Multi-Scale Validation of a Finite Element Football Helmet Model. Annals of Biomedical Engineering48(1), 258–270. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-019-02345-7

 

 

Brett, B. L., Mummareddy, N., Kuhn, A. W., Yengo-Kahn, A. M., & Zuckerman, S. L. (2019). The Relationship Between Prior Concussions and Depression Is Modified by Somatic Symptomatology in Retired NFL Athletes. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences31(1), 17–24. http://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.18040080

 

 

Battista, J. (2020, January 23). NFL reveals 2019 injury data, hopeful rule changes are working. Retrieved from http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001098679/article/nfl-reveals-2019-injury-data-hopeful-rule-changes-are-working

 

Champagne, A. A., Distefano, V., Boulanger, M.-M., Magee, B., Coverdale, N. S., Gallucci, D., … Cook, D. J. (2019). Data-informed Intervention Improves Football Technique and Reduces Head Impacts. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise51(11), 2366–2374. doi: 10.1249/mss.0000000000002046

 

Seifert, K. (2016, June 17). How Emmitt Smith, Joe Horn, Tom Brady and more altered NFL rule book. Retrieved from https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/205468/how-emmitt-smith-joe-horn-tom-brady-and-more-altered-nfl-rule-book

 

 

Nathanson, J. T., Connolly, J. G., Yuk, F., Gometz, A., Rasouli, J., Lovell, M., & Choudhri, T. (2016). Concussion Incidence in Professional Football. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 4(1), 232596711562262. doi: 10.1177/2325967115622621

 

AP Archive, CTE: How Repeated Head Blows Affect the Brain, YOUTUBE (May 22, 2019), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZvUU6Ze7-8&t=3s.

 

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