For the entirety of my existence, football has been as normal a part of life as anything else. Although I never played on an organized team, like the majority of those that have grown up in the United States, I’ve participated in backyard games, seen it on television, visited games, and supported my favorite teams in full stride, never questioning the danger that is inherent to any sport that involves such a level of violent contact between players. After viewing the movie Concussion and the documentary League of Denial, I have been abruptly torn from my state of ignorance and passive acceptance, finding myself now in a mindset of disgust and contempt for the neglect displayed by the NFL and the public itself. Previous to the films, I had
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While the theory holds in this case that time heals all wounds, the time needed for an athlete’s full recovery is initially very hard to determine. Due to the fact that most symptoms impair mental or cognitive function, the severity of a concussion is not readily observable to a medical professional attempting to evaluate a player. One popular method to better evaluate a player’s mental function is to have them take a test which measures their neurocognitive abilities, such as memory retention and information processing speed, previous to play in order to establish a standard baseline of performance. When the athlete sustains an injury and is suspected to be concussed, he or she must complete a similar test to evaluate their current state. By comparing the scores from the post injury evaluation to those of the baseline test, trainers and doctors have the ability to observe sufficient changes in the mental function of the player. While this method is popular and provides a beneficial tool for evaluation, the results are hard to verify due to the variety of ways in which different individuals react to concussions, the documented manipulation of testing procedures by athletes who wish to return to play, and the improper administration of such …show more content…
After being properly diagnosed by proper medical officials, the athlete must be allowed to rest, cognitively as well as physically. Just as the subject must avoid physical exertion such as sports or exercise, he or she must also be limited in the amount of cognitive exertion through the suspension of many activities including watching television, using a computer, doing school work, and even reading. As time continues and symptoms begin to subside, more and more activities may be gradually reintegrated back into the athlete’s daily routine. To combat pain associated with symptoms such as headaches, over-the-counter pain relievers such acetaminophen may be utilized, but medications such as aspirin and Ibuprofen should be avoided because they thin the blood, increasing the risk of internal hemorrhaging.
While concussions remain anything but rare in the world of sports, they can range in their severity and specific effect on each athlete. As time is the most effective treatment in recovery of those suffering from any head trauma, emphasis on athlete proper athlete evaluation should be given priority, second only to the development increasingly efficient means of prevention. In order properly treat injured individuals, it is ultimately necessary for a governing body to install regulations and standards that provide medical specialists with a verified
While the theory holds in this case that time heals all wounds, the time needed for an athlete’s full recovery is initially very hard to determine. Due to the fact that most symptoms impair mental or cognitive function, the severity of a concussion is not readily observable to a medical professional attempting to evaluate a player. One popular method to better evaluate a player’s mental function is to have them take a test which measures their neurocognitive abilities, such as memory retention and information processing speed, previous to play in order to establish a standard baseline of performance. When the athlete sustains an injury and is suspected to be concussed, he or she must complete a similar test to evaluate their current state. By comparing the scores from the post injury evaluation to those of the baseline test, trainers and doctors have the ability to observe sufficient changes in the mental function of the player. While this method is popular and provides a beneficial tool for evaluation, the results are hard to verify due to the variety of ways in which different individuals react to concussions, the documented manipulation of testing procedures by athletes who wish to return to play, and the improper administration of such …show more content…
After being properly diagnosed by proper medical officials, the athlete must be allowed to rest, cognitively as well as physically. Just as the subject must avoid physical exertion such as sports or exercise, he or she must also be limited in the amount of cognitive exertion through the suspension of many activities including watching television, using a computer, doing school work, and even reading. As time continues and symptoms begin to subside, more and more activities may be gradually reintegrated back into the athlete’s daily routine. To combat pain associated with symptoms such as headaches, over-the-counter pain relievers such acetaminophen may be utilized, but medications such as aspirin and Ibuprofen should be avoided because they thin the blood, increasing the risk of internal hemorrhaging.
While concussions remain anything but rare in the world of sports, they can range in their severity and specific effect on each athlete. As time is the most effective treatment in recovery of those suffering from any head trauma, emphasis on athlete proper athlete evaluation should be given priority, second only to the development increasingly efficient means of prevention. In order properly treat injured individuals, it is ultimately necessary for a governing body to install regulations and standards that provide medical specialists with a verified