The increase of concussions in football has had an astounding effect on athletes and should be further evaluated for safety research. First, you probably want to know what a concussion is before I talk about how and why they happen in football. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that has brain altering effects. These effects can include the following: headaches, balance, coordination, and memory. How do these injuries occur you ask? Most concussions are caused by a violent shaking motion and usually occur playing a contact sport such as football. (Clinic, 2016) Following a first concussion, an athlete is at risk for additional concussion, players who experience loss of consciousness are six times more likely to sustain a concussion
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The difference will be explained in the next few paragraphs. When an athlete gets a concussion they should physically rest their body until all post-concussive symptoms are fully gone. Bed rest really isn’t necessary but some rest would be good for your body. Doctors recommend a minimum of three days before participating in any physical contact or task. (Straus, …show more content…
In the early 1900s, the first helmets were invented. The caps that were first invented were made of leather. Soft leather caps were first used in football until the 1930s, when hard leather, which better protected the head, was invented. Helmet designs improved over the years by adding more padding and a strap to the inside of the helmet to reduce the pressure of impact. By the 1950s, leather helmets had been phased out of organized football. Plastic helmets were introduced in the 1940s and 1950s to the NFL. This became the standard form of headgear used throughout the NFL and is still used today, although the padding and engineering that go into the helmets have changed one-hundred percent and helped improve the comfort and safety of the helmets. In 1953 the first facemask was used by the Cleveland Browns, a single-bar protective cover to protect the jaw from being struck and damaged during a game. The helmets used today are still made of plastic but are much more complex; with new models even containing electronic parts that monitor the impact sustained by the helmet and help monitor potential concussions and brain damage. (Lazarus,
The difference will be explained in the next few paragraphs. When an athlete gets a concussion they should physically rest their body until all post-concussive symptoms are fully gone. Bed rest really isn’t necessary but some rest would be good for your body. Doctors recommend a minimum of three days before participating in any physical contact or task. (Straus, …show more content…
In the early 1900s, the first helmets were invented. The caps that were first invented were made of leather. Soft leather caps were first used in football until the 1930s, when hard leather, which better protected the head, was invented. Helmet designs improved over the years by adding more padding and a strap to the inside of the helmet to reduce the pressure of impact. By the 1950s, leather helmets had been phased out of organized football. Plastic helmets were introduced in the 1940s and 1950s to the NFL. This became the standard form of headgear used throughout the NFL and is still used today, although the padding and engineering that go into the helmets have changed one-hundred percent and helped improve the comfort and safety of the helmets. In 1953 the first facemask was used by the Cleveland Browns, a single-bar protective cover to protect the jaw from being struck and damaged during a game. The helmets used today are still made of plastic but are much more complex; with new models even containing electronic parts that monitor the impact sustained by the helmet and help monitor potential concussions and brain damage. (Lazarus,