At the present time, treatment of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in sports are a hot topic. However this was not always the case. Years ago, fewer than 50% of High Schools had certified athletic trainers and there was no concussion protocol to follow which then lead to the deaths of kids like Jaquan Waller, and Nathan Stiles (CNN, 2012). Since then there has been the creation of concussion protocols in which many people question if high school students should really be required to follow the school’s protocol for treatment of traumatic brain injuries. One question that arises from the topic of protocol is, Should athletes be able to play their sport again after suffering a concussion? The question comes from the fact that Dr.
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Firstly, requiring high school students to follow protocol can lead to less serious head related injuries and prevents the development of Post-Concussion Syndrome. At the end of the video it was noted that since the implementation of the concussion protocol in Pitt County, there had been fewer head injuries going untreated, no severe head injuries, and no new cases of post-concussion syndrome (CNN, 2012). This shows that following the concussion protocol is very beneficial and crucial in stopping the development of serious head injuries and post-concussion syndrome. Another benefit to requiring athletes to follow the concussion protocol is that it is potentially sport career saving. In the video, Gray Dickson a high school athlete with a concussion believed he was ready to play football again. However, his school’s athletic trainer made him take the cognitive computer test which was a part of the concussion protocol which then showed that he was lacking in verbal memory, visual memory, and reaction time. From there he was told that he would not be able to play in the Friday night game and would have to stop all physical activity (CNN, 2012). Due to Gray being required to follow the protocol and being stopped from playing, Gray was able to not make his concussion worse and was able to recover fully which then allowed him to continue to play football. If Gray had not followed protocol then there is …show more content…
For one, concussions are technically subjective to the athlete who has it. In the case of Gray Dickinson, he was previously concussed and was hit in the head again during a scrimmage during his senior year. However, he claimed that in football headaches were the norm and that his head did not feel the same as it did when he was concussed the first time leading him to truly believe that he was in good health continue to play (CNN,2012). As a result, it can be generalized that in some cases athletes can tell how hurt, they really are, and should not have to follow protocol if they truly feel that they do not need to. Likewise, athletes should not be required to follow concussion protocol because concussions are essentially inevitable in sports. According to the video, 1/10 football players become concussed, 35% receive more than one concussion, and between 2005-2008 40% of players continued to play after receiving a blow to the head (CNN,2012). The statistics show how frequent concussions happen to athletes and how those concussions do not always lead to fatal or serious events/problems. As a result, athletes should not be required to follow concussion protocol if they do not want
Firstly, requiring high school students to follow protocol can lead to less serious head related injuries and prevents the development of Post-Concussion Syndrome. At the end of the video it was noted that since the implementation of the concussion protocol in Pitt County, there had been fewer head injuries going untreated, no severe head injuries, and no new cases of post-concussion syndrome (CNN, 2012). This shows that following the concussion protocol is very beneficial and crucial in stopping the development of serious head injuries and post-concussion syndrome. Another benefit to requiring athletes to follow the concussion protocol is that it is potentially sport career saving. In the video, Gray Dickson a high school athlete with a concussion believed he was ready to play football again. However, his school’s athletic trainer made him take the cognitive computer test which was a part of the concussion protocol which then showed that he was lacking in verbal memory, visual memory, and reaction time. From there he was told that he would not be able to play in the Friday night game and would have to stop all physical activity (CNN, 2012). Due to Gray being required to follow the protocol and being stopped from playing, Gray was able to not make his concussion worse and was able to recover fully which then allowed him to continue to play football. If Gray had not followed protocol then there is …show more content…
For one, concussions are technically subjective to the athlete who has it. In the case of Gray Dickinson, he was previously concussed and was hit in the head again during a scrimmage during his senior year. However, he claimed that in football headaches were the norm and that his head did not feel the same as it did when he was concussed the first time leading him to truly believe that he was in good health continue to play (CNN,2012). As a result, it can be generalized that in some cases athletes can tell how hurt, they really are, and should not have to follow protocol if they truly feel that they do not need to. Likewise, athletes should not be required to follow concussion protocol because concussions are essentially inevitable in sports. According to the video, 1/10 football players become concussed, 35% receive more than one concussion, and between 2005-2008 40% of players continued to play after receiving a blow to the head (CNN,2012). The statistics show how frequent concussions happen to athletes and how those concussions do not always lead to fatal or serious events/problems. As a result, athletes should not be required to follow concussion protocol if they do not want