Effects Of Brain Injuries In Sports

Due to the intensity of the contact in both football and boxing, injuries pose a major threat to the brain in the form of both short-term and long-term effects. A few of the effects include concussions, altered skills and functions, loss of memory, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and potentially death. Brain injuries can affect each part of the body in different ways for each individual. At only thirteen years old, Zack Lystedt walked on the football field just like any other game, but what he did not know at the time was that it would be his last football game ever. After hitting the back of his head in the first quarter, Zack sat out until the second half. Upon returning to play, he received numerous additional high-impact blows. By the …show more content…
Most often, individuals can recover from the initial injury depending on the severity of the impact. However, if there are multiple injuries in sucession that go untreated, it lessens the chance of recovery. Since each additional injury to the brain makes individuals more prone to receive another injury, it is of the utmost importance that everyone takes the necessary time to recover. In addition to the idea that contact sports are inherently dangerous, football and boxing are even more dangerous because of the nature of the two sports. Boxers can deliver punches to the head at a mean impact speed of 20mph with little to no gear to protect the head. Similarly, football players tackle at an average impact speed of 25mph and receive between 900 and 1500 hits to the head in a single season. Although league rules require football players to wear helmets during play, they may be somewhat counterproductive. It is highly probable that a player wearing a helmet is more likely to possess a false sense of safety and believe he or she can hit head-on without consequence. In contrast, they are more likely to take a greater amount of precautions if they do not wear the …show more content…
Every morning, when the sun comes up, the sculpture melts more and more until nothing remains but an enormous mess. The owner checks on the sculpture one day, but it is impossible to put back together because the damage is too great. Brain injuries work in a similar fashion. The more time elapses, the worse the damage becomes until it is ultimately too late to reverse the effects. When football players and boxers get hit consistently and do not get checked, the brain is wearing down further just like the ice sculpture