Prevent Concussions In Sports

The brain is one of the most perplexing organs of the body and concussions, since the first diagnosis have been one of the most puzzling injuries that human’s experience. There has not been a lot of research done to find out the extent of damage they cause on the human brain or why they can cause the variety of symptoms that they do, especially in sports. Many trainers have begun to have their players wear mouthguards, due to research leading doctors to believe that mouthguards can help to dissipate the power of blows taken by players during contact play. This paper will examine the claim that mouthguards prevent concussions. This is an interesting topic, because I suffered a concussion without a mouthguard, and my trainer suggested that if …show more content…
However there is evidence from the article titled “: Commentary: Role of Properly Fitted Mouthguards in Prevention of Sport-Related Concussion”. This article did a study of the various types of mouthguards in children’s sports and what if any protection they offer to athletes. The study done stems from an unproven theory from the 1964 study by Stenger that stated, “The properly fitted mouthguard effectively increases the time and distance involved in acceleration when the mechanism of injury is an upward blow to the head through the mandible.” It also discusses what factors besides the blow can contribute to a person suffering from a concussion such as genetics, force of blow, mass of player etc. Although this article goes into an in depth discussion of how the thickness of mouthguards could possibly help to prevent concussions, it concluded that there should be greater emphasis placed on the prevention of concussions based on their earl findings and theories. It only suggested that time would assist in providing more evidence to whether it makes a difference for a player of a contact sport to wear mouthguards in order to prevent more than just dental …show more content…
The study, with the assistance of 50 Division One athletic trainers of men’s college basketball teams recorded their athlete’s exposures, mouthguard users, concussions, oral soft tissue injuries, dental injuries, and dentist referrals on a weekly basis and submitted them a website. After the conclusion of a season long study, they were able to collect results to their study. Their study showed that there was no significant difference between the number of mouthguard users and non-mouthguard users. (Labella) The study concluded that there was no significant decrease in the rate of concussions due to the utilization of mouthguards, but it significantly reduced the risk and rate of dental