People of all ages all across the nation love to sit back to a game of football, soccer, or any sport for that matter, but little do they know of all the life threatening injuries that occur to the athletes. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, is a severe disease that affects people of all ages. ALS is most common amongst male athletes, but can still possibly affect any regular person. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE, is the result of many concussions and similar to ALS, may eventually lead to death. Unlike ALS which attacks everywhere but the brain, CTE’S are diseases that attack the brain. A majority of brain diseases affect people over the age of fifty but definitely do not discriminate against anyone. Though such diseases may be life
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Muscles get absolutely no nourishment and begin to deteriorate. ALS symptoms include muscle stiffness, trouble with coordination, fatigue, paralysis, and difficulty swallowing. Symptoms vary from person to person and progress differently. Multiple tests are done for proper diagnosis since there is yet to be a 100% accurate test. ALS can be slowed down but has no cure and may last for years or for life. Someone with ALS is fully aware of the fact that the ability to control muscle movement is lost as his or her muscles are weakening. ALS is more common amongst people aged 40-70, and with athletes and military veterans. ALS only affects motor neurons, meaning a person’s mind remains the same- intelligence, thoughts, and memories are not affected …show more content…
Famous New York Yankees baseball player Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS in 1938 and passed away at the age of 37 in 1941. Gehrig did a lot from making sure that people recognized and diagnosed this disease, as well as helping out those who already had it by making their life easier. Junior Seau was a former NFL player and he committed suicide at the age of 43 in 2012 after being diagnosed with CTE. Athletes are now beginning to get brain injuries at very young ages and the NFL is being blamed. Many parents are not allowing their children join certain sport teams at young ages, but studies actually show that beginning a sport at an early age may reduce the chance for any accidents. Athletes would start off learning the rules as kids and would have much more experience. Concussions are already starting to be seen in middle school and high school athletes. Some concussions may go untreated and may just be pushed off to the side, but it’s those little injuries that accumulate and turn into something
Muscles get absolutely no nourishment and begin to deteriorate. ALS symptoms include muscle stiffness, trouble with coordination, fatigue, paralysis, and difficulty swallowing. Symptoms vary from person to person and progress differently. Multiple tests are done for proper diagnosis since there is yet to be a 100% accurate test. ALS can be slowed down but has no cure and may last for years or for life. Someone with ALS is fully aware of the fact that the ability to control muscle movement is lost as his or her muscles are weakening. ALS is more common amongst people aged 40-70, and with athletes and military veterans. ALS only affects motor neurons, meaning a person’s mind remains the same- intelligence, thoughts, and memories are not affected …show more content…
Famous New York Yankees baseball player Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS in 1938 and passed away at the age of 37 in 1941. Gehrig did a lot from making sure that people recognized and diagnosed this disease, as well as helping out those who already had it by making their life easier. Junior Seau was a former NFL player and he committed suicide at the age of 43 in 2012 after being diagnosed with CTE. Athletes are now beginning to get brain injuries at very young ages and the NFL is being blamed. Many parents are not allowing their children join certain sport teams at young ages, but studies actually show that beginning a sport at an early age may reduce the chance for any accidents. Athletes would start off learning the rules as kids and would have much more experience. Concussions are already starting to be seen in middle school and high school athletes. Some concussions may go untreated and may just be pushed off to the side, but it’s those little injuries that accumulate and turn into something