Concussions: A Worldwide Problem

Concussions: A Worldwide Problem

      Concussions are a worldwide problem that people need to become more aware of. They can be caused by sporting events and games. By becoming more aware of the symptoms and treatments the amount of diagnosis' can start to be fixed. Kids need to know that it is okay to stay down when they get hurt and it is better to fix concussions early then when it is too late.
    

    Sports are very fun for kids and adults but they also cause many problems and injuries. Most of the world’s population think of sports as a way to get outside or get in gyms and have some fun whether it’s soccer, basketball or football etc. They also don’t know that about 19% of the kids and adults that play in those sports will be diagnosed with a concussion. There is a lot of controversy in whether sports are safe for kids and even adults. When I asked Mr. Gustafson - a P.E. teacher in the Beaverton School District - he said,

“Yes, kinda. It depends on what level you play at.”

    Troy Perkins from the Portland Timbers would probably agree with this after getting his face “ripped off”. Troy got a full cleat scrapped up his face on April 28, 2012. The cleat to his face resulted in gushing out blood and a huge gash on his nose.

“I thought he got my eye. I thought my eye was gone.” Troy Perkins said at a Timbers training session.

The injury of Troy Perkins could have resulted in an concussion. Luckily the injury wasn't in the form of a concussion.

A concussion is an injury to the head that causes instant loss of awareness for a few minutes up to a few hours. A concussion is the most common diagnosis to athletes. They can be in the forms of bumps, bruises or cuts in the head/skull. Many things can cause a concussion: hard falls, big tackles or even heading the ball in soccer. Concussions can be very hard to spot in athletes. A lot of times players might have one without even realizing it. Some of the symptoms of concussions are: swelling, headaches, dizziness and confusion.

Most times when adults and kids fall and hit their head and it is too hard to tell if they have a concussion. Adults that are not trained and familiar with concussions might just assume that they have a headache from falling. They might decide that they are fine and just keep playing. In professional and college sports trained medical staffs are supposed to run onto the field at that moment when somebody is hurt. Some people agree with this and do think that medical staffs should automatically rush out onto the field and the game should be stopped. When I asked Robin Muhlheim if the medical staff should rush onto the field when a player gets hurt or if the player should be able to decide if they need the medical staff’s assistance, she said,

“If a player gets hit hard enough to go down, trained medical personnel should be the only ones to assess and determine whether or not a player should keep playing in that game.”

When I asked Kate Cyr that same question (should the medical staff rush onto the field when a player gets hurt or should the player be able to decide if they need the medical staff’s assistance?) she said,

“You should be able to call the medical staff onto the field, but the medical staff should be prepared.”

    This issue can go either way because when you have a concussion and suffer another one it can be deadly. Also when you have a concussion you could be dizzy and/or confused and not be able to decide for yourself.

    Despite the risks, the referees in the games do not always decide to stop the game. Refs can be focused on other parts of the game and sometimes don’t notice. Aliya M. says that she has seen the refs not stop the game. I asked her if it should be blamed on the referees if the player ends up being severely hurt. She said,

“No, the ref is focusing on other parts of the game. He didn’t control that the player got hurt.”

    Concussions are becoming more and more serious. Over 1.4 million people are diagnosed with a concussion and over 50 thousand people die of one each year. Doctors and physicians are becoming more and more aware of how to deal with them and how to help prevent them. The next step is to get coaches and parents more educated on the risks and symptoms so we can help save our athletes all over the world.

Soccer, football and basketball sports that cause concussions

An uninjured and concussion brain scan

Maddie Muhlheim

Period 5

734 words