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Na’Shon Ferraro
Mrs.Gaarden
English 102
4/20/2020
Concussion in Sports
Most Average people enjoy playing sports because it’s a team effort and they get a good workout
in while enjoy a fun activity. Because most sports that involve physical activity, injuries our
more than likely to occur. One of the most common injuries to occur our concussions. Athletes
who participate in physical sports are more likely to obtain a concussion these. Athletes who
participate in Boxing, Soccer, Football, Rugby, Basketball, Hockey, Wrestling, etc. But what is a
concussion exactly? A concussion is defined as a complex psychological process affecting the
brain, induced by biochemical factors (Graham 22). When a concussion is obtaining by, an
athlete their brain is not function properly (Meehan 12). Even though there is a belief that
concussions are bruise or something of that atmosphere that is not the case. Concussions are the
brain not functioning properly (Meehan 12). Concussion happen every day in the sports world,
they happen so much that people overlook the long-term effects, in fact the major long-term
effects are memory problems, trouble concentrating and in some cases life threating depression.
In the “united states alone more than 1.6 million” (Anzai 1) concussions occur each year those
are just the sports related concussions
A common question asked is how do concussions occur in sports? Well to answer this
question lets break it down per sport. In sports that have helmets concussions can occur by hits to
the facemask (Meehan 12). In sports such as Boxing and or Kickboxing and even Wrestling
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concussions can occur from blows to the body (Meehan). In semi-contact sports such as soccer
or basketball concussions can occur from slide tackle or falling a weird way
(Meehan).Concussion can also occur from whiplash , head to head contact, falling weirdly on the
neck, or heading the ball incorrectly. Furthermore, Concussions occur at the “cellular level”
(Purcell 1). This results in a change in the brains functions.
“Recent years have seen an increasing awareness and understanding that all concussions
involve some type of brain injury” (graham 19). Severity of concussion is an important role in
understanding concussions in sports today. To make it easier on athletes there are three main
types of concussions. The three types of concussions are mild concussions, moderate
concussions, and severe concussions. Each type of concussions has its own grading scale. Mild
concussions are grade 1 concussions, moderate concussions are grade 2, and finally grade 3
concussions are serving.
The first of which is a Mild concussion, also known as “MTBI” (hall 103). Mild Concussions
occur when a mild blow to the head or neck area happens without the loss of consciousness. Mild
concussions are grade-1 concussions. Mild concussions experience the least amount of pain. The
second type of concussions are moderate concussions, also called grade 2 Concussions. These
types of concussions also don’t involve loss of concussions however they symptoms don’t
normally last more than 15 minutes. The final type of concussion is a serve one, also known as
grade 3 Concussion. In grade 3 the athlete will lose consciousness, sometimes just for a few
seconds. Grade 3 is the worst kind of concussion. Each type of concussion no matter the severity
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will take 7 to 14 days to fully recover, also will need to take an impact test before the athlete is
able to fully return to the field or court and play.
Concussions occur frequently to estimate they our approximately “1.6 to 3.8 million sports
related concussion occurs per year in the US only” (Graham 27). Knowing how to recognize a
concussion can help athlete heal faster. So, you might ask how to do you recognize a concussion
in sports? If the athlete is symptomatic which is possible, theses can occur “Blurred vision,
confusion, feeling dazed, dizziness, slur of speech, headaches, nausea” (Parker 26).
Recognizing a concussion in sports is easy once you see that the athlete has either pass out or if
the athlete cannot pass the memory test, impact test, or if the athlete is expressing symptoms.
Furthermore, the memory test is asking the athlete what team they may play for? or anything
