High schools across the country have seen a huge increase in concussions in many contact sports such as football. In football alone they have seen on average between 43,200 to 67,200 concussion cases annually. This increase has been linked to an increase in information about what the symptoms are for a concussion. With this increase it has raised some question about what should be done and how are we going to fix the problem.
Being apart of football you see hits and collisions that can make your head hurt and you were not even the one who was hit. I do believe that part of the reason concussion cases have risen in the last 15 years is because we have been able to recognize symptoms more frequently. The reason for this is because student athletes are made to take a concussion test before they are allowed to step on the field. This test gives medical staff a baseline standard for each individual. When a player experiences a hard hit with another player or the ground they are given the same test. Players either perform very similar (no concussion) or different (possible concussion). This has been a quick an easy assessment of the field. This is different from the past where football players have tried to walk if off so that they could return to the field. This is because of the 'Macho' culture that football facilitates.
Emergency room doctors have seen double the cases of concussions in children ages 8-19 from 1997 to 2007 while the country has seen a decline in participation of organized sports. I believe that there are a few other reasons for us seeing an increase in concussions at the high school level in football. One is that student athletes are being given better in/off season training workouts that is making them bigger, stronger, and faster. This allows for bigger hits at faster speeds. Another reason that ties into this is the level of technique that a coach at this level is providing. If players are not given the proper instruction of how to hit and what to hit with you will see an increase in concussions. The reason being that it is natural to duck your head when you hit. Instead of having your eyes up and seeing what your about to hit.
All of this aside the article brings up a good point that these kids who are diagnosed with a concussion still have to attend school like everyone else. The problem arises when staff and administrators are not willing to modify the students academic work load for the duration of the head injury. Some staff believe that students will try and milk the system for longer than they should. But as stated above football has this 'Macho' mentality which would prove the opposite of kids wanting to prolong the injury because if they chose that route then they would not be able to play. So the question arises should students who have head injures such as a concussion be granted modified school work for the duration of the injury?
You do a great job adding much more context to the article. I wonder if the issue can be seen as one of competition. In other words, has the level of competition increased? If it has, is that to the benefit of the students or because communities and coaches are out for themselves?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
I don't believe that the level of competition has increased on the field. Athletes still give their all to win and represent their school or organizations. But I do believe that competition has increased for coaches to win and win now to keep their jobs. This does increase the stress on the student athlete to perform and not want to come out of the game even know they might be hurt or injured. Coaches are there for the kids but it is a job so you can say competitions has increased due to the necessity to win.
ReplyDeleteOctobers issue has a letter to the editor that responds to this article. Sue Klund talks about a test that a student can take online that allows us to see what our brain looks like in a healthy state. Athletes could take this test before the season starts so that if they do suffer from a concussion a doctor could go back and have a reference for the injury. Here is the link to the test.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.healtheast.org/bethesda/outpatient-services/concussion-clinic/impact-testing/impact-coupon-redemption.html