Concussion has become a national concern. Concussion has become a frequent occurrence in contact sports. As a result, it causes serious head injuries known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which becomes progressive with time. In most cases, CTE symptoms become visible after a long period. In America, more attention has been geared towards addressing the neurological problems caused by sporting activities traumatic brain injury, especially concussion. According to the CPSC DATA of 2009, more than 446,788 sports-related head injuries have been reported in America (Rowson et al., 2016). These statistics reveals how serious the problem is by the fact that the number of sports-related injuries has doubled.
Concussion is one of the frequent head injuries. Even though many athletes recover with time, some end up developing long-lasting and progressive symptoms than might cause brain impairment. A repetitive concussion can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) (McCrory et al., 2013). Even though research studies have not presented conclusive findings on the levels of severity of the head injury that can lead to CTE, allot needs to be done to protect athletes from a concussion and long-term damages it might cause (McCrory et al., 2013). This explains why the concussion in the sports group issued a consensus statement to outline the process of caring for injured athletes to address some of the potential future head damages.
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Do you believe that the impact of the sport may cause a neurological disease such as this?
I believe that concussion is a brain injury because it affects the pathophysiological process and may cause neurological disease. Concussion is caused by direct connate to the head, face, or neck or some parts of the body in which the impulsive force is transmitted to the head (McCrory et al., 2013). A concussion is not treated can cause impairment of the brain because the impact caused in the head will affect the neurologic function. However, some of the symptoms and signs change with time. This might result to neuropathology changes. As a result, athletes may exhibit symptoms like loss of consciousness, amnesia; behavior changes like irritability and cognitive impairments a sleep disturbance (McCrory et al., 2013). All these symptoms if not treated can lead to severe neurological diseases such as CTE. Research findings reveal that repeated blow on the head even if does not cause a concussion, however, it might cause long-term effect such has traumatic encephalopathy which is a progressive disease that affects the brain mostly among athletes and individuals with repetitive brain trauma (McCrory et al., 2013).
Analyze the functions of the skeletal muscles, spinal cord, and brain when moving the body in a sport such as a football. How important are the skeletal muscles, spinal cord, and brain when participating in a sport?
The human skeleton comprises of different bones that are joined to act as a protective cover for the whole body. The bones form part of the skeleton and help perform different body movements (American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2020). Bones provide a framework to support the muscles and skin and protect internal body organs .for example, the ventral column that is the spinal cord extends from the base o the cranium to the pelvic bone. The spinal cord is made up of bones and is important in aiding movement in sports (American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2020). In sports, the bones give the body shape that provides the supporting framework for soft tissues of the body. The bones of the skeleton protect the brain, other internal organs like lungs and heart. The vertebral column protects the spinal cord from any damage. Internal the skeletal muscles allow free body movement. Muscles attached to the bones act as levers and helps in the movement at the joint to enable one walk, run, and kick or throw (American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2020).
What could the sports industry do to better protect the players' bodies and their functions while playing a sport such as a football ?
The sporting industry can protect player’s bodies by reducing concussion since all activities have some risk of injury, measures can be taken to reduce these risks. Players need to wear protective gear like headgear and other safety equipment when engaged in contact sports. They should not be applied to football, but all contact sports like skateboarding. Players need to wear helmets, mouth guards to reduce the risk of brain injury. Most protective gears for sports are well designed to reduce the risk of injury and protect players from any type of impact that might affect them (McCrory et al., 2013). A helmet is the best protective gear that can keep players safer from skull fractures ns any severe brain injury.
There is a need for coaches to emphasize the importance of playing by the rules .rules keep players safe especially in high contact sports like football. There should be a limitation about what all players can do to the opponents to limit high-level contact. When a player is injured, he should not be permitted to retune to play after the injury. In situation when one shows signs of concussion, the player needs to be removed from the sporting environment and seek medical attention immediately based on the standardized assessment guidelines (McCrory et al., 2013).
How might complex motor behavior where the brain plans, initiates, imitates and comprehends movement be impacted by a potential brain injury such as CTE?
The complex motor behavior in the brain can be affected by a potential brain injury like CTE because any repetitive disturbance of the axonal perturbation can initiate series or energy causing cytoskeleton disturbances which might trigger the pathological spill causing CTE (Rowson et al., 2016). CTE occurs when athletes have long retired from the sport, but early manifestation affect individual behaviors one becomes irritable, angry while others might exhibit cognitive problems such as poor memory as a cognitive dysfunction behavior .as a result some may develop diseases such as Parkinson's, speech and ocular abnormalities (Rowson et al., 2016). When the head is affected by the and force, the energy will affect the skull thus resulting in motion at the interface between the brain and the skull. This causes strains and puts pressure on the brain tissues leading to injury.
Is such an injury preventable or inevitable while playing such an impactful sport such as football?
Injuries such as concussion are inevitable, but CTE can be prevented in several ways. It is not easy to avoid any type of contact when playing a physical sport such as football. Players are likely to experience concussion, which can occur even if they wear protective gear. A head injury might occur when the player falls even when wearing a helmet (McCrory et al., 2013). However, the treatment and other preventative measures can be taken to avoid further damage to the brain that might lead to CTE. Several precautionary steps toward safety can reduce concussion.
References
American Association of Neurological Surgeons (2020). Sports-related Head
Injury https://www.aans.org/en/Patients/Neurosurgical-Conditions-and- Treatments/Sports-related-Head-Injury
McCrory, P., Meeuwisse, W. H., Aubry, M., Cantu, R. C., Dvorak, J., Echemendia, R. J., & Sills,
A. (2013). Consensus statement on concussion in sport—the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2012. PM&R , 5 (4), 255- 279. . DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-48.4.05.
Rowson, S., Bland, M. L., Campolettano, E. T., Press, J. N., Rowson, B., Smith, J. A. & Duma,
S. M. (2016). Biomechanical perspectives on concussion in sport. Sports medicine and arthroscopy review , 24 (3), 100.
