Concussion and Head Injury in Sports Concussion Even Without Head Hit: In 1904 Theodore Roosevelt Threatened to Ban Football
CHILDREN’S FOOTBALL GAME LATEST SPARK TO IGNITE SPORTS CONCUSSION CONTROVERSY
The NY Times had a shocking article about a little league football game where 5 concussions were diagnosed and yet the game went on. The repercussions from that game are still reverberating. “The whole debate that was fueled even further looks like it won’t be calming any time soon. Head injuries in the National Football League remain the league’s greatest safety concern and the league’s greatest legal liability”.
“With the sole purpose of reducing the brain injuries, Ivy League universities set limits on the practice contacts. since young boys’ brains are very vulnerable, the national organization that has hundreds of thousands of children, made its own safety guidelines. “.
A head concussion is one of the most prominent sports injuries. Diagnosis requires a high degree of suspicion when you suspect an injury. A concussion is a disturbance in brain function. It can be caused by an indirect or direct force that results in shear stress to the head. You don’t need to get hit in the head to have a concussion. Brain injury can happen by rotation or angular force. In 1904, 19 college football players were paralyzed or killed from a spinal cord and brain injuries, President Theodore Roosevelt made threats to outlaw football.
You may or may not pass out. Even though the brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, protected by the skull and cushioned by the meninges i.e. the linings of the central nervous system, the impact of a concussion can cause brain damage and repeated concussions can cause cumulative damage to the brain.
“Nowadays the coaches are far better educated regarding concussions. Long gone are the days of simply patting on the athlete’s backside and sending them back in the game. Most coaches are realizing now that when the student has a concussion he or she needs to rest, even take a break from the sport or school. The brain needs to allocate all its resources for its healing process”.