Recently, the long term effects of repeated concussions suffered by NFL players has been huge news because of the increasing number of suicides that are being committed by former and even current players. What is disturbing about most of these suicides by former NFL players is that they make sure to preserve their brains when taking their life to allow their brains to be researched in the hopes that in the years to come former players like them won’t have to live the same tragic life that they did.
A concussion, which is considered a type of traumatic brain injury, is an injury that usually occurs due to an impact to the head that causes the brain to slam against the walls of the skull. This collision of the brain against the skull causes the membranes of the cells that make up the brain to be disrupted. This disruption leads to a chemical imbalance that causes a disruption in the overall functioning of your brain potentially causing the signs and symptoms of what we know as concussions: unconsciousness, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and reduced concentration. These symptoms can last from 5 days or so up to weeks or even months. During this time the brain is attempting to heal itself so that is why it is so important for someone who has suffered a concussion to let the injury completely heal before trying to compete again because if they don’t the likelihood of re-injury is very high and potentially even worse damage could be done to the brain.
As an athlete myself (I wrestle) I know how difficult it can be unable to compete due to an injury, but at the same time there are also a handful of injuries that if I suspect may have happened to me I don’t mess around with them until I know I am cleared by our trainer or a doctor and one of those injuries is a concussion. If I felt that I had a concussion I would immediately stop competing and get checked out by a trainer or a doctor because concussions are a serious injury and if I was reckless with it I could have long term side effects. All of the stories that have come out about NFL players and the neurological issues that they are having due to the number of concussions they have had is quite frightening, so to me competing while you have a concussion is not worth it. Some might be very hesitant to report suffering a concussion because in most high school and college athletics if an athlete suffers a certain number of confirmed concussions they are no longer able to compete in contact sports. So, often times athletes hide concussions so that they can compete. Now I know that it would be hard to step away from a sport you love because of something you really have no control over but, when it could come at a cost to your health I think that stepping away from the sport is 100% the right thing to do.
I had a friend in high school who was an amazing athlete, he was an All-Conference football player, baseball player as well as a state champion wrestler but, he was susceptible to suffering concussions. After his sophomore year he was told by his doctors that he would no longer be able to play football because the likelihood he would suffer a concussion was just to great so, he decided to just wrestle as a junior. That year he went on to win the state title. Now going into his senior year he was excited to defend his state title and was looking forward to possibly wrestling in college but sadly early in the season during practice he suffered another concussion and this one would be what ended his sports career. Stepping away from a sport he loved and was successful at was one of the most difficult things he has ever had to do but he knew he had to do it for his own long term health. He sometimes wondered what it would have been like if he could have continued to compete but, he knows he made the right decision in stepping away. After his last concussion he knew that enough had been enough.
Concussions: When enough is enough
