Open+Letter+-+Concussions+in+High+School+Sports

An Open Letter to Parents and Coaches of High School Athletes  Dear Parents and Coaches of High School Athletes:  University of Pennsylvania student and one of the stars of the football team, Owen Thomas was found dead, hanging in his apartment this past April. A New York Times article on September 13 of this year wrote about how this young man and rising football star had no past of depression or any other mental illness. They stated that a biopsy of the brain showed an onset of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. This is a disease that damages brain tissue and can lead to things such as depression and loss of impulse control. This disease is believed to be linked to brain injuries, such as concussions, which are very prominent in High School and College sports. Having dealt with a concussion before, I know the seriousness of such an injury. My question to Parents and Coaches throughout the nation is this: Are you aware that this could happen to your child or player?  According to WebMD between the years of 2001 and 2005, there were around half a million Emergency Room visits for concussions dealing with 8-19 year olds. A quarter of a million of those injuries were sport related, and 40% of those quarter million were sports related with concussions. This number is simply staggering and proof that there need to be changes with youth sport organizations. Since 1997, concussions in teenage athletes, 13 years or older, has more than doubled. The Center for Disease Control estimates that over 300,000 sports related concussions occur every year. It has been shown that females are more susceptible to concussions than males are. Doctors aren’t quite sure why the numbers have increased so much, but it is a sign that things must be done to help not only treat, but also try to prevent these possibly life endangering injuries.  Do you know what a concussion is? A concussion, simply put, is when the brain moves with such force that it collides with the inside walls of the skull. While this might not seem like a very serious injury to some, it is in fact one that can have very serious effects and even lead to death. Although some medical sources claim that it is not a “concussion” unless there is a lack of consciousness, the American Academy of Neurology declares a grade 1 concussion, the lightest possible kind, as 15 minutes or less of confusion and other symptoms without a loss of consciousness. There are many symptoms of concussions and these vary in degrees, this is what makes diagnosing concussions very difficult sometimes. The physical symptoms of concussions are often dizziness, vomiting, balancing difficulties, blurred or double vision, pupil dilation, and ringing of the ears. The cognitive or mental symptoms are often confusion, difficulties paying attention, disorientation, and extreme emotional changes. Often people who suffer from concussions will be irritable, cranky, they might lose interest in things they used to like, and will often act erratic or lose impulse control during certain situations.  A survey done by 4 doctors: J. Scott Delaney, who is in the department of medical emergencies at McGill University Health Center, Faras Abuzeyad, works in the Sport Medical Center of McGill University, Jose A. Correa, of the accident and emergency department at Bahrain Defense Force Hospital, and Robert Foxford of the Department of mathematics and statistics at McGill University revealed that upwards of 80+% of concussions go undiagnosed. These statistics show that there is a great chance of people suffering more traumas while still suffering from a concussion. It has also been proven that student athletes who have suffered from one concussion during a season are 3 times as likely to suffer from subsequent concussions. Specific treatments for concussions do not exist and they usually have to go away on their own after time. The only suggestions doctors give to help the symptoms is to get plenty of sleep during the night as well as plenty of rest during the day. They also recommend that the person suffering from the concussion take a little break from their normal routine and return to it slowly as the symptoms from the injury start to lessen or go away. Often doctors will prescribe medications that will help with symptoms such as headaches or sleep problems. A 24-72 hour time period after the injury occurs is used as an observatory period to check the person for worsening symptoms or any further injuries. While mortality rates are very low in most cases, there are certain situations, such as Owen Thomas, that have lead to the rare death of an athlete from a concussion. While most symptoms go away usually in two or three weeks, this time may vary due to the age of the person, the number of concussions this person has suffered from, depression, and even substance abuse. The older the person who suffers from the concussion, the longer it might take for them to recover. In rare cases some people may suffer from symptoms for months, years, or even for the rest of their lives, this is called Post-Concussion Syndrome. This doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, people suffer from things such as sleep problems, headaches, memory problems, and fatigue for extended periods of time. Parents, do you know how to help protect your child on the field? Prevention is one of the most important parts in sports to help deal with the amount of injuries. There are numerous rules being put in place constantly to help deal with the injuries that are becoming commonplace in most sports. Rules in contact sports often do not allow players to have head to head contact due to the increased risk of injury. An article on the NFL’s website from August of this year states some of the things they are doing to try to help prevent or help diagnose concussions. They distributed posters near pre-season to hang in locker rooms that help reinforce the dangers of concussions. There are rules that disallow head to head contact during games and even regulations and guidelines that players that have or are suspected to have a concussion must follow before they can return to play in future games. These rules are very strict and are being enforced now more than ever due to the frequent occurrences of concussions. Most contact sports are also updating the equipment that they use, such as helmets with increased padding on the inside of the helmet. All of these in combination with each other should help to decrease the amount of injuries that occur every year in sports. Unfortunately, despite all of these problems and how frequently they occur, there are still some people that don’t see this as a major problem. Because concussions are hard to diagnose and often missed, these people believe they rarely occur when it is the exact opposite of that. There are some parents who believe that sports are all that matters when it comes to their child and getting hurt simply isn’t an option. I’ve seen sporting events at my High School where a student will hurt the ground, injured, and there will be parents and others yelling at them to “Get up and walk it off.” This absolutely disgusts me, but it is their prerogative. I just believe that if their child were to be seriously injured in a game and that affected the rest of their life, they might feel differently afterwards. Parents the next time your child expresses interest in participating in athletic programs, don’t discourage them from doing so, educate them so that they know how to be safe while playing in the game. Coaches should also focus on not just teaching the plays that will help them win the game or match but also proper techniques that will keep their players safe while on the field. No person should ever have to go through the rest of their life with lasting problems from an injury they received while playing a sport in High School or College because of negligence.   Signed, <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Tyler Bell, a concerned student