Chapter 6 The Nervous System 225
What Research Tells Us
...about
Concussions
The most common form
of traumatic brain injury is a
concussion. Symptoms can include
headache as well as problems with
concentration, memory, judgment,
balance, and coordination.
Fortunately, these effects are usually
temporary. Although a concussion
can cause a loss of consciousness,
most concussions do not. Thus,
many people experience mild
concussions without realizing it.
The most common cause of
concussion is a blow to the head.
However, concussions can also
occur when the head and upper
body are violently shaken. In fact,
the word concussion comes from n
the Latin concutere, which means
“to shake violently.”
Concussions in Sports
Injuries that produce
concussions are of particular
concern for participants in
American football, boxing, and
soccer, although they also occur
in other sports. According to the
Centers for Disease Control, as
many as 3.8 million sports- and
recreation-related concussions
occur in the United States each
year. Concussions also result from
car and bicycle accidents, work
injuries, and falls.
Because all concussions
injure the brain to some extent, it is
crucial that these injuries have time
to heal. Healing time is particularly
important for athletes in contact
sports, which involve higher risks
of reinjury to the brain. For this
reason, researchers are focusing
attention on the consequences of
repeated concussions.
Recent Research
A recent study shows that
retired professional football players
appear to be at a higher risk of
death from diseases of the brain,
compared to the general US
population. In the study, sponsored
by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health
(NIOSH), researchers examined
the medical records of 3,439
former National Football League
(NFL) players with an average age
of 57. At the time of the analysis,
only 10 percent of the participants
had died, which is about half the
death rate of men that age in the
general population. The fact that
relatively few had died indicates
that the study participants were in
better-than-average general health.
The medical records showed,
however, that an NFL player’s
risk of death from Alzheimer’s
disease or amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou
Gehrig’s disease, was almost four
times higher than in the general
population. Furthermore, those
players in “speed” positions—such
as wide receiver, running back, and
quarterback—accounted for most
of the deaths from Alzheimer’s
disease and ALS. The researchers
emphasized that the data in this
type of study do not establish a
cause-effect relationship. They
hypothesized, however, that the
players in “speed” positions likely
had experienced more high-speed
collisions, and possibly repeated
concussions, compared to the
“non-speed” players.
NFL Takes Action
The NFL has donated $30
million to help establish the Sports
and Health Research Program
within the National Institutes
of Health (NIH). This initiative
provides funding for research on
concussions and other common
injuries in athletes across all sports,
as well as members of the military.
The NFL also has taken steps
to help prevent concussions, such
as fi ning players for dangerous fi
hits, notably helmet-to-helmet
tackles. Rule changes at both the
professional and collegiate levels
now prevent players diagnosed with
concussions from returning to play
until they have been declared free
of symptoms by a medical doctor.
Taking It Further
1. Working with a group of
classmates, determine the
standard operating procedure
in athletic departments at local
high schools and colleges for
dealing with concussions. Are
medical professionals involved
in evaluating the severity of the
concussion and determining
when the athlete can resume
practice and competitive
events? What tests are used
for the evaluations? Have rules
been instituted to help prevent
concussions? Report your
fi ndings to the class.
Figure 6.23 The NFL has
implemented several new rules
and regulations in an effort to
prevent concussions.
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