Taegen Hill
Engl. 102 – 5:00 pm
Dr. Sonia Apgar Begert
26 February 2015
Sports
related concussions are a very common and considerably vague condition. Often,
athletes who receive a concussion will return to play as soon as possible, or
lie so they don’t have to get treated and abstain from playing their sport.
Many times when the athlete keeps playing, they will continue to get worse or
will obtain a secondary concussion, or “second-impact syndrome,” from a
relatively small force, due to already having a concussion and being more
susceptible to getting injured further. Secondary concussions can lead to
worsening symptoms, a more severe brain injury, brain damage, or even death.
Eventually, after having multiple concussions, an athlete may acquire a
condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). All of these
athletes have at least one thing in common: they’ve all chosen to return to
play, and keep playing their sport, on their own. This fact brings on my
question, “Why do athletes choose to keep playing their sport, even after
receiving one or more concussions?” Is it a psychological issue? Or maybe a
chemical imbalance? Could it simply be just an undying love, respect, and drive
to play the game? Whether it’s just one issue, or all of these, plus some, in
my paper, I plan to unpack this question and get to the bottom of the “why.”
When addressing athletes who have
received one or more concussions, you have to be very sensitive and careful
when discussing every aspect of how the concussion(s) affect them. Most of the
time, one concussion will not affect an athlete’s entire life, while as
multiple concussions (which is what I will mostly be speaking to) could affect
the rest of their lives. Athletes can acquire several different conditions from
having obtained multiple concussions, such as chronic headaches/migraines, long
term depression, or the most serious, CTE. Any of these conditions are very
serious and can affect not only them, but anyone around them. There are many
cases where death has been highly probable and others have committed suicide
from these conditions. Getting down to the “why” factor of this issue is very
important because it could save athletes’ lives; it could keep the athletes
from getting serious, life-threatening conditions that negatively influence the
rest of their lives, and their friend’s and family’s lives.
After getting a serious head injury,
many tests are taken and quite a few doctors are seen. These tests show what
part of the brain the injuries have affected. The doctors use their expertise
to decide what medications should be taken, what treatments they should go
through, and how the athlete is responding, emotionally, physically, and
psychologically. After the initial treatment is finished and the athlete seems
to not be experiencing any more symptoms, they’re cleared to play again. With
just one concussion that can be the end of the line for the doctors, or at
least the treatments, but once they’ve received another concussion, they’re back
to where they started, or even further back. After they’ve gone through the
process again, with even more extensive tests and more doctors, they can decide
whether to return to their sport, or “retire.” The doctors weigh in to the
decision, coaches and athletic trainers weigh in, friends and family weigh in, but
the final decision is up to the athlete. Most of the time, the athlete chooses
to keep playing. A lot of the doctors will say their choice to return is
psychological, like a piece of the athlete is missing if they can’t play their
sport. Others say the decision can be (for professional athletes) pressured by
the greed for money. It could also be because they have the need to be the best in their sport.
Thesis:
The answer to “why” athletes return to playing their sport instead
of retiring is simply because they love their sport, they feel a piece of them
is missing without that sport.
I.
History of concussions
II.
Life threatening conditions from
multiple concussions
III.
Emotional psychological side of
concussions
IV.
The decision to return/retire
V.
Why deciding to retire might be
better
VI.
Conclusion
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