This paper is for my introduction to writing class. I am needing assistance with finding three weakness in my writing. The paper addresses the importance of CTE, what is being done to help prevent it and if current methods are effective. Thanks in advance for the assistance.
Concussions and Football: Do helmets really help?
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is the progressive degenerative disease of the brain that affects people who have suffered multiple concussions and traumatic brain injuries such as athletes and members of the military. Including those who did not play sports after high school or college. CTE is a disease that was formerly known as dementia pugilistica or "punch drunk syndrome" and was thought to only affect boxers. An individual with CTE is a condition of brain damage which persists over a period of years or decades and which is the result of traumatic impacts to the cranium.
In individuals with CTE, the brain gradually deteriorates and eventually brain mass is lost. Depending on the areas of the brain it may atrophy (waste away) or become enlarged. There is also an accumulation of tau protein, a substance which serves to stabilize cellular structure in the neurons but which may become defective and subsequently may cause extreme interference with the functions of the neurons.
The symptoms of CTE are similar to Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease. Some of these symptoms may include, but are not limited to memory loss, difficulty controlling impulsive of erratic behavior, impaired judgment, behavioral disturbances including aggression and depression, difficulty with balance and a gradual onset of dementia. Sometimes these symptoms are confused with the normal aging process or might result in an incorrect diagnosis due to CTE having the same symptoms of Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease.
The first diagnosis of CTE was in a professional football player in 2002 by Brain Injury Institute doctors Bennet I. Omalu, M.D. and Julian Bailes, M.D. So far, CTE has only been able to be diagnosed post mortem through the examination of the brain of an individual suspected to have CTE. When CTE was first discovered it was not treated that way it is recently being treated in the media. Now more awareness exists thanks to findings of Dr. Omalu and Dr. Bailes with the post mortem diagnosis of a former NFL lineman. Since then 96% of brains that have been donated by the families of deceased players have shown signs of this disease. There have now been advances in the diagnosing of CTE in living test subjects with the ability to identify concentrations of tau protein and screening tests for the early signs of CTE in those considered at risk. There is no cure for CTE.
The question at hand is can a helmet protect a football player from developing CTE? All sports that are played have some risk of injury but head trauma is a huge concern for them all because of the mental diseases that are caused due to the repeated trauma. Other high impact sports have seen cases of CTE in their former players as well. Rugby is the closest of all high impact sports that best resembles American Football with constant head trauma. Due to this same type of trauma there has been reports of death with findings of CTE. The interesting fact is that Rugby players are not required to wear helmets; they have what are called scrum caps. This cap is not designed to prevent concussions but to protect the ears while in the scrum. The scrum is where a high percentage of injuries occur during a match. Since 2014 season there has been an increase of 60% of concussions during the current Rugby season.
Although most people diagnosed with CTE are football and rugby players, other athletes are not exempt from the disease. One of the most well-known diagnoses of CTE was in 2007 when former wrestler Chris Benoit was diagnosed with severe CTE postmortem after he murdered his wife and son then committed suicide. There are also confirmed cases of CTE in athletes such as NFL players Jovan Belcher and Junior Seau and MBL player Ryan Freel, all of whom committed suicide in 2012 and were diagnosed after a postmortem examination of the brain. The youngest known person to be diagnosed with CTE was 17-year-old high school football player Nathan Stiles who died from second-impact syndrome after a serious head injury in 2012.
Since the initial discovery of CTE, 165 have been tested for CTE and it was discovered that at one point in their life, 131 of them played football at any level. Protecting athletes must be paramount considering that future generations idolize those whom they see play. The protective gear that is worn helps protect the players while also being a major contributor to the problem.
As a safety measure players are required to take a course on line. Other measures that have been taken is trying to collect real time data from a match, one way this has already been done is by newly developed xPatch. This patch collects data measuring the size and direction of impact that players are taking. Once all the data is collected it will give a measure of when a player should be taken off the field and when it would be safe for them to return to play. The on the field protocols have a lot of work that needs to be done in comparison to the NFL with the way concussion are handled; off the field measures are better with training provided not only to the trainers but to the coaches and players.
The helmet was introduced in the late 1800 after 18 players died from skull fractures. While the introduction of the helmet into football contributed to an extreme reduction in deaths, it also gave birth to the current concussion epidemic by encouraging players to lead with their head to make a tackle. Extremist have presented the idea of removing the helmet or finding an alternative head protection that absorbs the impact such as the Guardian Cap. The Guardian Cap is designed to evenly distribute the force of impact throughout the helmet, instead of limiting it to a concentrated location, in hopes that this will reduce the occurrence of concussions while in the field of play. Since its introduction in 2011, the Guardian cap is now being used in 35 different states and worn by over 35,000 players at the youth, high school and collegiate levels, including players at the University of South Carolina. The sole purpose of this cap is to help reduce concussions in players during practice since they are not able to be worn during actual games. Independent researchers from Brain Inc. conducted studies showing that the Guardian Cap along with other helmet add-ons have shown 0-2% effectiveness in the reduction of concussions. Other research groups such as Virginia Tech University have conducted tests on helmets alone providing a star rating system for helmets including those used for hockey and baseball players. In 2015 they published their findings showing results for 28 different models of football helmets from all manufactures and with their star ratings, of all the helmets rated only 9 helmets came in with a five-star rating.
It is a known fact that concussions cannot be prevented due to constant head trauma, but helmets are needed in football to keep players safe not only on the professional level but all lower levels as well. The reports that alternative head gear exists for football and have gotten proven results that they provide. But despite this, research is suggesting that a concussion is caused by a different form of head trauma which is why those that where helmets are still at risk for concussions. It is believed that rotation of the skull and brain are what causes a concussion, not the actual impact of the hit.
Concussions are a real danger to athletes of all sports - especially football. While progress is being made with changes to helmets, NFL and NCAA rules and overall guidelines, it will be many years, possibly even decades before we will see a major decline in the number of concussions occurring in sports. Football players are especially at risk due to the sheer nature of the sport and even if changes are made to the rules, helmets and guidelines, we will still see a large number of players suffering from concussions. Also, because of how CTE is diagnosed (post mortem) it will be more difficult to make progress unless more players' families are willing to donate their bodies to the research. Based on the effectiveness of helmets in lessening the occurrence of concussions, they are the best first line of defense to reduce the risk of players developing CTE. In conclusion, CTE must be taken seriously and improvements made to protect players of all sports from these debilitating and life threatening injuries.
"Brain Injury Research Institute." Brain Injury Research Institute. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Breslow, Jason. "76 of 79 Deceased NFL Players Found to Have Brain Disease." PBS. PBS, 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Breslow, Jason. "New: 87 Deceased NFL Players Test Positive for Brain Disease." PBS. PBS, 18 Sept. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Briggs, Simon. "Headguards in Rugby Would Add to the Concussion Problem, Not Solve It, Says Doctor." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 8 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"CTE: Discovery of a New Disease." PBS. PBS. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Ezell, Lauren. "Timeline: The NFL's Concussion Crisis." PBS. PBS, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"Football Helmet Ratings." Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings: Football Helmets. Virginia Tech. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"Frequently Asked Questions." Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings: FAQ. Virginia Tech. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Frollo, Joe. "University of Pittsburgh Study Shows 153 Cases of CTE in Medical History." University of Pittsburgh Study Shows 153 Cases of CTE in Medical History. USA Football, 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Goebel, Nicole. "Concussions an Issue for Elite Rugby, but Don't Let That Put You off Playing | Sci-Tech | DW.COM | 15.10.2015." DW.COM. 15 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Healy, Melissa. "Football Helmets and Concussion: A New Study Opens New Questions." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"Helmets: How They Work and What Standards Do." Helmets: How They Work and What Standards Do. 7 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Johnson, Steve. "Concussion in Rugby No Longer a 'badge of Honour' - FT.com." Financial Times. 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Marshall, Stephen, and Richard Spencer. "Concussion in Rugby: The Hidden Epidemic." Journal of Athletic Training. National Athletic Trainers' Association, Inc. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
McKee, Ann C., Robert Cantu, Christopher Nowinski, E. Tessa Hedley-Whyte, Brandon Gavett, Andrew Budson, Veronica Santini, Hyo-Soon Lee, Caroline Kubilus, and Robert Stern. "Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Athletes: Progressive Tauopathy After Repetitive Head Injury." Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. 1 July 2009. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Mishra, Dev. "NCAA Concussion Statement Has Great Points For High School Athletes Too." SidelineSportsDoc Blog The Source For Sideline Injury Management. Sideline Sports Doc, 6 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Mishra, Dev. "The Crucial Importance Of Good Football Helmet Fit." SidelineSportsDoc Blog The Source For Sideline Injury Management. Sideline Sports Doc, 12 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"Our Research » CTE Center | Boston University." BU CTE Center. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"Relevant Research Publications." Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings: News. Virginia Tech. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Rowson, Steven, Ray Daniels, and Stefan Duma. "Biomechanical Performance of Leather and Modern Football Helmets." thejns.org/doi/abs/10.3171/2013.3.JNS121735. Journal of Neurosurgery, 7 May 2013. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Schofield, Daniel. "Rugby Concussions Soar by 59 per Cent, Says Report." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"Translating Research to Reduce Concussion Risk." Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings. Virginia Tech. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
Volpe, Trisha. "Football Head Injuries: How Much Can Helmets Help?" Football Head Injuries: How Much Can Helmets Help? MPR News, 9 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"WORLD RUGBY CONCUSSION MANAGEMENT." World Rugby Player Welfare. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
"What Is CTE? » CTE Center | Boston University." CTE Center RSS. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.
