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Kayla Blain

Professor Cassel

English Composition 2

25 March 2018

Childhood Concussions

“Approximately 500,000 children visit an emergency room each year for a

traumatic brain injury. The three leading causes of these visits in children ages 14 and

younger are cycling, football, and baseball and softball” (American Association of

Neurological Surgeons). With so many children being injured each year, just a small

proportion of them suffer negative outcomes, this makes concussions a serious health

problem for the short and long term. Even though it may not seem like an increasing

problem, the severity of damage to the brain. Parents often put their children in sports to

allow them to get a sense of competition as well as give them exercise. However, is it

causing additional problems? Studies show that long-term effects can be present if the

concussion is not properly diagnosed. Childhood concussions are a mild form of a

traumatic brain injury and can be tough to diagnose in children if not caught right away.

They can provide a lasting effect on the brain if not dealt with and allowed the proper

treatment and care. In order to prevent childhood concussions and further brain damage

of a young developing brain, new rules need to be put in place, coaches and parents, as

well as officials, need to be more educated in spotting and treating a concussion,

without causing them to receive another concussion.

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A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury, caused by a bump, blow or jolt to

the head. “This can cause a sudden movement to the brain that moves it to move

rapidly back and forth. This sudden movement can cause the brain to twist in the skull,

creating chemical changes in the brain and sometimes stretching and damaging brain

cells” (Centers for Disease and Control Prevention). Studies show that children that get

a concussion have outlasting symptoms like decreased reaction times, memory and

concentration problems, irritability, insomnia, and fatigue. Many symptoms of

concussions are as follows: loss of consciousness, sleepiness, trouble concentrating,

slurred speech, feeling anxious or irritable, memory loss, headache, confusion,

dizziness, nausea, difficulty with coordination, blurred vision, and a sensitivity to light. It

is important to watch for these symptoms, and if noticed the child or athlete needs to be

taken out immediately ensure the athlete does not have a concussion. Many coaches

and parents might be clearing and returning their kids to sports when they're the most

vulnerable to re-injury, without fully knowing the severity of the injury. “Those may be

the kids who are at greatest risk for more severe effects of concussion” (Maugans).

Thus causing more problems in the brain dealing with function and comprehension.

“Concussion rates in kid’s sports are on the rise, even as participation drops.

Head injuries, especially repeat concussions, pose especially serious threats to children

because their brains are still developing” (My Southern Health). In the diagram below, it

states that in females, soccer and basketball account for the most concussions in high

school. However in boys, football as well as soccer account for the most concussions in

high school. In soccer, girls have a 65% higher chance of getting a concussion than
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boys. As well as in basketball, girls are 293% higher chance of receiving a concussion

than boys. During practice, 34.6% of all concussions happen in practice, and 65.4% of

concussions happen in competition. To conclude, brains in still developing children

need to have proper healing to ensure no further damage in the future.

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The image below describes the dangers in childhood sports. It shows that the

sports with the highest concussion risk are football for males and soccer for females. 5-

10% of all athletes will experience a concussion in any given sport. This does not

include concussions received out of sports, which can be equally dangerous. The CDC

estimates that 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur each year. This number is just for

children under the age of 18. However, out of the concussions that occur in sports, only

10% result in loss of consciousness. Nonetheless, 78% of all concussions occur during

a game due to incompetent sports equipment and lack of knowledge. To conclude, the

diagram below provides medical findings about childhood concussions provided by the

Sports Concussion Institute.

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Many sports organizations are realizing that concussions have become a

problem but are not doing enough to reduce the likeliness of a concussion. Many

parents are not choosing to take their kids out of sports altogether. Instead, players

should develop the skills of each sport without the tackling and head collisions. U.S.

Youth Soccer has created a rule for using your head. Any child under the age of 10 is

not allowed to use their head to hit the ball. Adolescents between the ages of 11 to 13

are only allowed to use their head to hit the ball in practice. This rule was put into place

2 years ago for childhood soccer. As well as in football, safer helmets are being made

that provide more support as well as mandatory mouth guards, to prevent the teeth from

clamping together. This causes more unnecessary damage to the brain. Some parents

believe that this will help prevent concussions.

Another rule was put in place for high school students. This rule requires all high

school athletes to take an ImPACT test. This assessment is an Immediate Post-

Concussion Assessment and Cognitive testing used to help diagnose concussions

faster. This test is taken online to provide a detailed pre-concussion cognitive status.

So, if the player were to receive a concussion, they have a test to compare answers

before the hit, to the answers after the hit. This baseline test records the athlete's

cognitive responses on a normal day, thus giving a baseline response if the athlete

were to receive a head injury. Also, many sports involving fast moving objects require

helmets. In youth baseball, it is mandatory to wear a helmet when at-bat that has a

guard to prevent any damage to the face from the ball. Using these safe practices, help

coaches and parents help diagnose concussions, as well as help prevent them.
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Another issue in childhood sports that can increase concussion chances is that

parents, coaches, and officials are not properly trained in diagnosing and noticing the

symptoms of a concussion. They require coaches to be educated in the concussion

protocols and if an athlete gets hit in the head, they have to go through a protocol to get

back into the game. “Removing an athlete from play immediately if a concussion is

suspected is the first and most critical step in the recovery process” (Children’s Hospital

of Philadelphia). In youth sports medical, professions are not usually on site for games,

unlike older athletes. This puts a greater pressure on the adults and coaches to be

aware of events that happen on the playing field regarding the head and strong hits.

Without the proper training and experience, this can greatly affect the outcome of a

concussion

In addition, many adults today, who played sports when they were younger,

never competed until they were in junior high. Also, people don't realize the emphasis

on winning causes many sports players to be more aggressive, thus causing them to

increase the risk of a head injury. Many parents are signing their children up for

competitive sports at a very young age. Rather than starting them in a wreck league to

allow them to get a feel for the sport without the strong competition. Many journals

researchers have concluded that “Severe head injury in childhood and adolescence has

repeatedly been shown to result in cognitive dysfunction” (Journal of Neurology,

Neurosurgery & Psychiatry). Every injury to the head needs to be taken seriously,

especially in still-developing brains. "Concussion is an injury that needs to be taken

seriously. If an athlete has a torn ACL [ligament] on the field, you don't expect him to
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tape it up and play," (Aligning Forces for Quality national program office at George

Washington University). This quote refers to the severity of a knee injury. No one

expects an athlete to continue to play on a torn ligament like no one expects an athlete

to play with a brain injury. Depending on the severity of the head injury a CT scan may

need to be performed. A CT scan is a computer tomography scan that provides a

detailed image of the brain. This can provide an image of the bones, blood vessels, and

soft tissues. It provides a more detailed picture of the brain rather than just the skull. In

order to help prevent trauma to the brain, every head injury needs to be taken seriously

to reduce further injury and the proper scans and treatments need to be performed.

However, in regards to the subject, some people could think differently because they

might believe that sports organizations are already doing enough to prevent and limit

childhood concussions. Many people could support this claim due to the new rules and

regulations put into effect in childhood soccer. As well as mandatory helmets in sports

as well as mouth guards. Another reason parents and coaches could suggest that

childhood concussions are not a problem, is due to the increase in safer equipment.

This leads many people to believe that the percentages of childhood concussions are

reduced due to the protection of the brain. All in all, the cons of childhood concussions

outweigh the pros. Thus making childhood concussions an upcoming problem, that

needs to be taken into consideration.

Many doctors and researchers have performed studies on this topic; these

studies concluded that “There may be possible mild, enduring effects of a concussion

that can be identified in youth who have experienced a history of two or more
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concussions. These mild effects may include decreased overall neuropsychological

functioning, as well as decreased attention/mental speed. Although the current study

offers some glimpses into the possible persistent effects of concussion in youth” (RSM

Psychology Center). Even though there are studies out that prove more than two

concussions can cause neurological damage, there are still deaths that occur each

year. “Children between the ages of 1 year and 15 years die of head trauma-related

injuries at a rate of 10 per 100,000, a rate 5 times the death rate of childhood leukemia,

21% of those deaths, were caused by sports” (Reece). These numbers are scary to look

at because we encounter sports every day. Without the proper diagnosis of a

concussion, this percentage can keep increasing.

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In the diagram above, it explains a common and commendable protocol to ensure a

proper recovery and few problems in the future. The diagram states that a baseline test

is a necessary assessment that measures brain function by individual tests that records

reaction time, motor skills, memory, and mental processing. It also records the athlete's

history with concussions. The next step in the concussion protocol is the clinical care.

Proper testing and diagnosis are required to properly deal with a concussion. If needed

a CT scan can be tested. Once diagnosed a return to play procedure needs to be

created. Taking into consideration the last two steps a procedure is created. This is how

the athlete will slowly get back into sports and school properly without further damage to

the brain. This procedure will allow the brain to fully heal to avoid obstacles in the future.

The final step of the protocol is to educate and inform people of the dangers of

concussions if not properly handled. To ensure a full recovery, plenty of sleep needs to

be obtained, physical activity needs to be limited to a minimum, and the use of

electronics needs to be limited. The brain needs to be able to heal, and sleep and

relaxation will allow the brain to heal faster. To allow athletes and parents to not worry

about long-term effects of concussions, this protocol should be followed, depending on

the concussion and diagnosis by a professional.

In order to reduce the number of concussions, as well as help prevent athletes

from having a greater chance of mental damage, changes in protocol need to occur.

Many rules and regulations need to be put in place regarding safety. More equipment

needs to be developed to ensure more protection to the head. As well as proper tackling

and hits need to be enforced. Coaches and parents need to be better educated in
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helping to prevent concussions as well as spotting them when they first occur.

“Education is the key to protecting our student-athletes from longer-term consequences

of concussions” (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia). If there is a chance that a child

could receive a concussion, play needs to be stopped immediately. Sports should be

more about having fun, than worrying about head injuries. However, this is not the case

just yet. Stricter rules and further development of head equipment needs to be

developed to ensure this is not a further extremity that causes us damage in the future.
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Works Cited

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