Assignment 16 - Lizzy Wolfe

There are two dates that follow me around everywhere I go: January 9, 2017, and February 4, 2017. These two days have caused me numerous health issues. Whenever I go to a new doctor, there’s been 12 of those, by the way, I tell the same spiel about how I hit my head on a concrete floor on January 9^th and I was cleared 3 weeks later and went to a national competition in Orlando and I guess I hit my head again during warm-ups but I don’t remember and no one saw it. And then I get to the best part of the whole story, the part every doctor loves to hear … I competed. I danced another 2 minutes and did 3 more flips. Before I say anything the doctor already knows the diagnosis: severe concussion.

Concussions are a growing epidemic in today’s society. It seems every week there is a new football player “getting their bell rung”. In fact, in 2017 there were over 3 million concussions in the United States alone. But what does this even mean? According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury. It is caused by a sudden blow to the head, which causes the brain to bounce or twist in the skull, causing chemical changes in the brain and sometimes damaging cells. Severe concussions don't just impact your brain. Your neck, spine, heart, nerves, and muscles can also see effects, just to mention a few things. When hearing this, one might think “What?! How can athletes just return to activity right away?” They can’t. Or at least they’re not supposed to.  The current concussion protocol is not followed. Going back into the game should not be up to the athlete, and there should be extensive measures in place to make sure players are at baseline before returning to activity.

Everyone is familiar with the walking in a straight-line test. This is one of many silly tests that are performed on the sidelines of a game when determining if someone has a concussion. But, I could walk in a straight line after my first concussion. And, who says someone could walk in a straight line before their concussion anyway? This test doesn’t show if the brain is healed. There needs to be a better way of determining the cognitive state of an athlete. At Penn State, they have created a type of video game that allows athletes to travel through rooms and adapt to changing environments using a remote control. This is more than just walking in a straight line. It involves problem-solving skills, coordination, and ability to adjust to change. Athletes also play before their practice season even begins to establish a baseline. This system could easily be implemented at all universities and could be accessed by high school athletes as well. This way, after the possibility of a brain injury, it can be determined when an athlete has returned to their own unique baseline.

This would also help prevent an early return to activity. The risk of re-injury after a first brain injury is exponentially higher. If someone returns to activity too early, they are just aggravating the injury and asking for more severe damage. This may lead to months, and even years, for a recovery time, and guess what? That means no more sports. In the documentary League of Denial, it was shown that repeated injury in NFL football players without the proper healing time can lead to dementia and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE, which is an aggressive degenerative disease. This was present in athletes that had only had three or fewer diagnosed concussive episodes, think about those who have had more. We must keep our athletes safe, especially high school athletes, who are three times more likely to sustain a concussion.

It has been proven that coaches and medical personnel are fine with allowing players to continue activity after an obvious brain injury. Legislation should be put in place to make this illegal. The recovery period for a concussion should not be short, especially not a two-minute check and then an immediate return to the game. An athlete should not be involved in anything until they are completely symptom-free. Then they should perform an extensive concussion protocol test and prove that they are back to their own cognitive baseline. Next, they should sit out for another seven days to guarantee that they are symptom-free. They should then slowly incorporate activities over a 14-day period to ensure their own safety and take a step back if symptoms become present. This will mandate a healing period to prevent a re-injury.

In conclusion, concussions should not be taken lightly. It is irresponsible to allow players to make the decision to return to activities when they are cognitively impaired. There should be more extensive measures to keep players safe and out of the game after an injury. Let me ask you the same question I should have asked myself on February 4^th: It’s two minutes of play. Is it worth it?