concussions a serious issue?

by mathewdupere on January 30, 2017 - 12:21am

Concussions a serious issue?


This article talks about the amount of concussions there are in different sports leagues but mainly talking about the NFL or minor football leagues as this is the sport with statistically the largest number of diagnosed concussions. When it comes to diagnoses the article talks about that, saying that lots of amateur physicians do not know the proper symptoms to be able to diagnose the injury. As stated in the article the amount of recorded concussion has increased by 60 percent due to two reasons. First of all because of the greater awareness to the fact that they do exist which is good but the second reason is because players of sports are getting bigger faster and “contact is greater and more severe” which is not ideal.


In the second section the article they talk about the symptoms of a concussion and the after effects it can have on you. From one concussion they say that you will not suffer from any long term effects but it is after multiple blows to the head where you will start having. It is also stated that they are hard to diagnose because they could be asymptomatic and they say that “one study of Canadian hockey players found only 19 percent of players knew they had a concussion.” It is also very important for players and people in position of authority such as parents coaches etc. To be sure that the player is fully treated and ready to play before making any decision to let him play again because this is critical to the healing process and so there is no further damage done to the brain.


Another subject talked about in the article is the way to fix this. The most commonly known answer for that is better head protection more advanced technology in helmets, but there is more to it than that. Some doctors such as Dr Bennet Omalu thinks that children should be participating in no sport that has physical contact. Some also say that concussion education is also very important for people but it is also said that being able to spread information internationally is very difficult. There are also other solution for example in the NHL a player that deliberately tries to attack someone criminal charges may be involved. There are also many other things for example eliminating fighting in the NHL etc. All this can be approached by regular people there is no need to be part of the professional league or minor leauge for example doctors who teach concussion education or who make articles like this to spread awareness. Also engineers testing helmets and other equipment to to prevent head trauma.


This article was written by Dr. Rob Hudson and Dr. Brandon Spradley in “The sport journal” and published March 4th 2016. This from a reliable source because the article has lots of sources noted at the bottom of the page and has many in text citations.



I really enjoyed reading your newspaper article summary as I did not have much prior knowledge about concussions. You really emphasised the issue about awareness about concussions. It is important for individuals, especially athletes who play hockey or football, to be cautious and to make sure and check if they actually do have concussions, as you said many of them do not even realize they do. Also, you mentioned the possible damage to the brain if they go untreated and the precautionary measures being put in place to find better headgear. However, the article you used was taken from The Sports Journal, which is the journal from the United States Sports Academy. I would use a more reliable source such as The New York Times, which has an article concerning the same issue of the damages caused by concussions in athletes. This mainstream newspaper has been publishing articles since 1851 and has won 117 Pulitzer Prizes. The article that can help provide further details about concussions and their damages to athletes' brains is, "What Happened Within This Player's Skull" written by Sam Borden, Mika Grondahl, and Joe Ward. These authors are all responsible for providing reports on issues regarding athletics. This article provides the readers with a video of the impact of the brain injury, as well as a virtual diagram of the skull and what the effects are. It also presents the readers with charts on the amount of force struck on the athletes' head, which can result in brain disease. I think you will find this article very interesting as it provides more facts for your summary, as well as better general knowledge about the issue.
To access this article, consult the source below:

The summary you wrote of your article was very complete and gave a lot of information as well as solutions to your readers. I looked at more information concerning concussions in sports with contact and found an article talking about the NFL. In this article, Mr. Eric Winston explains how there is need for amelioration in the equipment in football. There are also a few testimonies of various people who give their points of views on whether there is need for a change or not. Furthermore, there are more solutions to this serious problematic. For more precise information, you could look at the source below!

Currently, this is an important discussion in sports and you handled the notions of concussions and head injuries thoroughly in your post. You equally mention some of the solutions to this problem, which adds convincing personal insight and sparks hope for some future change in the sports industry.

It was particularly rattling to note that only a small percentage of players knew that they had a concussion, which not only brings about the notion of awareness like you said, but it is also important to note how much of this mentality comes from the notions of hegemonic masculinity. This concept is the promotion of male dominance by conforming to what society deems to be properly masculine. From a gendered point of view, sports are closely tied with men proving their masculinity; daily chants of “no pain, no gain” create a culture of silence in the men. A toxic situation begins to form; they learn from an early age that pain should be overcome to get back on the field or risk losing a place on the team. Thus, injury becomes a direct attack on their ability to be able-bodied men who are expected to actively use their strong male bodies, no matter their health condition. Although this is a social construct, it becomes a form of truth when repeated countless times in locker rooms and other locations where hard-hitting misogynistic thoughts police men into conformity.

Although sports are an arena where this dominant masculinity is frequently expressed, its effects leak out into the regular lives of many athletes leading to charges of sexual assault, domestic violence and, in some cases, murder. Nonetheless, the consequences they face are minimal; for instance, suspension from a few games. Although this is nothing but human invention, social constructs have created a world of hegemonic masculinity where male dominance through the assertion of violence and aggression is normal while accepting pain and injury is a sign of weakness associated with femininity.

Overall, I agree that awareness needs to be raised about the frequency of concussions, but equal attention needs to be given to the social definition of masculinity and the obligation to conform. If you are interested in the concept of hegemonic masculinity as a social construct and its expression in sports, the following is a link about some discussions and theories surrounding the issue:

About the author

I am Mathew Dupere, I live in Montreal sports are a huge part of my life and outside of school that is basically my whole life.