Amen, G., Wu, C., Taylor, D. & Willeumier, K. (2001). Reversing Brain Damage in Former NFL Players: Implications for Traumatic Brain Injury and Substance Abuse Rehabilitation. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Volume 43 (1).
This article presents a clinical study that was conducted with the aim of exploring the issue of head injuries among retired professional players in America. Most of these retired players experienced traumatic brain injuries during their years of service. Head injuries have been a subject of major concern in American football. It is even a major concern during the congregational hearings. Head injuries are estimated to be around 22% of all sports injuries.
Most of these injuries are classified under concussions, which normally signify a state of neural dysfunction culminating from head trauma. This is characterized by dizziness and headache, among other severe conditions. It causes drop-offs in the cognitive functioning of the players.
According to Amen and colleagues (2011), head or brain injuries are common events in American professional football. Brain injuries incidences are associated with mild cognitive impairments, depression and other factors. Amen and colleagues indicated a higher rate of dementia-related diagnoses among the retired American players of the age of 30 to 49 years.
The study has shown that violent shaking of the head leads to brain cells being depolarized. About 1, 090 players of N.F.L retired players had suffered from head injuries. About 60 % of this group had suffered a concussion and about 26% had more than one. The study carried out by the university of northern California revealed that 595 retired N.F.L players had experienced head injuries.
The study conducted by Amen and colleagues recently using about 100 retired players from National Football League, showed that there are many cases of depression, memory and attention problems, which culminate from the head injuries that they suffered. Brain injuries in football are also found to play a part in increasing substance abuse.
Al-Kashmiri, A. and Delaney, S. (2006). Head and neck injuries in football (soccer). Trauma 2006, 8, 189–195.
As stated by Al-Kashmin and Delaney (2006), the cases of head injuries in football is equivalent to those of other sports like Hockey, which have cases of contact between players. There is usually head-to-head contact during football sport and this makes head injuries very common incidences in American football. Soccer is the most popular spot in the world.
There are about 150 million registered players in the entire universe. It, therefore, has the highest number of sport injuries compared to all other sports. Players play with an unprotected head and actually use the head to control the ball. This is the reason why a large number of head injuries in sport results from the football. It comprises about 4% to 22% of all injuries resulting from football in the United States. Most of the concerns in these head injuries are classified under concussions but there are other severe cases. For instance, there are skull fractures and internal head injuries, which are very severe.
Head injuries are very common in American sports as well as all sports in the world. Footballers in America, and the rest of the world, have high risks of experiencing head injuries. This is because football is played with an unprotected head and the head is actually used to control the ball. This makes head injuries to comprise of the highest number of injuries in football.
Reference List
Al-Kashmiri, A. and Delaney, S. (2006). Head and neck injuries in football (soccer). Trauma 2006, 8, 189–195.
Amen, G., Wu, C., Taylor, D. & Willeumier, K. (2001). Reversing Brain Damage in Former NFL Players: Implications for Traumatic Brain Injury and Substance Abuse Rehabilitation. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 43 (1).