Concussions in college sports is something that has been researched for quite some time as it pertains to impacting student athlete immediately after the concussion incident as well as the impact it may have later down the road.
In the last five years, the NCAA has reported that there have been approximately ten thousand five hundred (10,500) diagnosed concussions in all of college sports. (NCAA)
“I see about two to three severe concussions every year. That’s not including the times where I see a big hit and the player gets up, takes a quick break and gets back out there or when payers lie about how their feeling,” said Josie White the athletic trainer for the University of Denver Men’s Lacrosse team.
Read more: Concussions more serious than we know in college sportsWith a lot on the line players maybe hesitant to explain what they’re feeling as the fear of coming out of the game or practice may overshadow the risk, they are putting on their health, athletes are risking more than they even know.
“Players don’t understand the logistics and how minor hits, or collisions can cause a concussion. They don’t understand how the earlier we understand and treat the situation, the less severe it will be and the sooner they’ll be back,” said Ms. White
It only takes ninety Gs of force to cause a concussion, that is equivalent to hitting your head against a wall at 20 mile per hour. (Online website)
Players don’t understand that these minor symptoms add up and can make you more prone to future concussions and damage your brain in other ways such as school, social interactions or other activities.
“School isn’t easy for me at all I have pretty bad dyslexia, so it takes a lot to focus on my work, so I don’t make mistakes. Every time I’ve had a concussion the first few weeks after is such a struggle because my brain feels like it just cannot focus on anything,” said Andrew DiFrancesca, medically retired due to concussions with the Denver lacrosse team.
There are times to be strong willed and willing to risk your body for your team but when you’re dealing with something as important as your brain that is not something you want to play around with.
Your brain is something that needs to be healthy and stable in order to give yourself the best chances of living a long and healthy life. Constant or repeated head trauma doesn’t allow the brain to be the best so it can perform at a high level for a long time.
“After my ninth concussion I had a long talk with my family about what I should do, after fighting through the obstacles concussions made for me, I knew it was time to hang up the stick and helmet. I couldn’t keep risking my future for lacrosse,” said DiFrancesco.
Not only is long term trauma a huge concern but the instant trauma a concussions has can is also a huge concern and can make it hard to come back from.
“It was annoying how many weeks of school I missed because every time I had a concussion I wasn’t allowed to stare at a screen or focus on anything to intensively, so once I was ready to come back, I was out of shape from doing nothing and I was behind in school,” said DiFrancesca
Research shows that multiple episodes of mild head trauma can have a combining effect that may also result in serious long lasting conditions. For example, an individual who experiences a concussion and has a second one before recovering from the first is prone to development of a second impact. This can lead to major brain impairment and even death. (EBSCO)
Jack Hannah former Denver Men’s Lacrosse player said “I was honestly scared once I got up from my hit. I was dumb and kept playing but it wasn’t me. If I talked to the trainer and understood more about concussions, there was no way I would’ve gone back in.”
From further research, baseline testing is useful for detecting deficits following a sports concussion. A total of 223 collegiate athletes from multiple sports who sustained concussions and had both baseline and post-injury testing. Each athlete used Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT). (The Utility of Post-Concussion Neuropsychological Data in Identifying Cognitive Change Following Sports-Related MTBI in the Absence of Baseline Data.)
“I’ve done the impact testing many times I don’t feel like it doesn’t anything, but I’ll take the doctors word for it because I just show up and play if they say its fine for me to play,”
After going through repeatedly pushing your body through intense training and conditioning in college sports you tend to look the other way when things don’t feel right as most believe it’s just normal wear and tear.
“After I was hit, I got up angry like I always do but it did not feel normal, first my ears were ringing and neck kind of felt tweaked. But as I continued to play, I started to feel lethargic, even with these unusual symptoms I didn’t know what it was like having a concussion,”
Not knowing the signs is dangerous for athletes. They’re taught from a young age unless you’re not breathing, there is no blood, or you can’t walk then just keep playing.
That is why at NFL games there is usually thirty medical professionals and at least ten are on the sidelines watching carefully taking notes and making observations on certain players and plays that have happened to make sure nothing is going under the radar.
“When I’m not sure on what I’m feeling the first thing I do is go to the athletic trainer some may call me a baby from time to time, but I really want to take care of my body,” said defensemen of Denver’s Lacrosse team Adam Hangland
With this kind of mindset of wanting to take care of your whole body including your brain, is important. Even though its not an injury you can see its one that will have a major impact on your life.
“There’s so much I can’t really control so I want to make sure I control how healthy my entire body is for the season but also for the future I don’t want to be thirty-five but feel or have the mind of a seventy-year-old,” said Hangland
Being a college athlete is very important to most athletes, but it shouldn’t be more important than their health down the line.
MFJS Reporter Spring 2022 