Concussions in Football and Its Classification

To start with, this is an essay on concussions in football where an author describes what is concussions, its classification, the case of this injury during football etc. In any type of physical activity there are risks of experiencing injuries, which can be classified as direct and indirect, soft and hard or overuse. In high impact sports such as football, many athletes face direct, soft tissue injures such as concussions. 

Case Example

For example, during the football game, the athlete Rory Sloane suffered a concussion after being tackled to the ground by an opponent. A concussion is an injury to the brain caused by a blow to the head, resulting in a temporary loss of normal brain functioning. This is because during impact, the brain is pushed against the inside of the skull, becoming bruised and occasionally stretching and tearing nerve tissue. It can additionally alter the balance of chemicals and ions in the brain, which impairs nerve cell function, thus contributing to the loss of consciousness or confusion often seen after concussion. 

Concussions are soft tissue injuries, which are injuries to any type of body tissue other than bone and teeth that stimulate the inflammatory response, such as tears, sprains, contusions and abrasions. Concussions come under this classification because the bumping of the brain against the skull causes contusions that damage two sites of the brain. To reach this level of injury, the athlete generally faces a direct impact. For example, the concussion for the athlete can be a form of a direct injury. Direct impact injuries are an external force applied to the body, resulting in injuries such as fractures, dislocations, sprains, concussions and bruises. For example, Sloane experienced a direct injury when he was hit at a side angle to the lower half of the body, causing him to land with force onto his side, rebounding back onto his back and hitting his head directly on the ground. As the back of his head hit the surface, the brain moved rapidly to the front of the skull, stretching and damaging the delicate cells and structures of his brain. This results in a range of signs and symptoms, such as confusion, disorientation, loss of memory, headache or dizziness, and can occur either immediately after the incident or up to a few hours later. Sloane experienced the symptoms of confusion and disorientation after attempting to stand up immediately after the fall. These symptoms demonstrate the soft tissue injury of a concussion from a direct hit experienced by the athlete. Thus, after being tackled to the ground and hitting his head in a game of football, Sloane experienced the direct, soft tissue injury of a concussion.

The Preventative Measures 

Preventative measures are vital in ensuring injuries, such as concussions in football, are avoided or have a reduced likelihood of occurring. Preventative actions include physical preparation, sports policy and the sports environment, environmental considerations and taping and bandaging.

For a concussion injury, such as the one Sloane experienced, physical preparation is essential in order to prevent the likelihood of the injury occurring. It prevents injury through assesing whether the body is physically prepared for the upcoming activity through pre-screening, skill and technique, physical fitness and warm-up, stretching and cool down. To avoid this particular concussion injury, physical preparation predominately requires skill and technique. Skill and technique refers to a complete cognitive understanding of the game and efficient biomechanics of the movement. This preventative measure must be put in place to prevent injury, for example through the movements of both Sloane and his opponents. Acquiring a high level of skill and technique allows Sloane to produce a better performance, generating more power and greater accuracy, thus meaning he can easily dodge players quickly and more efficiently. This would have avoided the tackle incident, thus eliminating the chance of a concussion. Additionally, his opponents demonstrating good skill and technique would ensure they can safely tackle Sloane using the correct tackling technique. This involves tackling just above the elbows and following ‘tackle, drop, spin’ to ensure both players drop and roll as one without hitting their head on the ground. Following this preventative measure of skill and technique thus ensures that athletes, such as Sloane, avoid the likelihood of an injury such as concussion.

Additionally, sports policy and the sports environment provides a range of preventative measures for preventing injury and promoting athletes’ wellbeing, including rules of sports, modified rules for children, matching of opponents, protective equipment and safe grounds and facilities. The particular preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of concussion for Sloane is the rules of sports and activities and the use of protective equipment. The rules of sports are designed to support the safety and wellbeing of the athlete by promoting fair play and safe techniques. For example, the 'high contact' rule aims to minimise the chance of players receiving contact to their head, resulting in brain injuries such as concussion. Additionally, the use of protective equipment such as mouthguards and appropriate boots are essential for reducing the chance of injury. This could be implemented by Sloane through wearing a mouthguard which stabilizes the head and neck, helps absorb shock and limits movement caused by a direct blow. The use of studs in appropriately fitted boots would ensure he has strong grip to the field’s surface, making dodging his opponents much easier and providing him a stronger stance. By doing so, the chances of him falling would decrease, and thus the chance of hitting his head and facing a concussion is decreased, ultimately enhancing his safety and wellbeing. Therefore, sports policy and the sports environment, particularly rules of sport and protective equipment, are vital in preventing injuries such as concussions.

Finally, environmental considerations must be taken into account to avoid or reduce the likelihood of injuries such as concussions from occurring. Environmental considerations revolve around the safety of an athlete in regards to the maintenance of body temperature in hot and cold conditions, focusing on temperature regulation, climatic conditions, guidelines for fluid intake and acclimatisation. Climatic conditions are particularly important for preventing injuries in sports such as football, and refer to temperature, humidity, rain, wind, pollution and altitude, all of which affect an athlete’s safety. In the video, rain is a climatic condition of major concern and must be considered as a preventative measure to prevent concussions. Rain, whether it be during the game or prior to, is a hazard to the athlete’s safety by increasing the chances of falling due to slippery surfaces. For example, if it had rained prior to Sloan’s game, the likelihood of his fall could have been increased due to the inability for his boots to grip to the field. This would have limited his ability to dodge his opponent or maintain stability, thus accelerating the likelihood of falling and facing concussion. Thus, analysing the safety of the field after the climatic condition of rain before a game is essential to reducing the likelihood of a concussion.

Ultimately, preventatives measures including physical preparation, sports policy and the sports environment and environmental considerations must be put in place in order to reduce the likelihood of injuries such a concussions in football from occurring.

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