Every athlete knows the risk they run of sustaining a concussion while playing their sport. This raises a question: How does a concussion affect someone in the short and long term?
The Mayo Clinic classifies a concussion as a “traumatic brain injury that alters the way your brain functions…caused by a blow to the head, they can also occur when the head and upper body are violently shaken.” Perhaps the most dangerous part of a concussion is that many people who have suffered from one do not realize it because most concussions are not accompanied with unconsciousness and the symptoms may take time to appear. This is particularly dangerous in terms of sports.
A website dedicated to brain injury research, protectthebrain.org, has a memorial page dedicated to 15 former athletes who suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a degenerative disease that is found in someone who has experienced multiple, severe blows to the head and causes the brain to deteriorate over time. Two of the athletes recognized are Adrienne Simmons and Christopher Benoit.
Adrienne Simmons was a 34 year-old female kickboxer who was knocked unconscious during a championship fight after suffering a left hook to the face. She was treated in the ring and then taken back to the locker rooms where she responded to doctors, however she lost consciousness again and was rushed to a hospital where she later died.
Christopher Benoit, a professional wrestler who was “widely regarded as one of the most popular, respected and gifted technical wrestlers in history,” according to protectthebrain.org, later became infamous for a double murder-suicide involving himself, son and wife. According to web.archives.org, he strangled both his wife and son, placing Bibles beside each of them and the following day, himself. His autopsy and other medical findings following the deaths revealed Benoit suffered from CTE.
The Brain Injury Research Institute believes that “an estimated 1.6-3.8 million sports-and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year” and many of them are in the non-professional setting. Last basketball season, then-freshman psychology major Angela Andrews suffered two concussions. The first came when she and an opposing player went up for a rebound. “We both went up for the same rebound, came down, she turned with an elbow and hit me dead center in the middle of the forehead and I went back and I fell,” Andrews said. She was able to recall the injury without much trouble, but she could not remember how or when her second concussion happened. Andrews also said that she does not feel any repercussions of the injuries except for her loss of memory of the event.
While Andrews does not feel affected by her concussions, many people are not so lucky. Repercussions can include conditions like CTE and Post-Concussion Syndrome and continued difficulty solving problems and taking in and comprehending certain information.