For as long as the game has been played, broken bones, sprained ankles and torn ACLs have been unfortunate realities in football. Rehabilitation can prove to be an arduous and painful process, but most times a player is able to make a full recovery, return the field, and continue on playing the game at a high level.
However, the growing new body of evidence proving that repeated concussions can cause the degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is making some safety and medical experts question whether football is actually.
Concerns over the Real Dangers of Head Injuries have Changed Football Already
Now this growing opinion may actually be seeing some very tangible effects. In a recent poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News, 40 percent of the adults surveyed said they would encourage their children to play sports other than football. This is the most plausible explanation for why Pop Warner says it experienced a 9.5 percent drop in participation from 2010 to 2012. Although USA Football and Pop Warner cite no specific reason for the decrease in participation, it seems credible to at least consider the growing concern about the effects of concussions as a leading cause behind the trend.
After several high-profile suicides were linked to CTE and the NFL agreed to pay $765 million to settle with former players who had brought a lawsuit alleging that the league didn’t do enough to protect them, the NFL took some serious steps to reduce the frequency and severity of concussions. League rule makers banned head-to-head contact and now also penalize players for tackling a defenseless receiver. If a concussion is suspected, the affected player must immediately be removed from the game, and he is not permitted to return until he is evaluated and proven to be symptom-free—a critical step in reducing the dangers associated with multiple or back-to-back concussions.
Some Say All Sports have Risk, Citing Education and Detection as Keys to Preventing Concussions
Yet, isn’t football inherently dangerous, or at least considerably more dangerous than other sports? Chris Nowinksi, president of the Sports Legacy Institute, does not believe this to be the case. He has been quoted as saying:
“Athletes in all sports are at risk. In fact, a study done at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that reported concussions happened nearly as often in girls high school soccer as they did in football during a two-season span.”
Any time athletes are moving at high speed and a ball or a puck is being thrown around or kicked, there’s bound to be some contact to the head at some point, either from a legal tackle, slide tackle, body check, dive, slip and fall, or from an inadvertent collision. The keys to safety are to find ways to limit the contact to the head and to educate athletes. Coaches must make it clear that if players experience any symptoms of a concussion, they must get off the field or ice. Fighting through a head injury is simply not worth the long-term cost. Coaches must also learn to watch for and employ concussion detection tests, as players may not always be aware that they have a concussion.
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