Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Barbara Presnell
UWRT 1104
9 April 2019
Belson, Ken. “N.F.L. Reports a Decline in Concussions This Season.” The New York Times, The New
decline.html.
Ken Belson's article, “N.F.L. Reports a Decline in Concussions This Season,” begins by
discussing the popular topic of concussions in the National Football League (NFL) and how the
league has been attempting for years now to help reduce the number of concussions that occur.
In order to help tackle this issue, the league has been constantly introducing a variety of
measures, such as changing the way kickoffs are performed, limiting the number of full-contact
practices that each team is allowed to have, and also by adding extra medical personnel on the
fields during games. The N.F.L. has stated that the number of concussions from the 2017 season
had been reduced by 11.3 percent when it was then compared with the 2016 season’s record high
percentage. The reason because of this is believed to be because we are seeing an increase in the
number of players that are now reporting their suspected head injuries. Medical spotters at games
are currently pulling more athletes aside to exam them to determine whether or not they are fit
enough to continue playing. While these declines are great to see, medical experts still say that
more work is going to be needed in order to reduce the number of concussions. During the 2018
playoffs, only three players were diagnosed with concussions which was a 70 percent decline
from 2017. I personally think that this issue is an interesting topic for me to research about
because of how football is such a big interest in my life. While I do think that reducing the
number of concussions that we see in the N.F.L. is possible using rule changes and game
alterations, I also do still think that it could take longer than we think until we see this topic
becoming an issue of the past only because football is still such a violent sport. I am glad to
know that the NFL is attempting to make the sport of football a somewhat safer game to play by
enhancing the game through rule changes and adding more on-field personnel because the league
has been trying now for years to reduce concussions.
Casson, Ira R et al. “Repeat Concussions in the National Football League.” Sports health vol. 3,1
Ira Casson's article, "Repeat Concussions in the National Football League," begins by
stating how since 1996, team physicians and athletic trainers in the National Football League
(NFL) have been collecting data on the clinical signs and symptoms, medical action, and
management of concussions to provide a basis for improvements in player safety. From 1996 to
2007, concussions were reported using a standardized form of documenting signs and symptoms.
Loss of consciousness and medical action were taken and the data on repeat concussions were
analyzed for the twelve years and compared between the two periods. In 2002-2007, 152 players
had repeat concussions and four of the players had three or more head injuries. The positions that
were most often associated with repeat concussion in 2002-2007 were the defensive secondary,
kicking unit, running back, and linebacker. The odds for repeat concussion were elevated for
wide receivers, tight ends, and linebackers but were still lower than in the earlier period. During
2002-2007, over half of the players with repeat concussions were removed from play, and fewer
returned immediately. Although concussions were managed more conservatively by team
physicians in the recent six years, repeat concussions occurred at similar rates during both
periods. I found this article interesting because of how it discussed the number of repeat
concussions in the NFL that there were. I agree with the article explaining how certain positions
have a higher risk of a repeat concussion and why those specific roles and positions were
resulting in so many injuries to the head. This deals with how repeat concussions are a bigger
issue in football than people really realize. Repeat concussions are an important issue in the
National Football League.
Kerr, Zachary Y, et al. “Nine-Year Risk of Depression Diagnosis Increases With Increasing Self-
Reported Concussions in Retired Professional Football Players.” The American Journal of Sports
Medicine, vol. 40, no. 10, SAGE Publications, Oct. 2012, pp. 2206–12,
doi:10.1177/0363546512456193.
With Use of a Novel Metric” Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine vol. 4,1
Review.” The American Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 44, no. 3, SAGE Publications, Mar.