Concussions in Football

Another week, another lovely football Sunday. It won't be lovely for everyone, though. This week, just like every other week, there will a lot of violence. What can we say? It's a rough sport. Many men will be hit, some will be hit much harder than others, and someone will more than likely suffer a concussion.

These players entertain us to no end week by week, and they love to compete, but many times they are putting their life at serious risk to do so. Concussions in football happen all the time, and it isn't something to be taken lightly.

This is happening not only in the pros but in all levels of football. Are the higher ups in these organizations doing enough to better the issue? Is there anything that can be done to better the issue? Should rules be implemented to soften the hits? Should equipment be modified to better protect the heads of the players? How far do you take it before the game changes drastically?

These are questions that are constantly getting asked all over the news world, sports news world, and blogosphere. But before we ask those questions, we should probably ask this one. What exactly is a concussion? This piece from the New York Times explains:

Concussions
Contrary to popular belief, a concussion is not a bruise to the brain caused by hitting a hard surface. Indeed, no physical swelling or bleeding is usually seen on radiological scans. The injury generally occurs when the head either accelerates rapidly and then is stopped, or is spun rapidly.

Well, football is actually about to start now, so I should wrap this up, but I'll rapid-fire some more questions / links before it starts. How early in life are football players in danger? How much damage is being done to victims? What can we do to improve the atmosphere and prevent some of this? And could this negatively affect football as a whole?