The last thing senior Tucker Woolsey remembered was escaping the sack in a quarterback scramble before his head smacked against the ground. A defensive lineman wrapped him up and dragged him to the ground. When he came to, he was dizzy, dazed and confused.
Sports-related concussions occur more often than before. The term “getting your bell rung,” or taking an excessive hit to the head, means drastically more than a cliché. Sitting a few plays out theoretically gives athletes time to shake off dizziness and the slight headache, but it does not solve the problem in modern-day contact sports.
“The concussion felt like a normal headache except that it never goes away,” Woosley said. “It was like I was in a fog; almost like I was asleep.”
A concussion classifies as a minor brain trauma that occurs when a person’s head receives a direct hit. In some cases, recipients begin to experience immediate signs that show a concussion. Some symptoms include dizziness, headaches, emotional actions, nausea and in bad cases, blackouts. Football coach Tim Kilgore witnessed and dealt with players who received concussions throughout each season. He says the connotation of a concussion is taken more seriously by athletes and coaches than before.
“Concussions have become more prevalent,” Coach Kilgore said. “It has nothing to do with toughness.”
More than 300,000 athletes in the United States suffer from concussions every year and at least 50 athletes die from second impact injuries. If exposed to two hits before the brain has time to heal, the damage becomes labeled as equivalent to a person who was comatose for five days and in 50 percent of cases, death can occur. Junior Trey Smith received a concussion in the 2014 football season, went through therapy and was sidelined for a game.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Smith said. “I was very dizzy and had a very bad headache.”
Concussions have become so serious that all athletes who receive any sort of symptoms will be required to go through a five step protocol that the University Interscholastic League has mandated via CDC guidelines. Athletes must participate in the 5-step process and once the athlete shows no symptoms for 24 hours, he/she can be cleared. Senior Zachary Tarbet experienced successful progress with the protocol.
“The protocol was pretty easy for me,” Tarbet said. “Not having a severe concussion helped the protocol fly by.”
The first step the athlete must complete consists of light aerobic exercises such as riding an exercise bike, walking or very light jogging. Athletes may not weight lift or jump since these drills increase the athlete’s heart rate. If the athlete suffers a headache following these drills he/she must wait to repeat step one until the headache has been absent for 24 hours.
“Once the athlete has no symptoms, that’s when we start the protocol,” Trainer Patrick Lewallen said.
Moderate exercising makes up step two of the protocol for an injured athlete. This includes moderate jogging, brief running, stationary biking, and moderate-intensity weight lifting. Athletes must participate in these activities for less time than a typical routine. This step tries to limit body and head movement as much as possible.
“The second step helps me get a good understanding of the progress the athlete is making,” Trainer Weldon Thompson said.
The third step the athlete must complete consists of a series of non-contact exercises. This step includes running, high-intensity stationary biking, the player’s regular weight lifting routine, and non-contact, sport-specific drills. After the athlete can complete the third step without injury-related consequences, they can safely return to a normal workout schedule.
“The third step helps me analyze the anaerobic effects of the concussion,” Thompson said.
In the fourth and fifth step, the athlete must complete a whole practice. This practice includes full contact and full duration. The fifth step tries to get the player back to normal competition.
“I feel like we’re all on the same page when it comes to the protocol,” Lewallen said of Mansfield ISD sporting teams.
According to www.momsteam.com Texas has the most thorough and detailed preventative and protective law system for concussions. The Texas law, known as Natasha’s Law, is in honor of Natasha Helmick a young female soccer player from Allen, who suffered repeated concussions on the field and ultimately had to give up the game and her dream of playing on the USA Olympic Team due to her injuries. The law passed in June 2011 was the first in the nation and created the concussion oversight teams of interscholastic sports and charter schools.
Sixty-six percent of teenagers who reportedly suffered a concussion did not feel it was serious enough to tell an adult. Student Council sponsor Sarah Ausdenmoore received her first concussion in summer 2013.
“I ran into a flagpole chasing puppies,” Ms. Ausdenmoore said. “I couldn’t handle loud noises and light made my head hurt.”
Concussion rates more than doubled among students age 8-19 participating in sports like basketball, soccer and football between 1997-2007, even as participation in those sports declined. Sophomore Wyatt Clark experienced his first concussion during the 2014 football season.
“It was not something I want to experience again,” Clark said. “I was very nauseated.”
There can be no magic number for the amount of concussions that a brain can withstand. It all depends on the severity of the concussion and the recipient. Each concussion becomes easier to receive because your brain becomes weaker after every head-related injury.
“The non stop headache was probably the worst part,” Woolsey said “Once I was cleared to play sports again it made me very happy.”
