Justice Moore (Speech outline)

I. DEFINITION
II. HISTORY
III. STATISTICS
IV. RISK FACTORS
A. Athletes
B. Age
C. General public
D. Military
E. Genetics
V. SYMPTOMS
VI. CASE STUDIES
VII. DIAGNOSIS
VIII. TREATMENT
IX. PREVENTION
A. Tests
B. Rules and enforcement
C. Changes to techniques
X. CONCLUSION

Concussions have received increased attention in the world of sports. Concussion

is an injury that can happen in just about any sport. Indeed, it has been happening
to a countless number of athletes for centuries. However, concussions can happen
to just about anyone. For example, it is easy to just trip when walking and hit your
head on the ground. Throughout history, there has been a tendency for people to
ignore a concussion as a serious injury. There will continue to be dangers for
athletes in just about any sport. However, concussions can lead to serious health
issues such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Concussions and chronic
traumatic encephalopathy are serious conditions that have to be taken seriously in
order to help prevent serious health disorders later in life for millions of people.

The thesis statement is Concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy are

serious conditions that have to be taken seriously in order to help prevent serious
health disorders later in life for millions of people. You are going to prove, or report,
on how serious the health risks are for concussions and chronic traumatic
encephalopathy.

A concussion is an injury to the brain when something hits the head OR the body to
make the brain move within the skull and hit the side of the skull. The brain has the
consistency of gelatin and floats, to a degree, in cerebrospinal fluid. A sudden blow
to the head or harsh movement of the body can cause the brain to move within the
head to bang against the side of the skull causing some type of injury.
Justice Moore (Speech outline)

Symptoms

The symptoms can vary due to a number of factors, especially due to the severity of
the movement of the brain within the skull. Contrary to popular belief, a person may
OR may NOT lose consciousness. Common symptoms include headache, dizziness,
fainting, nausea, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise, memory loss,
confusion, drowsiness, anxiety, irritability, and slurred speech. However, the more
severe the concussion, the more severe the symptoms can be.

Who is at Risk?

For many people, when they hear the word concussion they think about the sport of
football. However, just about anyone is at risk of obtaining a concussion. Easily, a
concussion can occur to a countless number of people who are walking along and
then fall hitting their head on the ground. Many people do this a day and do not
realize that they may have just suffered a very mild form of concussion. They do not
think about visiting a physician. The same is true for anyone who enjoys, skiing,
sledding, tobogganing, and ice skating, and riding a bicycle. Research studies
indicate that military personnel are at risk of obtaining concussions from a variety of
events that they face. With a little imagination, you can think of SO MANY things
that any human person does that might result in a concussion. Contact-sports, such
as football, are not the only activities that are the causes of concussions, mild
traumatic brain injury, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Age is another risk factor when considering concussions. There is a variety of

factors that need to be considered when using age as a risk factor. At a young age,
the brain has more plasticity than an older brain. The younger brain can handle the
injury and recovery better than the older brain. HOWEVER, if repetitive concussions
start at an early age then that means that there is a greater threat of serious long-
term health risks such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy due to the length of
time of exposure (over a lifetime) to repetitive concussions.

Statistics
Justice Moore (Speech outline)

Although many people are at risk of obtaining a concussion, just how many people
in the U.S. (or the World) really do get a concussion a year is very difficult to
ascertain. Many, many people just do not report the injury or go to a physician for
treatment Overall in the United States, the highest combined rates of TBI-related
ED (emergency department) visits, hospitalizations, and deaths occur in young
children (aged <5 years), followed by adolescents (aged 15--19 years) and adults
aged 75 years (2). Overall, males account for approximately 59% of all reported
TBI cases in the United States (2). Older adults have the highest rates of TBI
hospitalizations and deaths among all age groups (2), and TBI is the leading cause
of injury-related death in children and young adults in the United States and other
industrialized countries (5). The leading causes of TBI in the U.S. civilian population
are falls (35%), motor vehicle--related injuries (17%), and a strike or blow to the
head from or against an object (e.g., workplace or sports-related injuries [16.5%],
assaults [10%], and other and unknown causes [21%] [2]). The incidence of blast-
induced TBI in U.S. civilian populations is low, with a report of 0.2% of TBI cases in a
major urban trauma.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Concussions

When it comes to diagnosing a concussion, usually concussions create a variety of

symptoms as we listed above, such as: headache, dizziness, fainting, nausea,
blurred vision, sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise, memory loss, confusion,
drowsiness, anxiety, irritability, and slurred speech.

For athletes, many schools incorporate special testing such as impact, SAC
(Standardized Assessment of Concussion), or SCAT2 (Sport Concussion Assessment
Tool). Basically, the athlete takes a test at a time when he/she is healthy (or not
believed to have a concussion like at the beginning of a sports season.) This
standardized scoring system takes into account symptoms, physical examination
findings, cognitive function, balance, and coordination.

Long-Term Effects of Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries

When people talk about the long-term effects of concussions then the medical term
chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is mentioned. Chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE) has been defined as a progressive neurodegenerative
disease caused by repetitive trauma. CTE was first described in 1928 when Dr.
Harrison Martland, a New Jersey medical examiner began to note a constellation of
symptoms in boxers. Dr. Martland called the medical condition Punch Drunk.
Punch Drunk was later termed dementia pugilistica, literally meaning dementia of
a fighter. However, with the evolution of sports like American football, these
symptoms were also being reported in athletes other than boxers and was renamed
chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the 1960s (Saulle and Greenwald 1).
Justice Moore (Speech outline)

Prevention
Most of the literature suggests that the best answer to preventing chronic traumatic
encephalopathy is to reduce the number of concussions that a person receives over
a lifetime. I think that most would agree that is easier said than done. There are
quite a few opinions in the literature on how to help reduce concussions for athletes.
Better, safer equipment is a standard answer. However, safety equipment can only
help so much. Proper coaching and techniques can help. Rules may need to be
changed for some contact-sports to promote safety. Athletes need to understand
how important it is to their health to report their concussion-like symptoms. Proper
assessment and enforcement of treatment, such as REST is very important. Some of
the articles listed below provide much more information on prevention to help you
fill up those pages with text.