Concussions are becoming more relevant in the media especially in light of the recent Super Bowl. Professional athletes are well aware of the possible side effects of concussions and post concussion disorders. On the other hand, the public and non professional athletes are less knowledgeable about this topic and have less access to information considering Doctors and researchers are still debating future effects. For this reason, my topic for the research essay is concussion education. There is legislation in every state requiring coaches, trainers and athletes to take action to recover from concussions but there is little information about concussions to allow said people to make educated decisions. There needs to be a greater focus on concussion education for non professional athletes because many players are unaware and practicing with concussions or concussion like symptoms. This need for education directly effected me because in high school I suffered from five concussions. My history with concussions makes me both qualified and passionate enough to write about the lack of action towards concussion education. I was fortunate enough to have trainers and doctors that taught me about concussions but most athletic programs do not have a high concern for possible concussions. My experience with concussions makes me biased to the fact that concussions can greatly effect one's life and every precaution should be taken to avoid permanent damage.

The first article I looked at was on ScienceDaily and discussed young athlete's hesitation to report concussions even though most are aware of the symptoms. The article explained that high school athletes have the highest concussion rates and many are returning to play sooner than they should. The author went on to explain the harmful side effects of playing through symptoms and the potential permeant damage that could occur. The article is trying to educate the reader and guide him or her in a safe direction. The bias that the National Academy of Sciences uses, is towards increased concussion education in hopes of using information to persuade athletes to take action towards a safe recovery. The National Academy of Sciences uses statistics and recent studies to help prove its credibility and persuade its audience of the dangers of concussions. The second article was written by an author at PBS and cites numerous studies done by the Institute of medicine to help prove his ethos. He discusses the high numbers of high school football players that are diagnosed with concussions. Breslow's main point is that more research is being done however athletes are continuing to ignore concussion signs. This gap in communication is a result of lack of education. If parents and athletes know more about the deadly post concussion side effects that have changed the life of many athlete's, they would be more likely to report concussions and take ample recovery time. Like the article by the National Academy of Sciences, this article is looking out for the young athletes. Breslow wants people to be more careful and use the information he provided to make educated decisions about their brains. He is expressing concern and hopes to make a difference. The last article focuses solely on lack of reporting and reasons athletes think this is the best option. Using statistics and information from studies done at Wake Forest, the University of North Carolina, and other universities. This gives credibility to the information she is saying about athletes' choices. Most players did not report because they did not want to be removed from play or they did not want to let their team and coaches down. This is extremely concerning because everyone should be on board with the young athlete's health and safety. Coaches should be able to recognize hard hits and symptoms and pull players off the field. The long term brain effects are more import than one or two games. This change in mindset will only come about through an increase in education across the board. Her primary concern is safety and shows the value of brain health.

This is an arguable topic because many people would say there is already enough action taken for concussions and the public knows as much as the doctors do. I disagree with this thinking because even doctors and researchers are unsure of the future consequences and stress the importance of prevention and recovery now. There is so much debate in the medical world revolving around concussions and proper treatment. I think it is important for us to keep researching and have access to information that is understandable to everyday people. This is why I believe there should be an increase in concussion education and a standard diagnosis process. I have many points to discuss and will not have a problem reaching ten pages.
