Head Injuries In Sports

Head injuries occur frequently to those participating in sports, especially contact sports. Some of the injuries are even fatal. A particular injury may be caused by an object directly striking the head, or by a general body slam from colliding players. In some more aggressive sports, such as ice hockey, opponents may deliberately inflict injuries, thereby causing great bodily harm. Even helmets and face masks can scarcely prevent such a blatant lack of sportsmanship.

Every boxer sustains head injuries. For example, the bloody gashes around the eyes are obvious. Boxers may even go blind from trauma to the optic nerve or other eye injury. However, the brain itself is usually eventually injured. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons estimates that up to 90 percent of professional boxers have sustained a brain injury.

High school and college football players sustain many injuries every season, including brain injuries. Soccer also causes brain injuries from hitting the ball with the head, or head-to-head contact between players, as well as falling. Stampeding fans also suffer serious injuries when trampled or hit in the head by others, after rioting breaks out in connection with these sports events.

Recreational Sports Injuries

Hundreds of thousands of recreational sports injuries occur every year, just in the USA. Perhaps 11 percent to 12 percent of them involve brain injuries. As a rule, sports like golf and tennis are safer than others. Some water sports, horseback riding, baseball, gymnastics, and skating or skateboarding seem to have significant numbers of head injuries resulting in brain injuries.