David Ortega

ENC 1101
12-1-2015
Concussion on baseball

Recreational athletes, competitive athletes, high school athletes, college athletes, and
professional athletes all have one thing in common: the risk of a concussion. It's impossible
to go a season without one athlete from a team receiving a concussion. The more that these
concussions are studied, the more we learn about them, such as their detrimental effects on
athletes. Because of the risk of health issues and death that come with concussions, doctors,
coaches, athletic trainers, and lawmakers are stepping in to protect athletes of all levels
from receiving concussions.

Ryan Freel, who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball. Figure 1
Athletes who fail to report symptoms of a suspected concussion and continue playing are at
risk of worsened symptomatology and potentially catastrophic neurologic consequences if
another impact is sustained during this vulnerable period. Concussions from baseball
present a substantial public health burden given the number of youth, adolescent and

emerging adult athletes that participate in contact or collision sports. (Kroshus, 67).
Results of a latent profile mixture model indicated that athletes who experienced pressure
from all four of the measured sources were significantly more likely to intend to continue
playing in the future than were athletes who had not experienced pressure from all sources,
or only pressure from coaches and teammates. (Kroshus, 67). These findings underscore
the importance of designing interventions that address the system in which athletes make
decisions about concussion reporting, including athletes' parents, rather than focusing
solely on modifying the individual's reporting cognitions. Although symptoms of most
concussions resolve in less than two weeks, during this period of time the somatic,
cognitive and emotional symptoms sustained can interfere substantially with an athlete's
activities of daily living and can pose a significant health burden. One critical risk
reduction strategy is ensuring that athletes who sustain a potentially concussive impact are
immediately removed from play and receive medical evaluation.
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possible effects of sociocultural
influences, specifically pertaining to language and education, on baseline
neuropsychological concussion testing as obtained via immediate post concussion
assessment and cognitive testing (ImPACT) of players from a professional baseball team.
A 19-year-old collegiate baseball catcher was struck on the lateral side of his head by a
backswing. (Jones, 284). He did not demonstrate any loss of consciousness or amnesia
(retrograde or anterograde), but complained of headache. (Jones 284).
Ryan Freel is the first known baseball player to have been diagnosed with the disease,
according to the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy,
which has found the disease in numerous deceased former National Football League
players. (Waldron, web). Ryan Freel, who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball,

was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he committed suicide in
December 2012, his family announced Sunday, according to the Florida Times-Union. I
know it was a concussion, Freel said at the time. Ive had them before and know what it
is. I was knocked out. Every other time Ive had concussions, Ive been knocked out. None
of them have been like this. I never had the lingering affects. This is totally different than
what I had before. (Waldron, web). Freel carried a reputation as a hard-nosed player
throughout his Major League career, and his most notable injury came on May 28, 2007,
when he was playing for the Cincinnati Reds and collided with fellow outfielder Norris
Hopper. Freel was knocked out before he hit the ground and was later diagnosed with head
and neck contusions. Freels diagnosis is a reminder that while the majority of the scrutiny
about CTE has focused on the NFL and, to a lesser extent, professional hockey, concussions
are a concern in other sports too. Baseball, in fact, has taken steps to limit concussions,
establishing a special seven-day concussion disabled list and protocol for handling the
injuries.
Understanding the effect of concussions on batting performance among baseball players
can help to inform return-to-play decisions for these athletes. Our objective was to
examine the relationship between concussion and batting performance in MLB players.
(Wassermann, 1128). A retrospective cohort study design was used to determine the
relationship between concussion and batting performance. The author identifies that MLB
players who had a concussion and examined various batting metrics pre- and post-injury.
We then compared this change in batting metrics to that of MLB players who missed
playing time by going on paternity or bereavement leave. Although concussed players
may be asymptomatic upon return to play, the residual effects of concussion on the skills
required for batting may still be present. Further work is needed to clarify the mechanism

through which batting performance after concussion is adversely affected and to identify
better measures to use for return-to-play decisions. (Wassermann, 1127).
Although mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is not as common in professional baseball as
in collision sports, it does occur and frequently results in significant loss of time away from
the sport. Mild traumatic brain injury is an important problem in professional baseball
players, especially for catchers. This study provides a foundation for future inquiry to
reduce the incidence of MTBI in those positions at greatest risk and to provide a baseline as
rules and equipment evolve. (Green, 118). There were 41 reported MTBIs in the major
leagues and 266 in the minor leagues over the 2-year period under study. The overall MTBI
game rate across both major and minor league ball clubs was 0.42 per 1000 athleteexposures. The median time lost was 9 days. Mild traumatic brain injury accounted for 1%
of all injuries resulting in time lost from play. For MTBIs that occurred while fielding,
catchers were significantly overrepresented. No differences were noted among the 3
measures of time lost. Data were captured from a newly implemented league-wide injury
surveillance system that records injuries among all professional baseball players as entered
by certified athletic trainers and physicians. (Green, 1126). The MTBIs were identified
with respect to level of play, activity, field location, and mechanism of injury. Time loss
was assessed by 3 measures of return to play, and MTBI game rates were reported as
injuries per 1000 athlete-exposures. Data were combined over the 2011-2012 seasons for
analysis, and results were presented separately for minor and major league players. Chisquare tests were used to test the hypothesis of equal proportions between the various
categories of MTBI injury characteristics. (Green, 1118). The purpose of this study was to
investigate MTBIs in major and minor league baseball players to determine the most
common mechanisms of injury, activity at time of injury, position, level of play, and time

lost, as well as ultimately inform prevention efforts. A secondary objective was to

document the association between MTBI and return to play using several different
measures.

Concussions are a growing problem in the world of sports because of how it affects your
health and how frequent it occurs; luckily many things are being to solve this problem.
There are many symptoms of concussions that can greatly affect people both physically and
mentally. Most symptoms of concussions occur very earlier, usually in the first days or
weeks. Headache, nauseas or vomiting, balance problems, blurred vision, and a lack of
energy are just a few of the physical symptoms that occur to those with concussions
("Injury Prevention; Control: Traumatic Brain Injury."). These symptoms not only affect
those who have the concussion, but can also affect others at risk because they cannot
complete simple tasks safely (like driving). Concussion on baseball are as dangerous as in
any other sports that can physically injured a player.

Words cited

Green, Gary A., et al. "Mild traumatic brain injury in major and minor league

baseball players." The American journal of sports medicine 43.5 (2015): 1118-1126.
Wasserman, Erin B., et al. "Concussions are associated with decreased batting
performance among major league baseball players." The American journal of sports

medicine (2015).
"First Baseball Player Diagnosed With Concussion-Related Brain Disease."
ThinkProgress First Baseball Player Diagnosed With ConcussionRelated Brain

Disease Comments. 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Jones, Nathaniel S., et al. "Effect of education and language on baseline concussion
screening tests in professional baseball players." Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine

24.4 (2014): 284-288.

Kroshus, Emily, et al. "Concussion under-reporting and pressure from coaches,
teammates, fans, and parents." Social Science & Medicine 134 (2015): 66-75.