Luis Ramos

Dr. Loren Higbee

4/13/22
Working Title 2

A person’s health is one of if not the most important things that they are able to control.

Certain aspects of it could be out of their hands, however for the most part it is extremely

important that the population as it stands today is able to understand this fact. This becomes a

great deal more apparent when it is being related to the health of someone such as an athlete,

seeing as their health and physical fitness for the most part are a great deal of how they are able

to have some sort of career in their field.  For the most part, an athlete’s health should be the

greatest and most important aspect of their life, and this is why all forms of competitive sports

have some sort of medical professional or crew on standby in case anything were to occur. For

the most part, in a situation where the medical professionals are in need, they are listened to and

given the utmost respect as they are the most qualified people on-site to give an opinion on the

matters. However, even with the respect given to medical professionals, there are still times

when either a coach or player will not see it fit to listen and take the opinion of the assigned

professional and will make their own call on if an athlete will be returning to competition. This

has become a very problematic occurrence in sports and over the years the battlefield has only

gotten more dangerous as more evidence from research has come to light. Athletes who are

injured should ultimately leave the decision of their return up to the medical professionals as

they are the most qualified person to give an answer and they have the athlete’s best health in

mind.

The situation that we are currently provided with is very prominent in the sense that it has

an argument for both sides. Some might begin by thinking something to the effect of  “should the

medical professional or doctor have all of this power?” or “what if the contest that the athlete is
Luis Ramos
Dr. Loren Higbee
4/13/22
competing in is extremely important and has a lot weighing on it, Shouldn’t the athlete or coach

be able to have the ultimate say in what goes on?” and to both of these valid concerns there are

answers. In the case of the doctor having as much power as they do, it should be expected as they

have gone through years upon years of studying some people starting as early as intermediate

school or high school and learning all the way through college and doctoral programs, and

gaining experience in the real world working in various places from hospitals to clinics to know

what decisions to make and when to make them. The amount of time, energy, and effort should

not have only made them able to receive at least some sort of power to this degree, however it

should have also made them garner at least a bit of respect from those who they are working

with. As far as the next concern goes, This situation is a big gray area as while losing the contest

they are competing in might lose a lot of people not only a lot of money but other things when

looking at the business aspect of things, but the thing is it could also lead to the athlete further

injuring themselves and making a bad situation worse, to coincide with this just because an

athlete would be able to make a return, does not guarantee success that is hoped for even if it

betters the chances, there is still the chance that not only would they go on to not succeed in the

contest, but also make their current conditions worse in the process and that would just double

the losses that would have to be dealt with. The medical professionals are hired and assigned not

only as a consultant, but a decisive hand that should be able to put down their argument wherever

it is needed.

With new information coming to light some are asking now more than ever if the

situation is really as dire as some would describe it and to give an answer to this is quite simple

as there are many examples to prove the argument as true. If an athlete is injured it is of the

utmost concern to everyone that the injury is dealt with in a timely manner so the athlete is able
Luis Ramos
Dr. Loren Higbee
4/13/22
to jump back into action in good health as soon as possible. If an athlete is to get back to work

before it is deemed okay to do so the consequences could be worse than initially expected. With

new research being done everyday there is a lot of information to use for instance records of 

brain activity post concussions and if a person returned to work or school too soon after having

one and showing the adverse effects that it managed to have on the person’s mental wellbeing.

Or it could be an athlete turning an injury that was once traumatic (one time occurrence) turn

into something chronic that they have to deal with on a regular basis because they came back to

compete way too early such as ligament damage to a certain joint in the body. There are many

reasons as to why when a doctor gives an allotted time for an athlete to be removed from

competition, which is why the athlete should not be immediately returned to competition.

Although of course there are some situations such as a bruised rib or something very similar to

that where it really doesn’t have all of that much potential to turn into something more than what

it is, and in times like that the medical professional might offer the athlete and coach the choice

to have them go back in to play. However for the most part when an athlete has to be removed

from the game outright, it is typically not something as superficial as a contusion.

To say that the medical professionals and doctors of the sports world work in something

of a warzone is at this point not all that much of an understatement. Most of the pressure is put

on the doctor to “Not stop the fight of the athlete” however for the most part it is very crucial that

they do as if they do not it could become a very hard situation to deal with for the athlete down

the line. The job of a medical professional when involved with sports is still very similar to that

of one that is not particularly aligned with any sort of organization at all which would be to help

and not harm those who are looking to them in times of need.
Luis Ramos
Dr. Loren Higbee
4/13/22