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Published: 08/25/2015

Last Updated: 02/21/2018

Football is one of America's favorite sports! Whether we are watching the NFL, a college, or a high school team, we can't get enough. Among all the anticipation and excitement surrounding each kickoff, we should also be aware of the risks involved for the athletes who play this highly physical sport.

When it comes to high school football, concussions are the most common injury. Concussions can have long-term consequences, some of which might be hidden.

What exactly is a concussion?

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury often caused by a direct blow to the head. Your brain is surrounded by fluid that acts as a protective divider from your skull. When you experience a forceful injury to your head, the brain can shake or twist inside your skull. This can result in your brain striking your skull and damaging your soft brain tissue.

It used to be believed that a concussion only occurs when a person loses consciousness. Now it's been proven that a person can experience a concussion without passing out. In fact, over 90% of sports-related concussions do not involve the athlete losing consciousness. This is an alarming fact. An athlete could be suffering from a concussion without even realizing and continue to participate in the game, causing more damage.

It's important to know the symptoms of a concussion so it can quickly be identified and treated. People suffering from a concussion often won't be able to concentrate or think clearly. They might also have a difficult time remembering new information. Some physical symptoms might include vomiting, blurry vision, and trouble maintaining balance.

What are the numbers?

If you look at the data, the rate at which student athletes are suffering concussions is truly staggering.

Football, ice hockey, and soccer present the greatest risk for head injury, but out of all sports-related concussions that are reported, 47% come from high school football injuries.

Concussions don't just occur during games. Surprisingly, 58% of college and high school football concussions happen during practice.

There are over 1.1 million boys playing high school football every year. The rate of concussions in high school football is 2.01 for every 1,000 games.

Concussions can be particularly hazardous to high school and youth football players because the frontal lobe of the brain is still developing. Any damage to a young brain can result in severe developmental issues. An adult can recover from a concussion after about a week, while it can take several weeks for a high school athlete to recover.

Can there be any long-term effects?

Yes. Although it may seem like concussions are temporary injuries, they can have long-lasting consequences. The long term effects increase exponentially when an athlete experiences repeat injuries. One-third of all high school athletes who have a concussion will report two or more within the same season.

Even when symptoms of a concussion have passed, there can still be some underlying conditions. Doctors have reported abnormal brain wave activity along with the wasting away of the motor pathways. These combined can create problems with attention and concentration years later.

Studies have also shown that athletes who have suffered a concussion can see effects even decades later. Some symptoms are similar to those of Parkinson's disease, while others can lead to a higher risk of Alzheimer's.

Is a concussion going to affect my hearing?

Concussions can be a factor for an athlete's hearing health as well. Following the trauma, there is often damage to the inner and outer ear. It may be a ruptured eardrum or damage to the fine hair cells in the inner ear.

This can result in hearing difficulties, such as not being able to distinguish sounds from background noise. Concussions may also make conversations difficult because parts of the brain that process speech may have been damaged.

Tinnitus, a ringing sensation in the ears, can also present itself after significant head trauma.

What safety measures are in place?

The risk of a concussion will always there, but we've become much more educated on the matter even in the last decade. Today, schools, coaches, and officials are taking more precautions and treating concussions seriously.

Helmets and other gear have been developed to provide a greater amount of protection for any type of injury, not just to the head.

Rules and guidelines have been put in place to determine what is considered a safe tackle. Players are no longer allowed to lead a tackle with their helmet. This is for the safety of both the offensive and defensive players.

If a student is suspected to have suffered a concussion, they're immediately removed from the game or practice. They are not allowed to participate again until they are medically cleared. This significantly reduces the chances of long-term injury.

Although there are risks involved with football, it shouldn't deter someone from participating. High school football can be an important factor in a student's development. It helps them develop friendships and communication skills. It also shows them the importance of teamwork and staying active.

If you believe you or a loved one has recently suffered a concussion, you should seek medical attention immediately and also schedule an appointment for a hearing health evaluation to ensure that no hearing damage has occurred.

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The Silent Danger of High School Football

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Published: 08/25/2015 Last Updated: 02/21/2018 Football is one of America's favorite sports! Whether we are watching the NFL, a college, or a high school team, we can't get enough. Among all the anticipation and excitement surrounding each kickoff, we should also be aware of the risks involved for the athletes who play this highly physical sport.

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Coming off a near-perfect 2007 season that ended tragically with an upset by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, New England quarterback Tom Brady was ready to reclaim the championship that had eluded him the year prior. However, just a few minutes into the Patriots' season opener, a safety on the opposing team made a desperate dive for Brady's knees. That was it. Brady fell to the ground, screaming in agony. Brady was not, however, alone. At the time this article went to press, 265 players of the approximately 1,700 players in the NFL were listed on the official NFL Injury Report by their respective teams. That's over 15% of the players.

According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, there have been 1,689 fatalities in football at the high school, collegiate, and professional level between the years of 1931 and 2006. While most on-field injuries are rarely immediately fatal , certain kinds of physical damage such as damage to the cervical cord may leave the player paralyzed. In fact, a study from the Congress of Neurological Surgeons noted that between 1977 and 1998, an average of 13 players each year suffered from permanent paralysis due to football related injuries. The majority of physical injuries in football, however, are not as serious. Brady's anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is among the most common football-related injuries, which also include strained muscles, fractures, dislocations, lacerations, and concussions. Most players are able to return to the field, or at least to their daily lives, within a few weeks.

Perhaps the most underestimated, underreported, and yet disturbingly common injury in football is concussions. A concussion is a traumatic brain injury caused by intense shaking or sudden deceleration of the head. This can occur, for example, each time you get hit by a 300-lb defensive tackle, something that is not all that uncommon in the NFL. This causes a rapid-fire of neurotransmitters that kills off receptors in the brain crucial for vital cognitive processes like memory and learning. A series of symptoms, such as nausea and blurry vision, may soon follow. Each time a player has a concussion, he becomes more likely to have another one in the future. After multiple concussions, the player runs a high risk of developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), otherwise known as boxer's dementia. CTE is characterized by the build-up of tau protein in the brain and has a wide range of symptoms including paranoia, depression, and memory loss. CTE has been blamed for many cases of mental instability in players' post-football lives. Perhaps the most striking example is the recent suicide of former University of Pennsylvania football captain Owen Thomas, an otherwise healthy player who had been diagnosed with early-stage CTE.

Concussions and their long-term effects are pervasive in football, so much so that even the House Judiciary Committee decided to hold a hearing on its impact on the safety of NFL players. Even the relatively moderate arena of high school football is plagued by problems with concussions. One study from the Brain Injury Association of Arizona estimated that over 40,000 high school players suffer from concussions annually.

With all these potential dangers, football may begin to seem like a foolhardy risk. However, one Yale football player interviewed cautioned against holding such an extreme view. "Injuries are just part of a sport," he explains. "There are definitely accidents that happen in football that can have adverse effects off the field, but [these accidents] are very rare and not much more prominent than in other sports." Indeed, injuries is a common part of football, and most-if not all-football players step onto the field fully aware of the risks involved in playing the sport. Furthermore, advances in protective equipment and a growing awareness of the dangers of concussions have provided a safer playing environment for football compared to the past. Nevertheless, with such ominous statistics, it is impossible to deny the obvious dangers of taking part in such a physical sport.

All things considered, Tom Brady was indeed a pretty lucky guy. He hasn't suffered any lasting injuries (yet), and he returned to lead the Patriots to the playoffs. One year later, he signed a contract to become the highest paid player in the NFL. Oh, and while he rested his knee, he had plenty of time to work on his personal life too. A few months after the injury, he married the world's top-paid supermodel, Gisele Bündchen. Risk of cognitive degeneration and permanent paralysis aside, maybe football isn't so bad after all.

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Coming off a near-perfect 2007 season that ended tragically with an upset by the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, New England quarterback Tom Brady was ready to reclaim the championship that had eluded him the year prior. However, just a few minutes into the Patriots' season opener, a safety on the opposing team...

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field this weekend. But a doctor in one town has sparked a fierce response for his call on parents to put a stop to the sport in high school. Abc's dan harris has the story. Reporter: High school football, an american institution. And reflected time and again by hollywood. So, when this mild-mannered school board member at a sparsely-attended meeting in dover, new hampshire, introduced a radical idea. We have a moral imperative to begin the process of ending this game. Reporter: It sparked an instant uproar. A surprising proposal at a school board meeting. Reporter: The media got wind. Now, the future of the program, in jeopardy. Reporter: The board member in question is paul butler. A retired doctor and former high school football player himself, who says the beloved dover high school team, the green wave, has to go. The legislature is clear. This is a dangerous game for children to be playing. Reporter: Espn "sports science" says big blows like this one can be the equivalent of taking a sledgehammer to the head. It's not just pro football. New studies show that kids that play high school football and peewee league football, are exposing themselves to the ers of head trauma. A game that uses the head as a battering ram, is not a smart game to allow a youngster to play. Reporter: Butler has his critics, including the school board chairman, the local paper. And check out how rush limbaugh describes critics of football. Pantywaists who want to try to take the risk out of everything in life. Reporter: Butler admits he does not have the votes to ban football right now. But given the mounting evidence, he says his proposal is a first step toward the inevitable. For "good morning america," dan harris, abc news, new york.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

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Video: High School Football Dangers: Doctor Sparks Debate

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field this weekend. But a doctor in one town has sparked a fierce response for his call on parents to put a stop to the sport in high school. Abc's dan harris has the story. Reporter: High school football, an american institution. And reflected time and again by hollywood.

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Kort Breckenridge has short-term memory problems after suffering several concussions while playing football.

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Friday night football brings together families for intense rivalries in cities and towns across the heart of Carolina. But, for one father, the sport is bittersweet.

"He loved football," said Bob Gfeller whose son, Matt, met tragedy under the Friday night lights. "He was a great kid. He had a lot going for him."

Bob Gfeller lost his son, a high school linebacker, to a helmet-to-helmet hit.

"What happened to Matt is his brain moved so much in his skull that it sheared and bled, " explained Gfeller. "He had severe brain damage and so he never woke up."

Instead of turning his back on football, Bob is moving forward to make the game safer.

"Matt would leave every huddle after they called the play by turning to his teammates and say 'I won't let you down.' Well, if we had just turned our back on football and dug ourselves into a hole, we would have let Matt down," said Gfeller.

Bob launched a center at UNC Chapel Hill, named for Matt to study sports-related brain injuries. The center is working to reduce concussions in high school players.

How a concussion happens

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that causes your brain to move around in your head and changes the way your brain functions. It's caused by a violent blow to the head or neck.

Repeated concussions can cause CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease found in some NFL players.

But now, a new study is raising concern about high school football players. Researchers at Boston University found CTE in the brain of a 25-year-old man who played high school and limited college football.

"When you see this disease in a person that young, it's surprising, even shocking," said Dr. Ann McKee, the study's author. She says the findings show you don't have to be a professional athlete to develop the disease.

Lewis Margolies is a pediatrician and UNC professor who thinks high school students should not play the game until the impact on them is studied. He often demonstrates outside UNC games to educate the public.

"We're not clear about the risks here. The risks could be much greater than what we currently think they are. Maybe they are not greater, but they could be much greater," Margolies pointed out.

The Childress Institute in Winston-Salem found high school players take about 500 impacts per season.

Dr. Josh Bloom, who practices sports medicine in Cary, is concerned about blows to the head that are less serious than a concussion and don't have symptoms.

"What we are finding are those are worrisome as well and there might be some cumulative effects with that," explained the orthopedic physician. "We don't know the long term impact."

Will Grena is a senior at Cary High School where he played on the offensive line. He had a concussion that benched him for nearly four weeks. He followed the protocol and went straight to the team athletic trainer.

"I went over to him and he performed the basic tests on the sideline, and he came to the conclusion that there was something at least wrong with me, the senior remembered. "He diagnosed me with a concussion."

After his injury, Will has advice for his teammates who want to stay in the game after a severe hit.

"If it's a mild concussion some of them just ignore it, and I look at these guys and I'm like 'That's not a good idea. You need to go see the athletic trainer,'" he said.

Will's dad, Gary, feels despite the risk, he doesn't think football is a dangerous sport.

"It's really not a concern for me," he exclaimed. "We can't wrap our sons in bubble wrap and worry about them every moment."

The head coach at Northern High in Durham tackles safety all season.

"Part of the game plan each and every week is to teach safety," advised Raymond Wilson. "So, every day you teach safety in the drills that you do and your practice setting, your tackling drills, you're always teaching safety."

At the UNC center dedicated to Matt Gfeller, UNC assistant professor Jason Mihalik works with high school football players - Monday morning quarterbacking their technique to prevent a concussion.

"He makes the snap but now he immediately comes up and that first point of contact is with his hands. His helmet is in the chest not in the opponent's helmet and the important thing is the helmet is not the first point of contact," Mihalik said as he pointed to the video. "We really want them to get their head out of the play."

The center also monitors players by putting sensors in their helmet measuring the timing and force of impact.

"Anytime there's an impact that comes in, it transmits in real time to the sideline," Milhalik explained.

Bob Gfeller helped pass a law he hopes is making players safer on high school football fields. It is called the Gfeller-Waller Act named for his son and another high school player who died the same year. It sets protocols for coaches, students, and athletic trainers when a player has a head injury and keeps players off the field until they're cleared by a doctor or athletic trainer.

"You've got to have culture change which is mindset and behavior," Gfeller explained. "You've got to have data gathering which is the ability to detect concussions and severity of concussions. You've got to have the protocol in place to move the child from play."

If parents want to know how many concussions happen on their child's team, they should ask the athletic director. They're supposed to be tracking it.

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I-Team: How dangerous is football for teens?

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Friday night football brings together families for intense rivalries in cities and towns across the heart of Carolina. But, for one father, the sport is bittersweet. "He loved football," said Bob Gfeller whose son, Matt, met tragedy under the Friday night lights. "He was a great kid.

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Playing football in high school is dangerous

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Playing football in high school is dangerous