You’ll never believe these 9 true concussion stories from the NFL

Football fans are gearing up for the NFL regular season, which kicks off this Thursday night as the Green Bay Packers take on the Seattle Seahawks. But as a new season begins, there is no denying the reality of injuries for many NFL football players.

The game is extremely physical, which has been evident for decades, and it is no surprise that being a player in the NFL comes with considerable physical risk. But in recent years the mental health problems related to concussions have come to the forefront, and a lawsuit filed against the league by NFL players and veterans is gaining momentum.

Concussions figure to be the NFL’s hot-button issue of 2014.

Many retired players are feeling the cognitive effects of their time in the NFL, dealing with symptoms including short-term memory loss, headaches, depression and anger. A recent study commissioned by the NFL reported that Alzheimer’s disease and other memory-related diseases are diagnosed in former NFL players at a rate of 19 times more than the normal rate for men ages 30 to 49. Furthermore, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease diagnosed postmortem, is found more often in NFL players or individuals with a history of repeated concussions and other head injuries.

By Hannah Bender, PropertyCasualty360.com