Is brain injury an inevitable consequence of American football, an avoidable risk, or not? An editorial published yesterday in the Medical Journal BMJ He raises provocative questions.
Chad Splend, director of sports medicine at Georgia Regents University, and Thomas Best, professor and chair of sports medicine at The Ohio State University, present an summary of the unresolved relationship between playing football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a type of brain damage. The type that worsens slowly. Repeated mild brain injuries or concussions.
This was the condition. First described in 2005 in a football player., after University of Pittsburgh experts performed an autopsy on Pittsburgh Steelers center Mike Webster, whose life took a downward turn after his retirement from skilled football. Since then, researchers have linked chronic traumatic encephalopathy to the lack of brain tissue, the formation of brain proteins in dementia and Alzheimer's disease, memory loss, depression, anger, and other behavioral and emotional problems.
Until now, all cases of autopsy-proven chronic traumatic encephalopathy have been in athletes who sustained repeated blows to the top. This is a fact of life for just about all skilled football players. But a few of those with the condition were never diagnosed with concussion. According to Splend and Best, this implies that a series of head injuries that don't cause concussion can result in or be a major risk factor for chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
So here's the massive query: Does football play? Reason Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or are some individuals who play soccer at the next risk of developing it? Repetitive head injuries can, in reality, directly cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy. At the identical time, it's also possible that athletes who sustain brain injuries are genetically predisposed to them or to other aspects that increase the likelihood of dementia, emotional or behavioral problems, or premature death. .
The query of cause and effect is very important to reply, partly because not knowing the reply has created fear amongst athletes. San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland, one in all the National Football League's top rookies in 2014, recently announced his retirement from skilled football as a consequence of an extended history of recurring head injuries. There was concern about term effects. In addition, parents of some younger players, fearing the potential risk of head injuries, are stopping their children from playing football, soccer and other sports.
The 10-year study, launched in 2013, goals to search for greater than just head injuries. This includes a wide range of medical conditions that affect the standard and length of lifetime of soccer players. The study is funded by the National Football League Players Association. It began with recruiting former NFL players. Let's hope this study and other research on sports-related head injury and subsequent brain damage can provide the guidance athletes and fogeys need.