What Sports Are Safe?

 

 

There have been numerous indicators that some sports that are played by school children are not safe. Football, soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey, martial arts, wrestling, boxing, and other high impact/contact sports are known for blows to the head and resulting in concussions and sub-concussions. Helmets do not protect the brain inside the head from jarring back and forth inside the skull. The NFL is now settling lawsuits and funding research on the effects of head injuries, concussions, brain damage because players who no longer play the game are experiencing the effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Namely, CTE causes depression, anxiety, problems with movement, speaking and other cognitive deficits. Some high profile deaths and suicides of former NFL players have been linked to CTE.

 

Just what are the symptoms of sub-concussions? Sub-concussions come from less forceful hits that don't cause an observable concussion. There aren't any visible symptoms or signs of injury until the cumulative effect of brain injury occurs. For example, Dr. Michael Lipton, Associate Director of the Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that over time the brain cannot repair itself from repetitive hits to the brains of soccer players who 'head' the ball. Brain scans of soccer players who frequently 'head' the ball reveal brain damage to the white matter of brain tissue. The brain could not adequately repair itself from these hits to the head and after 1,800 headers the brain is permanently damaged resulting in memory and attention problems. I wonder how many practices and games does it take before this threshold is met?

 

What are the symptoms of a concussion? We likely can all say we have seen the physical act of a blow to the head or body that would shake the brain inside the skull. But can we see the brain injury that occurs with the naked eye? Probably not. Some who have experienced a concussion may pass out or forget what happened right before the play. There may be confusion, dizziness. But some people who experience a concussion may not have clear symptoms. Most will recover from a concussion within a few hours to a few weeks to a few months. While this recovery is taking place, the brain is more susceptible to damage.

 

Why do we continue to idolize these high impact/contact sports? Why do we go out of our way to introduce elementary age children to these sports, and the exposure to brain damage, just so they will be prepared to play JV and varsity level sports. And if they make these teams, continue their exposure to brain damage?  Somethings wrong here. Can't we learn from the mistakes of the NFL football players?