Head Injuries in the Great American Pasttime

“You can’t call yourself American if don’t watch the Superbowl,” my cousin says.  He’s joking, but there’s some truth in it.  Of the top twenty highest-rated television programs, eighteen have been super bowls.  Companies vie for opportunity to get their best, most memorable, exciting ads in what is unquestionably the most expensive advertising slot on television.  Across the country “Superbowl Sunday” is the most celebrated and lucritive yearly sporting event – it is almost a national holiday.

 

I can’t call myself an American.  I’ve never seen a football game in my life, much less the superbowl.  Friends have urged me to give it a chance, alleging the plays are as intricate as a chess game, and that it is fascinating once you understand it.  I don’t buy it.  It’s good to get out, exercise, and have fun, but sitting at home, eating junk food, and watching large men in spandex tackle each other has never stuck my fancy.   This year I went from being passively disinterested, and slightly amused to actively horrified at the sport.

As a rule I won’t pay much attention to articles football, but over the past few weeks the red flag words "brain injury" caught my eye. “New Sign of Brain Damage in N.F.L.,” “Link between Football Injury and Brain Damage,” “Teen Football Players Still Dying, Experts Say Better Safety Measures Needed”….

 

In publications ranging from the New York Times to Fox News, I stumbled across no fewer than ten articles about TBI and football.  This did not seem wholly surprising given the hits players take, maybe articles like these appear every year around this time I thought, and started scanning through them. 

What I read chilled me to my very bone.  A recent study by Boston University School of Medicine revealed that apparently traumatic brain injury is only a fraction of what players need to worry about.  The far greater danger is from “Chronic Traumatic Encephalophy” (CTE), a rare and progressive condition caused by repetitive head traumas when they are not given (sufficient) time to heal.

 

Six former NFL players ages 36-50 were tested for CTE, as part of their post-mortem. (the test can only be administered posthumously).  Every one tested positive.  Even more disturbing is that early signs of the condition appeared in a post-mortem of an 18-year-old high school football player.  

CTE has many of the same characteristics of TBI,or early onset Alzheimer's.  Symptoms include emotional liability, poor judgment, memory loss, inability to concentrate, problems multitasking, and so forth.  To make things worse, in the later stages it can also lead to dementia in people as early as their 40s. 

 

Thankfully this condition is exceedingly rare in the general public, however thismakes these findings all the more chilling.  For me, no amount of money in the world would be worth that risk.  I hope and pray that coaches everywhere are more alert to these dangers, and the symptoms of concussion, and allow their players time for recovery between injuries.  I wish that parents would think twice before allowing their children to play sports rough full-contact sports like football or rugby, and stress the importance of allowing time to heal.   Though children are resilient, the 18-year-old proves beyond a doubt that they are by no means immune.

Maybe I’m missing something here, but wouldn’t it make sense to avoid a head injury if at all possible?

(I’m not touching boxing with a ten foot pole.) 

 REPORT: AUTOPSY REVEALS SIXTH NFL PLAYER SUFFERED FROM HEAD TRAUMA-RELATED BRAIN DAMAGE http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3864380

Roethlisberger’s Injury Highlights Nerve Center for Head Trauma http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/sports/football/02steelers.html?pagewanted=2&ref=sports

Tackling Brain Injuries http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2009/02/01/tackling_brain_injuries/

Teen Football Players Still Dying, Experts Say Better Safety Measures Needed http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,485744,00.html

 Super Bowl's big hits bring gruesome injury risk http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gOA8-zCPBmx8AUJshH9lnd3WV_cg

 As study reveals NFL headache, concussions could cloud Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2009/01/28/2009-01-28_as_study_reveals_nfl_headache_concussion.html

Commentary: Links Between Pro-Football And Brain Injury Seem Obvious http://www.wbur.org/news/2009/82903_20090129.asp

New Sign of Brain Damage in N.F.L. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/sports/football/28brain.html?_r=1&ref=health

Devastating impact http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090112/A_SPORTS09/901120317/-1/A_SPORTS

 Link Confirmed Between Football Injury And Brain Damage http://www.wbur.org/news/2009/82882_20090128.asp