“ Younger athletes might be more at risk because they aren’ t as strong and their skulls aren’ t as thick as older athletes,” Dr. McCoyd says.
Indeed, CTE has been discovered in the brains of two football players who died young, one at age 21 and the other at age 18.13,14 In one study using a system called HITS™, Stefan M. Duma of the Center for Injury Biomechanics installed sensors in the helmets of seven- or eightyear-old football players. 15 His research showed that the players averaged more than 100 head impacts during the course of about nine practices and five games. Some hits exceeded a force equivalent to a big hit in college football. 16
REDUCING THE RISK
In June 2012, Pop Warner, the nation’ s largest youth football organization, announced new rules of play, including prohibiting contact for two-thirds of each practice. The new policy may help the largest group of vulnerable players( more than 285,000 children ages 5 to 15) in the country. Adult leagues are also making moves to reduce the risk. Both the NFL and Ivy League college teams have reduced the number of full-contact practices. The NFL imposed stiffened penalties for hits to the head and neck, requiring athletes be barred from returning to play on the same day of a concussion if they exhibit any symptoms. 17,18 Helmet technology has also improved, with the addition of more padding and helmets that are designed to better distribute the force of impact. 19
Such prevention is critical. An estimated 1.6 to 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur annually in the United
States. 7 Once a person suffers one concussion, they’ re more likely to sustain another( see page 14). It is this accumulation of concussions that is of utmost concern. By the time an NFL player has played through high school, college and 10 years of pro football, he could have been hit 18,000 times, according to HITS data.
Still, as Dr. McCoyd says,“ football is a contact and collision sport designed to run into people. You’ re never going to take the hits out of the game completely.”
Thus, while prevention is key, it is also important for people who experience head trauma to report it and seek help right away. Unfortunately, in sports and the military where strength and a fighting spirit are celebrated, Dr. McCoyd says many people won’ t report their symptoms.
“[ In athletics ], most players know that if they develop symptoms that are suspicious for concussions, they’ re going to get pulled from the game and they’ re not going to be able to play,” says Dr. McCoyd.
Therefore it is also important for people to police one another. Coaches should be alert for concussion symptoms among their players, parents should ask their children if they’ ve been hit in the head during practice, etc. If mild or severe head trauma is found, it should be reported and treated promptly to avoid worsening of symptoms and new blows to the head. An environment where people feel safe to report their symptoms and where coaches, trainers, parents and fellow soldiers work to prevent trauma could go a long way in reducing the risk for CTE and the number of people lost to the degenerative disease. HW
13. Faris and Hinman.“ Football’ s Risk Factor: Brain Injuries Raise New Concerns for Young Athletes.” ABCNews. go. com. May 24, 2012. 14. BU Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy.“ 18 Year Old High School Football Player.” www. bu. edu / cste / casestudies / 18-year-old / 15. Farrey.“ Study: Impact of Youth Head Hits Severe.” ESPN. com. Feb. 22, 2012. 16. Daniel et al.“ Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2012; 40( 4): 976-981. 17. O’ Connor.“ Trying to Reduce Head Injuries, Youth Football Limits Practices.” The New York Times. June 13, 2012. 18. Schwarz.“ NFL Issues New Guidelines on Concussions.” The New York Times. Dec. 2, 2009. 19. Malone.“ Football Turns to Helmet Technology to Tackle Head Injuries.” Reuters. Apr. 2, 2012. 20. NFL. com.“ National Football League Grants $ 30 Million to National Institutes of Health.” Sept. 5, 2012. 21. Goldstein et al.“ Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Blast-exposed Military Veterans and a Blast Neurotrauma Mouse Model.”
Science Translational Medicine. 2012; 4( 134): 134ra60. 22. Aumann.“ Safety Improvements, Changes Define Racing Eras.” Nascar. com. Feb. 16, 2011. 23. Fenno and Rosiak.“ NFL Concussion Lawsuits.” The Washington Times. June 21, 2012. 24. Grogg.“ Shaun Gayle Joins NFL Concussion Lawsuit.” NBCChicago. com. July 11, 2012.
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