For years the effects of sports on the brain have been studied. Today, it is well known that certain activities, football in particular, put players at high risk of sustaining a concussion. However, a new study shows that concussions are not all football players have to fear. According to this study, even just playing the game is enough to put participants at risk for sustaining a brain injury.
The study was performed at the University of Rochester and studied 38 college football players. The players wore helmets equipped with accelerometers that tracked the number of hits and forceful impacts the athlete sustained during play. Researchers took an MRI of the players’ brains before the season to use as a baseline. They then compared those with MRIs taken after the season.
The scientists found that when a player was hit, their brain rippled like the surface of a pond. This rippling causes damage to the midbrain’s central location. During the season two players sustained concussions, but two-thirds of the players showed damage to white matter in that central location.
During the study, researchers also found the MRI scans showed an increased level of the tau protein in the bloodstream of the athletes. This protein indicates that someone has sustained brain damage. Over time it can lead to depression, memory loss, emotional instability, and even dementia.
“It just goes to show how dangerous the sport of football is, even when players do not think they have sustained an injury,” says personal injury attorney Jamie Karek of the Commonwealth Law Group. “This is important information for players, coaches, and parents to know. Although awareness is increasing about the risk of concussions, there are so many more ways a player’s brain can become injured.”
Now that the scientists are aware of it, they are trying to do something with their knowledge. They are developing algorithms that, when used in conjunction with the accelerometers, could indicate when a player has sustained serious harm, even if the player does not have any immediate symptoms.
