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NEW YORK DAWN™ > Blog > Health > Why we have to take concussion and continual traumatic encephalopathy extra critically
Why we have to take concussion and continual traumatic encephalopathy extra critically
Health

Why we have to take concussion and continual traumatic encephalopathy extra critically

Last updated: July 6, 2025 11:43 pm
Editorial Board Published July 6, 2025
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Credit score: Pixabay/CC0 Public Area

Concussion in sport continues to make headlines, whether or not it’s class actions, younger males flocking to the extremely violent “RunIt” exercise or debate about whether or not Australian guidelines soccer ought to take away the “bump” as soon as and for all.

Bringing this weighty difficulty to better prominence are the previous athletes who bravely share their long-term well being struggles after careers in sport—cognitive impairments, psychological well being points or issues about neurodegenerative illness, particularly continual traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

But for all of the progress made by many sports activities lately, it seems like we nonetheless haven’t totally grasped the understanding of CTE—or perhaps we do not wish to.

Remind me once more, what’s CTE?

CTE is a neurodegenerative mind illness, identical to dementia, motor neuron illness (MND) and Parkinson’s illness.

Knowledgeable teams agree on the hyperlinks between traumatic mind harm and elevated threat of Alzheimer’s illness (and different dementias), and the rising proof of hyperlinks to MND and Parkinson’s.

Individuals who have by no means had a traumatic mind harm can nonetheless regrettably undergo from these illnesses. Nevertheless, whereas CTE is uncommon within the normal inhabitants, these with a historical past of repetitive impacts to the mind are extra in danger.

These impacts might not be recognized as mind accidents or concussions, however relatively non-concussive impacts (smaller hits that don’t produce indicators or signs of concussion).

Opposite to anecdotal opinion, an athlete’s concussion historical past will not be the essential variable within the threat and severity of CTE.

Rising worldwide proof, together with my very own just lately revealed research, reveals the danger of growing CTE (and its severity) is linked to publicity: the age an individual begins full contact sport and the size of a taking part in profession.

The grey space of concussion, CTE and psychological well being

At present, CTE can’t be recognized in residing folks.

Nevertheless, in understanding the development of the illness in those that have handed away with CTE, households have described indicators and signs together with cognitive impairments equivalent to:

Parkinsonism
reminiscence loss
hassle with planning and organizing duties
impulsive behaviors
anger and irritability
emotional instability
substance misuse
suicidal ideas/habits.

Whereas these indicators and signs can overlap with these we affiliate with psychological well being, this doesn’t essentially imply the affected individual had “mental health concerns.”

The continued consciousness of males’s psychological well being is an efficient factor broadly, but it surely has typically misappropriated CTE as a psychological well being difficulty. For instance, some fundraising video games within the names of athletes who’ve died with CTE are being channeled to psychological well being charities and institutes, complicated the broader neighborhood.

Consequently, two current tragic tales, one from the household of deceased former AFL participant Shane Tuck and the opposite from Amanda Inexperienced, the widow of the late NRL participant and coach Paul Inexperienced, wanted to be advised.

Their tales contradicted broadly held beliefs within the media and amongst followers that Tuck or Inexperienced had been struggling with a psychiatric illness previous to their premature deaths. Actually, they’d CTE.

An uncomfortable dialog

So, why aren’t we speaking about CTE extra?

The reply is, sadly, it’s an inconvenient fact.

Contemplating CTE is completely preventable if we take away the publicity threat of repetitive hits to the pinnacle, the answer is to additional modify lots of our hottest sports activities to make head impacts a lot rarer.

There’s sizable opposition to this concept.

“Now is not the time to discuss such ‘political’ issues,” is the response I often get from teachers and colleagues concerned in these sports activities, and even football-loving buddies, when I attempt to increase consciousness.

This continued hesitation solely slows the science of CTE additional.

If an athlete’s household has been brave in donating their mind to the Australian Sports activities Mind Financial institution and CTE has been discovered, the usual response from sports activities organizations is:

Even a Senate parliamentary inquiry has achieved little to vary the state of affairs.

Actually, whereas most sports activities have tried to grow to be safer by means of rule adjustments, progress extra broadly has plateaued and even regressed lately.

Take one current instance within the NRL, when some within the rugby league neighborhood made gentle of the a number of concussions suffered by Victor Radley. After taking part in his one hundred and fiftieth recreation, he posed smiling with a t-shirt detailing the variety of concussions he had suffered throughout his profession. His membership, the Sydney Roosters, posted the photograph on Instagram earlier than it was later eliminated.

Much more worrying is a brand new controversial exercise referred to as “RunIt,” which entails two males operating at full pace at one another with the intention of knocking over (or extra aptly, knocking out) the opponent.

A current dying of a New Zealand teenager taking part in RunIt has highlighted the risks.

What extra will be achieved?

With the assistance of the Concussion Legacy Basis, specialists around the globe, together with myself, have produced a CTE prevention protocol. This doesn’t imply banning any sports activities however relatively modifying parts that may cut back publicity threat.

Listed here are 5 concepts I consider would make a distinction.

Lowering contact masses in coaching, significantly in pre-season coaching.
Modify contact sports activities for kids till the age of 14. This doubtlessly removes six to eight years of incidental and pointless hits to children’ heads. They’ll nonetheless play and study all the basic motor abilities and benefit from the psychological advantages of sport earlier than graduating to the complete model of the sport at 14.
Influential media commentators have to upskill themselves round CTE and to not be afraid to say CTE relatively than deferring to “concussion protocols.”
Medical and allied well being practitioners don’t usually display screen for concussion or contact sport taking part in historical past when assessing a affected person who’s scuffling with motion issues, continual complications/fatigue or cognitive/behavioral impairments. Repetitive head influence historical past must be screened identical to alcohol and drug use historical past.
When an athlete all of a sudden and tragically dies, we have to embrace, together with emergency assist strains, info for assist and help for these not sure about CTE.

Sadly, if we do not have the political will to acknowledge CTE and act, extra households might be grieving the tragic deaths of athletes. These households might not even concentrate on CTE.

This doesn’t make me anti-sport, however pro-athlete. Let’s all grow to be pro-athlete for the sake of our sports activities and the individuals who play them.

Offered by
The Dialog

This text is republished from The Dialog beneath a Inventive Commons license. Learn the unique article.The Conversation

Quotation:
Why we have to take concussion and continual traumatic encephalopathy extra critically (2025, July 5)
retrieved 6 July 2025
from https://medicalxpress.com/information/2025-07-concussion-chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy.html

This doc is topic to copyright. Aside from any honest dealing for the aim of personal research or analysis, no
half could also be reproduced with out the written permission. The content material is supplied for info functions solely.

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