What images come to your
mind when someone says concussion? Or that someone has been "dinged"? Or chronic traumatic
encephalopathy (CTE)? If you’re like most sports fans the images center on
football. More specifically, the NFL takes center stage. Whether
it is Frank Gifford having been laid out by Chuck Bednarik in 1960 or as
recently as Super Bowl 50 and Carolina wide receiver Corey Brown leaving the
game after coming down hard on a reception. The news that the aforementioned Gifford,
Ken Stabler, and Earl Morrall all had CTE also jumps to the forefront.
CTE
is the NFL’s biggest problem. The disease results in memory loss, depression,
confusion, and most alarmingly, aggression. Debate and consternation focus on
football’s future as disturbing accounts drive home the havoc CTE can create.
In fact, the February15-22 issue of Sports Illustrated has an all too common passage
about a potential CTE sufferer. This passage explores why the article’s subject
ultimately committed suicide. “Freedom awaited. Freedom from the pain of dozens
of broken bones and lost teeth. Freedom from the headaches that began sometime
in his 20s and didn’t let up for a single day afterward.” That quote sounds familiar to NFL fans who
have read similar stories in the wake of the deaths of Junior Seau, Dave
Duerson, and Mike Webster. But this quote comes from Michael McKnight’s superb
article “The Bull Whisperer.” It is not about a football player but traces former
bull rider and trainer Kent Cox’s life and final days.
The
truth is that CTE is a problem for any person exposed to head trauma. This
means that rodeo, boxing, MMA, the martial arts, professional wrestling, auto
sports, hockey, soccer, rugby, and stunt work all expose people to the long
term effects of CTE. Evidence to date indicates that prolonged exposure is
necessary for the development of CTE. Playing a sport, such as football,
through high school or even college does not appear to carry the same risk as a
professional career. Despite this slight assurance a broader reality remains.
Logically, people who have experienced head trauma even outside of organized
sports will also be at risk. To that end, the link between the victims of
domestic violence and CTE is being researched.
Yet,
it is fair to assume that someone who simply played hard/ roughhoused as a child and
young adult may be at risk for at least minimal symptoms. This is why the
recent discovery of an initial way to diagnose CTE in the living is so
important. So far post-mortem analysis was the only tool doctors and
researchers had but an UCLA study co-authored by Dr. Bennet Omalu, of “Concussion”
fame, have used a patented scanning system to identify the buildup of the tau protein,
which is the root cause of CTE.
