Source: Michael DeHoog/Sports Imagery / Getty
The health of football players and their suffering from CTE has only become mainstream in the past decade or so, and yet another study has revealed how startlingly common the brain disease is.
CTE is short for Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which causes the brain to degenerate and leads to the early onset of several brain issues caused by repeated hits to the head and repeated concussions
The medical journal JAMA did one the most extensive studies on the disease on former NFL players and how they feel about their own brain health after suffering hard hits for seasons. And by their own admission, one-third of now-retired players believe they suffer from CTE.
The scary information comes from a Harvard University survey of 1,980 former players. Rules and helmet changes have changed over the years in an attempt to make the still dangerous sports safer, but the study was able to speak with players from the 1960s through 2020. Of those nearly 2,000 players, 681 admitted to thinking they have CTE, while 230 said they experienced suicidal thoughts, and 176 said they’ve been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or other similar forms of dementia.
Other common symptoms of CTE include memory loss, aggression, confusion, insomnia, and abnormal behavior.
Harvard neuroscientist Rachel Grashaw released a statement to NPR concerning the study on how bodily health issues can become cognitive ones, recommending that some former players’ conditions can be aided.
“While we wait for advances in CTE research to better address living players’ experiences, it is imperative that we identify conditions that are treatable,” she said. “These efforts may reduce the chances that players will prematurely attribute symptoms to CTE which may lead to hopelessness and thoughts of self-harm.”
A hot topic regarding concussions in the NFL now is Tua Tagovailoa, who’s suffered three concussions despite just entering the league in 2020.
The most recent came in Week 2 against the Buffalo Bills, and amid calls for him to retire, he’s set to visit independent neurologists this week.
See how social media reacted to Tagovailoa’s latest big hit.
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