CTE: What it means to ALL Athletes

This may be one of the most specific, and most important posts on this site to any person that has some relationship to contact sports. For the purpose of the blog I will not get too technical, or in depth in most of the aspects so as not to bore or confuse all of you reading, but to give a general description and answer the primary questions. There are links if you want to see more about this issue and you can always post a comment asking a question.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE, is growing drastically in concern for all athletes in contact sports. The simplest description of CTE would be, a degenerative brain disease.

Specifically, it is the brain tissue degenerating and a build up of tau protein. How is this connected to athletes? This disease has been shown to primarily be in athletes who sustain constant blows to the head. So sports such as boxing, wrestling, hockey and probably the most likely, football along with any other contact sports are the most common areas in which athletes could get this disease.

Too little Too Late:
The biggest issues are that it cannot really be tested for or found (let alone treated) until the autopsy. Yes, I said autopsy. In other words....when the athlete is dead. The degenerative traits are not presentable in medical scans. The disease also does not really give an indicator that it is there. As far as medical studies have gone there are no apparent symptoms. Ones that are connected to CTE seem to be forms of dementia including memory loss and depression. The issue is these symptoms are connected to many other diseases or psychological problems as well.

Why is this not an issue to all people? Studies have shown that the disease comes from constant hits to the head and concussions (minor or major). In general it seems that those with a limited number of head blows (most people sustain one or no serious concussions in a life span) would not experience this disease.The scary issue for athletes (including myself) is that it is not like a concussion where the effects are immediate, and although dangerous, can be monitored and eventually you return to normal. This disease progresses over years and only worsens without indication until it is severe. I worry about this every time I take a blow to the head in a game or practice.

Over the years the newest find that is of concern is that it was originally found to have serious impact on former athletes that were well into their later years. Recently there have been multiple athletes diagnosed as young as early 30's and late 20's. These players committed suicide and showed the symptoms. This is posing a serious threat to athletes and the future of these sports because of the fact that athletes will become less and less inclined to risk the chance of getting this disease. Especially at younger ages where kids are beginning these contact sports earlier only increasing the chances of getting this disease.

The thing I assume you all are wondering about now is prevention. The reality is there is none. Not at least if you want to continue these sports. As a player, myself, I am taking the risk and face the worries myself.

My personal advice would be to avoid head contact as much as possible, including using good techniques, fundamentals and awareness that has been taught to you. If you have a concussion you really must be smart about protecting yourself since that is the leading issue to CTE. This disease is a terrifying and growing concern that everyone is having to look out for so contact sports do not become too great a risk.

http://www.bu.edu/cste/about/what-is-cte/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8867972/ucla-study-finds-signs-cte-living-former-nfl-players-first-time


Posts coming soon: Kickoffs: Running them right out of the game.
MCL, ACL, PCL: Painful Acronyms and a Look into Knee Injuries.