New Study Shows Link Between Subconcussive Hits and Brain Disease
By Ken Reed
A new study published in the scientific journal Brain strengthened the case that head trauma can lead to “long-term, degenerative brain disease.”
“The study, which included brain samples taken posthumously from 85 people who had histories of repeated mild traumatic brain injury, added to the mounting body of research revealing the possible consequences of routine hits to the head in sports like football and hockey.”
Of the 85 samples, 80 percent — nearly all of whom played sports — showed evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), an incurable brain disease whose symptoms include memory loss, depression, and dementia. Symptoms can also appear similar to those seen in Lou Gehrig’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
Among the group with CTE, 50 were football players, including six high school football players and nine college football players. The study took four years to complete and included subjects between 17 and 98 years old.
The study provided more evidence that it’s not just concussions that parents, coaches and doctors need to worry about, but total head trauma, including repetitive smaller sub concussive hits. These hits don’t result in any immediate symptoms for the athletes and include routine hits such as those experienced by offensive and defensive linemen, who bang heads play after play.
The new study will undoubtedly increase the anxiety level at NFL and NHL headquarters, as well as at the headquarters of football and hockey organizations from the college level down to the youth level.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans
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"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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