Knock, Knock: Repeated Concussions Can Cause Mental Problems for Football Players
Knock, Knock: Repeated Concussions Can Cause Mental Problems for Football Players
May 4, 2000 (San Diego) -- Old football players don't die, their brain function just fades away. New research presented here at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology raises questions about the risks young people take when they engage in aggressive contact sports.
Barry D. Jordan, MD, MPH, and Julian Bailes, MD, surveyed men who had played high school, college, or professional football, asking them about their football history, current medical symptoms, past medical history, family medical history, and social history. The players' average age at the time of the survey was 53, and they had spent an average of 17 years playing football.
Of the nearly 1,100 men who responded, 60% reported at least one concussion, and 26% reported three or more during their combined amateur and professional careers. Of the 40 men who had played quarterback, a whopping 80% sustained at least one concussion.
"A statistically significant association was noted between a self-reported history of concussion and complaint of memory changes, confusion, speech difficulties, problems remembering short lists, and difficulty recalling recent events," Jordan and Bailes write. Those with a history of concussion also had a higher frequency of headache, movement disorders, and hearing or balance problems, they say.
Concussion is the mildest but most common form of traumatic brain injury, says Jordan, who directs the traumatic brain injury program at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Symptoms include confusion, disorientation, and forgetfulness. For example, he says, a football player may forget the previous play or return to the wrong sideline.
Contrary to popular belief, loss of consciousness is not a symptom of a mild concussion. However, Jordan warns, some athletes and coaches may think that if the player hasn't blacked out, he is all right and can return to the game.
"Any concussion is something to be concerned about," Jordan says. "The problems occur if someone returns [to the field] while still feeling the effects of the first concussion and suffers a second concussion ... or [they occur] from the cumulative effects of multiple concussions."
Knock, Knock: Repeated Concussions Can Cause Mental Problems for Football Players.
May 4, 2000 (San Diego) -- Old football players don't die, their brain function just fades away. New research presented here at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology raises questions about the risks young people take when they engage in aggressive contact sports.
Barry D. Jordan, MD, MPH, and Julian Bailes, MD, surveyed men who had played high school, college, or professional football, asking them about their football history, current medical symptoms, past medical history, family medical history, and social history. The players' average age at the time of the survey was 53, and they had spent an average of 17 years playing football.
Of the nearly 1,100 men who responded, 60% reported at least one concussion, and 26% reported three or more during their combined amateur and professional careers. Of the 40 men who had played quarterback, a whopping 80% sustained at least one concussion.
"A statistically significant association was noted between a self-reported history of concussion and complaint of memory changes, confusion, speech difficulties, problems remembering short lists, and difficulty recalling recent events," Jordan and Bailes write. Those with a history of concussion also had a higher frequency of headache, movement disorders, and hearing or balance problems, they say.
Concussion is the mildest but most common form of traumatic brain injury, says Jordan, who directs the traumatic brain injury program at the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Symptoms include confusion, disorientation, and forgetfulness. For example, he says, a football player may forget the previous play or return to the wrong sideline.
Contrary to popular belief, loss of consciousness is not a symptom of a mild concussion. However, Jordan warns, some athletes and coaches may think that if the player hasn't blacked out, he is all right and can return to the game.
"Any concussion is something to be concerned about," Jordan says. "The problems occur if someone returns [to the field] while still feeling the effects of the first concussion and suffers a second concussion ... or [they occur] from the cumulative effects of multiple concussions."
