Forgetting the Dangers of Contact Sport

FORGETTING THE DANGERS OF CONTACT SPORTS

Are those who play contact sports suitably aware of the dangers to their long term mental health? Is the evidence linking head injuries and dementia definitive? Impact’s Cora-Laine Moynihan answers these questions and more in her exploration of a topic often forgotten about.

It’s the seventh round of your fight. You’re full of adrenaline, your hands are sweating, and saliva’s overflowing from your gum shield. Then, it goes awry. The opposition connects their glove with your head, again and again and again. And you just wait it out, defending until an opportunity opens for you.

It’s a free kick and you sure as hell aren’t letting that ball pass your team’s wall. The opposition take their kick and your feet come off the ground. The ball is heading your way and you’re there to meet it, colliding against it with your skull.

It’s almost half-time and you’re so close to the try-line, the ball’s in the air flying down just in front of you. There is no stopping you until you catch that pass and two arms wrap around your thighs, sending you sideways to the ground where your head greets the grass first.

You’re told it’s an inevitable consequence of contact sports. Headaches. Injuries. Dizziness The loss of memories here and there. Perhaps even dementia fifteen years down the line. A risk you knowingly took. But how can it be a known risk when even the people researching dementia are not one hundred percent sure about the link between contact sports and this condition?

According to the conclusions of a research roundtable by Alzheimer’s Society, while the link between head injuries acquired during contact sports and dementia risk seems excruciatingly obvious, “there is actually little research evidence in this area, with relatively few studies and many unknowns.” So, assuming that heading a ball or getting a punch to the face instantly guides your athletic career into the grasp of dementia symptoms is a bit of a jump.

However, the minimal evidence that does exist linking the two happens to present a solid case. To shorten the distance between our two subjects, let’s start with the available research on how head injuries have presented a link with dementia in later life. A population-based observational cohort study conducted in Denmark, found that people over the age of fifty showed an increased risk of dementia over a period of ten years after sustaining a traumatic brain or head injury. And this further increased with the number and severity of injuries. From a data cohort of 2,794,852 people, 132,093 had at least one head injury during the period of 1977 – 2013, and of those, 126,734 individuals had dementia during 1999 – 2013. A similar study was conducted in Sweden, to which a similar connection between head injuries and dementia risk was made.

With these suggestions, it’s easy to conclude that contact sports where head injuries are a regular occurrence increase the risk of dementia for the athletes taking part in them. Yet, the findings of two studies cannot be generalised to every head injury, every person and every contact sport that exists. So, studies like that conducted by the University of Glasgow in 2019, become all the more valuable in improving our knowledge of this relationship.

The Glasgow researchers conducting the retrospective epidemiologic analysis published their findings in The New England Journal of Medicine. They suggested that mortality from neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Motor Neurone disease, was higher among former Scottish professional football players than among matched controls, ultimately implying that their involvement in a contact sport had heightened the risk. But it is not just in football that cases of dementia are occurring. Steve Thompson, an England Rugby World Cup winner, has been calling for action to cut the risks of brain injury in sport after stating he doesn’t remember playing in the World Cup final in 2003, let alone winning it, due to developing dementia. After sustaining head injury after head injury while playing rugby, he has been encouraging the Government to protect athletes from long-term brain injuries. He also welcomed a report by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MPs calling for a coherent UK-wide minimum concussion protocol.

With the recommendation that the Government should adopt a similar protocol to Scotland’s Sports Concussion Guidance to protect the country’s athletes, it raises questions about how universities can better protect their own players on a smaller scale.

Across the University of Nottingham, there are at least thirty-five different contact sport societies, within which students have most likely experienced head injuries – many who may not have received the correct treatment, or taken time out to recover. And, without a doubt, the longterm repercussions of the injury would be at the back of many students’ minds. As detailed above by the numerous studies, there is a suggested link between contact sport and risk of dementia. Though not one hundred percent certain, it does exist, and students could be at risk.

Education, research and care. Those are the areas the University of Nottingham can target to create a sustainable plan for protecting students. Awareness campaigns could ensure that students engaging in sports are fully aware of the risks they face. Funding more studies into the relationship between contact sports and dementia could further increase our knowledge of the link and assist in preventing it. And finally, rather than scrap contact sports altogether out of fear of head injuries and dementia, the University should follow suit from the Government. They should implement a compulsory protocol to accompany the existing Concussion Clinic at David Ross Sports Village, ensuring students take the time to recover and get the best treatment they can after receiving a head injury.

With greater knowledge and better responses, perhaps we will be able to reduce the risk of more athletes facing dementia in the future.

By Cora-Laine Moynihan

Illustration and Page Design by Chiara Crompton