For the past six articles I have been on the very serious topic of Concussions. I have gone from childhood injuries resulting in concussions to post-concussion syndrome, to youth sports & Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, and finally to the tragic stories of so many past and present athletes who presently have CTE or have died as a result of it. To cap off my final article in this series, I would like to tie all this back to the children’s welfare and safety in youth sports. The question we all have to ask ourselves is, ”Should our children be playing contact sports or not?”
“Every case of diagnosed CTE has had one thing in common:
a history of repetitive hits to the head.”
-Robert Stern, Director of Clinical Research,
Boston University’s CTE Center
I’d like to start off talking about Dr. Bennet Omalu, the famous forensic pathologist who discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and brought to the forefront, the impact of concussions and repetitive head injury on the development of CTE, which is a neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive cognitive, emotional and physical disorders.
Dr. Omalu was born and raised in Nigeria and completed medical school before coming to the US to work at the University of Pittsburgh. According to the National Cancer Institute NCI at Frederick (https://ncifrederick.cancer.gov/about/theposter/content/dr-omalu-talks-childhood-concussions-and-cte) it was at the University of Pittsburgh that Dr. Omalu had the opportunity to analyze the brain of former Pittsburgh Steeler “Iron” Mike Webster. During this autopsy he began his hypothesis about the degenerative brain condition that later was known as CTE.
“God has given us the gift of life in our children,
when a man and a woman conceive a child,
God invites us in and gives us the gift of His life and His Spirit.
It is our duty as the sons and daughters of Mighty God
to preserve that gift in our children.”
-Dr. Bennet Omalu
Dr. Omalu did not get institutional support and also faced opposition from the NFL, so he was forced to use his own money to travel the country to meet with football players and to continue his research of CTE. What was sad was that he published a paper on his findings “but his colleagues dismissed his work, and he was ultimately fired from his job in Pittsburgh.” This did not stop Dr. Omalu from continuing his analysis of brains at his home and in many cases spent his own money to send out tissue samples to labs for analysis. Dr. Omalu suspected that Webster suffered from dementia pugilistica, which is a dementia induced by repeated blows to the head. Using a special stain, he was able to discover the accumulation of Tau protein.
According to the article, Dr. Omalu had such a strong belief in seeking the truth and along with his strong Catholic faith he was able to endure all these obstacles. During his quest to find out the truth about concussions and head injury, the NFL was trying to discredit and silence him. He went on to persevere despite these challenges and because of this fortitude he has impacted athletics around the world. Dr. Omalu is a Medical Doctor, Forensic Pathologist, Professor, & Medical Examiner. He is the Chief Medical examiner for San Joaquin County, California and a professor at the University of California, Davis, Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
“Society will want you to believe
that science and faith do not go together;
I will tell you that is not true.
Science and faith have
a common endpoint: the truth.”
-Dr. Bennet Omalu
You are probably asking why I went into such great detail about Dr. Bennet Omalu. The reason is because of his hard work and efforts to bring attention to the public about repetitive head injury and its relationship to CTE. Because of his work in CTE, we now know the dangers of contact sports and now the question arises about our children and youth sports. Parents and coaches are now aware that the athletes’ heads need to be protected to avoid the dangers of concussions. But Dr. Bennet Omalu feels that this is not enough. In his book, "Truth Doesn't Have a Side: My Alarming Discovery about the Danger of Contact Sports”, he warns that “children who play contact sports could face a lifetime of serious health problems”.
According to an article called, ”Why kids shouldn't play football until they're 18” found in Mother Nature Network (https://www.mnn.com/family/protection-safety/stories/why-kids-shouldnt-play-football-until-theyre-18), Dr. Omalu suggests that children should “never play sports like football, hockey or lacrosse.” He said, “Knowing what we know today, there is no reason whatsoever that any child under the age of 18 should play the high-impact, high-contact sports. The big six are: American football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts, boxing, wrestling and rugby. Blows to the head are intrinsic to the game. That truth could be inconvenient, painful and difficult, but we should not deny it." Dr. Omalu suggested safer sports such a swimming, track and field, volleyball and basketball.
“Knowing what we know today,
there is no justifiable reason why
a child under the age of 18,
should continue to play the high impact,
high contact sports.
Over the centuries,
science has established that playing these sports
causes brain damage.”
-Dr. Omalu
According to an article in the Huffpost (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-reed/concussion-focus-needs-to_b_8865518.html) by Ken Reed called, ”Concussion Focus Needs to Shift from NFL to Youth and High School Football” “Our children are playing football while their brains are still developing, increasing the risk of serious brain injuries. These kids are allowed on football fields by the parents and guardians in their lives before they reach the age of legal consent, and before they are capable of fully understanding the short and long-term risks football represents to their brains. Those risks are scary to contemplate.”
The Brain Injury Research Institute stated that in any given season, there are 20% high school players that sustain brain injuries. 40.5% of the high school athletes who have suffered concussions return to action prematurely, which according to the article “can lead to death from Second Impact Syndrome (SIS), which is a condition in which the brain swells, shutting down the brain stem and resulting in respiratory failure.”
“What God is teaching us through science is that
when you expose your head to repeated blows
in whatever human activity, there is a 100% risk exposure to brain damage.
Science has shown us that if a child plays football for even one season,
that child could have permanent brain damage.
If a child plays even one football game as an offensive linesman,
he receives about 62 blows to his head in just one game.”
-Dr. Bennet Omalu
This article also pointed out that it is not just concussions that we should be worried about. Purdue researchers did a recent study where they compared changes in the brains of high school football athletes who had a concussion with those football players who were concussion free and they found brain tissue damage in both. This is such a significant finding because this means brain injuries are occurring without players, coaches, or parents even being aware of this tissue damage! In addition, this article stated that repetitive sub-concussive hits to the head can cause as much damage as concussion causing hits.
Despite what advertisements say, there isn’t a perfect, upgraded football helmet on the market today that can make playing football safer from the standpoint of brain protection. The article also said that the helmets will prevent skull fractures and lacerations but not keeping the head safe from brain damage. They said that the brain is like Jell-O where it can bounce up against the skull. When a player gets hit in the chest, he can receive a concussion without being hit in the head because of the whiplash effect.
“No helmet system can protect you
from serious brain and/or neck injuries
including paralysis or death.
To avoid these risks,
do not engage in the sport of football.”
– Warning put on all Schutt Sports football helmets.
In another article by the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/opinion/dont-let-kids-play-football.html?mcubz=0) called, ”Don’t Let Kids Play Football” they stated that “Over the past two decades it has become clear that repetitive blows to the head in high-impact contact sports like football, ice hockey, mixed martial arts and boxing place athletes at risk of permanent brain damage.” They said that if studies were done of these young children, they would find during the season and several months after the season, evidence of brain damage at the cellular level, whether or not there was a documented concussion. If these children continue to play over multiple seasons, these “cellular injuries accumulate to cause irreversible brain damage, which we know now by the name Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.”
So this leads us to ask ourselves the question ” when we knowingly and willfully allow a child to play high-impact contact sports, are we endangering that child?” We are the adults while our children are minors who have not reached the age of consent. It should be our moral duty to protect our vulnerable children. We must realize that the human brain doesn’t become fully developed until about 18 to 25 years old. As responsible parents, we should wait until our children are old enough to learn everything about the risk of playing and then let them make their own decisions
"I wouldn't let my children engage
in an activity that has a very strong probability of
undermining their intellectual development.
Why would I do that to my child?"
-Dr. Bennet Omalu
I for one, feel we should weigh all the pros and cons about any sport participation and if the child wants to do a sport, at least let it be one that is safer with less impact on the brain. Let our kids have the opportunity to have a future that is bright and happy without the fears of CTE affecting them later in life. I hope this article will at least give all parents a chance to see the consequences of contact sports. Being an informed parent is the first step to our children’s future.
This will end my series on Concussions & Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Thank-you for reading my article on Should Our Children Be Playing Contact Sports or Not?: Dr. Bennet Omalu. If you would like to follow me, please check HERE
These are my previous articles. if you are interested in reading it:
Neuroplasticity: Hope For People With Anxiety?
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-hope-for-people-with-anxiety
Neuroplasticity: How to deal with Anxiety Disorders Like Panic Attacks
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-how-to-deal-with-anxiety-disorders-like-panic-attacks
Neuroplasticity: Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-cognitive-behavior-therapy-cbt
Neuroplasticity: Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-mindfulness-based-cognitive-therapy
Neuroplasticity: Self-Directed Neuroplasticity Exercises
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-self-directed-neuroplasticity-exercises
Neuroplasticity: Music & Music Therapy
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-music-and-music-therapy
Neuroplasticity: Meditation and Anxiety
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-meditation-and-anxiety
Neuroplasticity: Brainwave Entrainment
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/neuroplasticity-brainwave-entrainment
Anxiety and CBD: An Introduction to Cannabinoid
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/anxiety-and-cbd-an-introduction-to-cannabinoid
Childhood Injuries: Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-injuries-concussions
Childhood Injuries: Post Concussion Syndrome & Recovery & Safety Measures To Prevent Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/childhood-injuries-post-concussion-syndrome-and-recovery-and-safety-measures-to-prevent-concussions
Youth Sports: The Benefits of Youth Sports & Increase Incidents of Concussions
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/youth-sports-the-benefits-of-youth-sports-and-increase-incidents-of-concussions
Are You Ready For Some Football? - The Continuing Saga of Concussion & Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy in Former NFL Players & Other Concussion Victims
An American Tragedy: Story of Mike Webster, Pro Hall of Famer & CTE
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/an-american-tragedy-story-of-mike-webster-pro-hall-of-famer-and-cte
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy – The Tragedy Continues: Not Just In the NFL
https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@cabbagepatch/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy-the-tragedy-continues-not-just-in-the-nfl