Sports-related activities account for an estimated 10% of head and spinal cord injuries. In recent years, concussion in particular has garnered more interest in the medical field as well as the media. Reports of athletes suffering from long-term cognitive deficits and Parkinsonian symptoms have sparked concern in a disease process that has often been underestimated or ignored. As more reports surface, the desperate need for a better understanding of the neuropathology has been made clear. In addition to the concern for acute injury, long-term sequelae such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are feared consequences of concussive injuries. Research studies have shown significant overlap in the neuropathology between CTE and chronic neurodegenerative processes such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In particular, tau protein deposition has been found to be present in both disease processes and may play an important part in the clinical findings observed. The present review discusses concussion and our current understanding of pathological findings that may underlie the clinical features associated with concussive injuries and resulting chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
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From Concussion to Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy: A Review
Roya Saffary, Lawrence S. Chin, and Robert C. Cantu
Sport-Related-Concussions Pilot Study: Athletic Training Students’ Media Use and Perceptions of Media Coverage
Tywan G. Martin, Jessica Wallace, Young Ik Suh, Kysha Harriell, and Justin Tatman
in American football or other contact sports causes a neurodegenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). One such report revealed that from 2002 to 2009, 17 retired National Football League (NFL) players suffered from CTE, which is believed to be caused by repeated blows
Boxing Lessons: An Historical Review of Chronic Head Trauma in Boxing and Football
Jason P. Shurley and Janice S. Todd
In recent years there has been a significant increase in the scrutiny of head trauma in football. This attention is due largely to a host of studies that have been highly publicized and linked the repetitive head trauma in football to late-life neurological impairment. Scientists and physicians familiar with boxing have been aware of such impairment, resulting from repeated head impacts, for more than 80 years. Few, however, made the connection between the similarity of head impacts in boxing and football until recent decades. This article examines the medical and scientific literature related to head trauma in both boxing and football, paying particular attention to the different emphases of that research. Further, the literature is used to trace the understanding of sport-related chronic head trauma as well as how that understanding has prompted reform efforts in each sport. Finally, in light of the current understanding of the long-term sequelae of repetitive head trauma, some consideration is given to what football administrators can learn from the reform efforts in boxing.
Is the Sky Falling? The Persistent Effects of Concussion
Steven P. Broglio
Sport concussion has been thrust into the national spotlight with growing concern over both the acute and chronic risk for injury. While much has been learned and applied to medical practice in the previous decade, how the injury may affect individuals years later remains largely unknown. The opaqueness of the unknown has led some to ask if certain sports should be banned. Without immediate answers, what is currently known must be extrapolated and the risks and benefits of sport participation must be balanced.
From the Editor
Paul M. Pedersen
championships) balances tradition and commercialism, how media coverage of sport-related concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy influences public perceptions, and how the media and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA, with signage for its organizational headquarters featured in the
Differential Effect of Recurrent Concussions on Symptom Clusters in Sport Concussion Assessment Tool
Jian Chen, Bruce Oddson, and Heather C. Gilbert
concussions. The results of neuropsychological testing have indicated that cognitive deficits may linger long after symptoms have resolved. 15 – 18 Progressive changes in a concussed brain may lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) that results in manifestation of symptoms years even decades after
American Football Soft-Shell Helmet Covers Reduce Head Impact Severity: A Critically Appraised Topic
Kayla O’Connell, Christopher Brown, and Patricia M. Tripp
impact severity. However, clinicians may find it challenging to draw conclusions related to concussion risk reduction or prevalence among American football players based on primarily laboratory testing. In the light of growing research surrounding chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the evidence appraised
Health Communication and Sport: Connections, Applications, and Opportunities
Zack P. Pedersen
, are utilized in developing an understanding for how the media reacts to such stances on mental health. Similarly, Chapter 2 covers how the framing of public health topics (e.g., HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, COVID-19) has impacted different athletes and the
Great Expectations: The Sociology of Survival and Success in Organized Team Sports
Emma S. Ariyo
professional athletes; and how the medical community, the public, and the National Football League are working together to address with the issue of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and other trauma related to football head injuries. Overall, the book Great Expectations provides important insight into
The Gridiron’s Ethical Striping: Threads of Tackle Football’s Moral Permissibility
Francisco Javier López Frías
incurred over his lifetime, which resulted in a brain disease called “chronic traumatic encephalopathy” (CTE). A decade later, after consistent efforts at denying and manufacturing doubt around this scientific discovery, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly acknowledged the connection between football
