{"id":7630,"date":"2015-10-28T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T11:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=7630"},"modified":"2015-10-21T15:07:36","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T19:07:36","slug":"are-contact-sports-really-all-that-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/10\/are-contact-sports-really-all-that-bad.html","title":{"rendered":"Are Contact Sports Really All That Bad?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"football\"<\/a>Bad news for the NFL. In September, a study was released that looked at the brains of deceased NFL players who had donated their brain to science\u00a0due to suspicion of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Of the 91 players tested, 87 had signs of CTE. That is 96%.<\/p>\n

A larger and more diverse sample of American football players (high school, college, semiprofessional or professional) were also studied. Researchers their also found evidence of CTE in their brain tissue. 131 out 165 players had CTE in their brain tissue. And\u00a0just last\u00a0spring, the NFL paid approximately 5000 former players 765 million dollars to settle\u00a0a lawsuit over health claims.<\/p>\n

The brain takes a beating when a person is hit over and over. In football, especially if you are a lineman, you are repeatedly hit. According to new research, this repeated hitting may cause more of a problem than even concussions.<\/p>\n

Genetics and past injuries, along with repeated blows to the head, appear to play a role in who will develop CTE. And we also\u00a0know there is a connection between\u00a0brain trauma and depression.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Now I realize\u00a0this is a skewed sample since the donated brains of players were the ones suspected of having brain trauma. The study doesn’t mean 96% of players will develop CTE, but the high number is alarming. In order to really know how at risk football players are for CTE, we would have to study the brains of all players or a representative sample.\u00a0And the problem is that you can only diagnose CTE after someone dies.<\/p>\n

Even thought the NFL is doing what it can to reduce injury and concussions, you can’t stop the hits from coming\u00a0because\u00a0contact sports are just that-contact. In fact, the\u00a0University of Pittsburg neurological surgery department\u00a0estimates that an athlete in a contact sport has as high as a 19% chance per season of experiencing a concussion.<\/p>\n

So am I being an anxious mom by questioning if my kids should play sports that allow them to be hit in the head a number of times? The younger the athlete, the more vulnerable the brain is to injury, leading\u00a0to cognitive problems.<\/p>\n

When should a child quit or should he or she even play contact sports at all?\u00a0This is a personal decision for every family, but at least we can make it being informed.<\/p>\n

For me, basketball is looking good!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bad news for the NFL. In September, a study was released that looked at the brains of deceased NFL players who had donated their brain to science\u00a0due to suspicion of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Of the 91 players tested, 87 had signs of CTE. That is 96%. A larger and more diverse sample of American…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[728,3419,1957,3418,281],"class_list":["post-7630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-athletes","tag-cognitive-impairment","tag-concussion","tag-contact-sports","tag-cte"],"yoast_head":"\nAre Contact Sports Really All That Bad?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2015\/10\/are-contact-sports-really-all-that-bad.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Contact Sports Really All That Bad?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bad news for the NFL. In September, a study was released that looked at the brains of deceased NFL players who had donated their brain to science\u00a0due to suspicion of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Of the 91 players tested, 87 had signs of CTE. That is 96%. 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In September, a study was released that looked at the brains of deceased NFL players who had donated their brain to science\u00a0due to suspicion of CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Of the 91 players tested, 87 had signs of CTE. That is 96%. 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