The latest news regarding Patriot’s Aaron Hernandez pathology results of his brain are concerning, but not surprising. As professionals in the field, we follow the seemingly never ending parade of athletes who are succumbing to the devastating degenerative effects of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Many of them are ending their lives by their own hand and at times, involve the lives of others. Even though researchers are still leery about connecting the wayward behavioral and cognitive changes to this disease, the relationship between the two co-existing is clear.
But what about all the other athletes (in typical non-contact sports), recreational sport players and extreme Ninja Warriors? What about our youth sports programs? What about our Veterans? Should we be worried about all those folks? In my opinion, yes indeed. This is not say that all these activities should be banned. I myself, played 4 years of Rugby in college and my children are active in sports. And I have family who are in active and retired military duty. But I would be remiss to say that these things don’t all have risks; on the other hand so does driving on the 405 at rush hour in LA!
The take home message here is this: it’s unlikely that human nature to gravitate towards extreme activity is going to change. That is just who we have evolved to. However, our ability to become more knowledgeable about when “enough is enough” and offer the correct medical guidance to people is what does need to change. Too many times I hear people say “It’s just a concussion”. No my friend, it’s a brain injury. Period. And without someone coaching you along in your recovery, you are putting yourself in harm’s way. Take time to educate yourself about symptoms that you should not ignore and get professional support. You have only been given one brain and it’s not forgiving to multiple injuries.