The world’s largest biomedical research agency has officially acknowledged a causal link between contact sports and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Campaign groups described the move as a key moment in the debate over the long-term health impact of contact sports.
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH), rewrote the official guidance on the dangers of repeated head impacts after research published in July by Harvard University, Oxford Brookes University and 11 other academic institutions, and analysis from the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
The report found “conclusive evidence” that progressive brain disease can be linked to sub-concussive blows such as heading or tackling. The authors call for “aggressive CTE mitigation programs, especially for children”.
A type of dementia, CTE can cause dramatic changes in mood, behavior, and cognition. It cannot be cured.
Evidence of CTE has been found in athletes participating in football, American football, rugby union, ice hockey, lacrosse, mixed martial arts, wrestling and boxing. Several governing bodies, including the NFL, NHL, and NCAA have previously denied a causal link.
“Sports governing bodies should not mislead the public about the causes of CTE when athletes die and families are devastated by this devastating disease,” said lead author Dr. Chris Nowinski.
CTE was first discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu in the brain of Hall of Fame NFL player Mike Webster, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers between 1974 and 1988. In 2011, the NFL paid a group of players $1billion as part of a class action lawsuit. .
Boston University researchers have previously found evidence of CTE in 99 percent of the brains of former NFL players studied. Dozens of former NHL players have also been posthumously diagnosed with the disease.
Head injuries have also been under the microscope in the NFL this season after the controversy surrounding Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a severe concussion against the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this month after appearing to suffer a head injury against the Buffalo Bills four days earlier. The league’s concussion protocol was subsequently changed.
In football specifically, the title has been linked to dementia, with research showing former Scottish footballers born between 1900 and 1976 were three-and-a-half times more likely to have the disease as a cause of death.
In 2002, a coroner found that the post was responsible for the death of former West Bromwich Albion striker Jeff Astle – recording a verdict of “death by industrial disease”. Five of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team had been diagnosed with dementia, and four died from the disease.
In July, The Athletic revealed that the FA was about to try to remove heading in all age groups under the age of 12. At the start of the 2021-22 season, the FA also introduced guidelines limiting professional players to 10 high-powered headers. in training per week.
Concussion substitutions were introduced to the Premier League in February 2021, allowing players with suspected concussion injuries to be substituted without a club short of numbers.
However, in June, The Athletic revealed that the FA had no plans to follow rugby union in changing concussion laws to ensure players have a minimum 12-day stand-down, despite pressure from the PFA.
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