The risks of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) due to numerous blows to the head have been known for some time and also affect young amateur athletes. The appeal: softer versions for minors
Is it right for children and adolescents to become athletes in sports that involve violent physical clashes, including strong impacts to the head? Four academics who recently published a question asked themselves this question article in the journal Sport, Ethics and Philosophy raising the question of how the risks of traumatic brain injury, such as
concussions
(concussion in English)
and brain degeneration due to repeated blows suffered by athletes in impact sports are known for some time and therefore cannot be ignored.
What is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)
The reference is to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a syndrome caused by a series of concussions: the blows shake the brain which hits against the skull and the tissues are damaged. The disease can lead to a attention deficitdisorientation, memory lossdepression, language difficulties, personality changes that become aggressive with reduced cognitive performance, even a distance of years from the events which can lead to the disease Alzheimer's and dementia. This is a serious risk associated with high-impact sports such as boxing, American football and rugby.
Sport and ethics: the questions
The authors of the article, who reviewed the years of scientific literature on the topic, questioned the idea of whether it is ethically acceptable that kids are pushed to practice these sports when you know the risks and possible consequences. Eric Andersonpsychologist who deals with sport and sexuality at the University of Winchester in London, Gary Turnerwhich at the same University deals with traumatic brain injuries in the world of sport, Keith ParryHead of Sports at Bournemouth University who also raises awareness about concussion and Jack Hardwickeprofessor of sociology of sport at Nottingham Trent University, have put in black and white the fact that some governing and sporting bodies continue to question the relationship between impact sports and CTE, despite the consequences having been known for decades. And those who pay the costs are above all the very young and their families, who are poorly informed or who tend to overlook the risk because they are reassured by sports clubs. However, the attention on the problem raised by the media in recent years is starting to make inroads.
Lawsuits by professional players
The growing awareness is also due to the numerous lawsuits against organizing bodies in relation to brain trauma. Former professional and amateur players of sports such as American football and rugby say club governing bodies failed to prevent incidents resulting in concussions during their playing careers, leading to a class action which involved 60 athletes. The American NFL (National Football League) has paid almost a million pounds to former players who suffered the consequences of brain trauma caused by sport. Even professional rugby players are pursuing lawsuits over brain injuries they have suffered.
CTE also affects young and amateur players
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is not just a problem for elite players. The largest study ever conducted on brains donated by young athletes (the disease can only be diagnosed with certainty post-mortem) has in fact shown that i first signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are present in practicing athletes football, soccer and hockey ice even at an amateur level, even at a young age, under the age of 30 (60 cases out of 152). The youngest person diagnosed with CTE was a 17 year old boy who played American football, died of other causes.
Only certainties from the scientific literature
For every additional year played
high-impact sports correspond to an increased risk of CTE, which in American football reaches up to 30%. And every 2.6 years of gambling the risk doubles according to a study by Boston University CTE Center. Another study from the same American university found that a Nearly 92 percent of the 376 former NFL players studied had been diagnosed with CTE. Another work in June 2022 examined 631 brains of former NFL players and found that 451 (71%) had CTE. «The dangers of high-impact sport are not controversial – write the authors of the article – but they are now there numerous academic tests that go in this direction and professional doctors agree on the fact that sports-induced brain trauma leads to a degenerative brain disease, even years after the events.”
«Child abuse»
After all these premises the authors conclude that «allowing children under 18 to take part in high-impact sports should be seen as a kind of child abuseor rather “brain abuse of minors” and these sports should be thereequally prohibited». «We are not asking that adult versions of impact sports be banned – they continue in another article written by them on The Conversation – and our arguments do not involve sports or activities in which brain trauma could accidentally occur such as basketball. But in sports where impact is a structured part of the game like boxing, American football or rugby, collisions are not accidents, but are an intrinsic part of the sport.” Eric Anderson a TheStandard he added: “The cultural perception is that hitting a child outside of sport is abuse, but hitting a child in sport is somehow socially acceptable. We are trying to change the situation. No matter what the social context, the brain is damaged in both.”
Health benefits do not arise from impacts
Some sporting bodies defend high-impact sports by arguing that sport and physical activity are important for overall health. The team sports can reduce isolation and help players develop a variety of social skills. «But these benefits can also be obtained from non-impact versions of the same sport, such as touch rugby which can help teach discipline and teamwork without damage resulting from traumatic brain injuries” suggest the academics, who underline how there are no health benefits to dealing with an attack enThere are no health benefits to getting hit in the head. The health benefits of rugby or impact boxing are achieved through overall body movement. “There is no research that shows that boys have to endure traumatic brain injuries to grow up to become responsible men.”
Non-contact rugby
Touch rugby is the variant of non-contact rugby in which the tackle is replaced by a simple touch of the opponent. It tends to move faster than the full contact version of the sport and therefore would be even better for cardiovascular health. Research has shown that incidents of contact during children's rugby play are the cause of'87% of known injuries in British schools. Tackling, in particular, accounts for 52% of all injuries, with concussion being the most common type of injury. “Allowing children to participate in impact sports while being aware of the harm they can cause is, as our research shows, a failure to keep children safe.”
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February 15, 2024 (changed February 15, 2024 | 07:07)
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