The Philadelphia Daily News has released “Deadly Aftershocks,” an in-depth look at the effect of the day-to-day bumps and knocks of a football career on players’ brains. Reporter Mark Kram talked to brain researchers who found damage associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy was almost common among football players; even athletes as young as 18 showed some indications of it.
Cross-section of the human brain, courtesy of the NIH.
According to Kram’s sources, the only way to overcome the sport’s macho culture of shaking off injuries and jogging back into the fray would be to set up strict guidelines designed to protect the players from themselves.
The brain damage caused by football is cumulative and slow to develop, which makes it particularly tricky to prevent during the heat of athletic competition. Kram looks at the human and physical destruction wrought by this incremental descent into CTE through a series of anecdotes and profiles, drawing the story together with medical and physiological research.
Stories in the package:
- Deadly aftershocks
- A rich and varied portfolio in brain bank
- Athletes donating their brains to study
- How the NFL manages concussions
- NFL studying long-term effects of concussions
- PDF: A look inside the brain
AHCJ has some resources about brain injuries: