Sports and Traumatic Brain Injuries
A traumatic brain injury is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. According to an AANA study utilizing U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s data, there were an estimated 446,788 sports related injuries treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2009.
A recent study conducted on more than a hundred active and retired football players found that a retired NFL brain seemed to have its own blood flow and activity patterns, indicating that playing professional football causes long-term brain damage. The study consisted of two different types of brain imaging studies. The researchers did brain SPECT scans and QEEG studies to examine the blood flow and activity patterns, as well as the electrical activity of football players’ brains.
The study found that the damage typically affected the prefrontal cortex, the temporal lobes and the cerebellum. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for controlling judgment, impulse control, attention span, organization and planning. The temporal lobes control mood stability and memory, while the cerebellum controls coordination and thought coordination. Forty eight percent of the players who participated in the study also had problems with obesity, while thirty percent were suffering from or had been treated for depression.
The second part of the study looked at whether the brains of the football players that had been damaged by the trauma that goes along with playing football could be rehabilitated. With a brain healthy program, that included both mental and physical exercise and nutritional supplements that help support brain health, the researchers found improvement in cognitive function.
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