Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE, should be taken as a serious matter in the world of athletics. As a disease discovered by examining the brains of deceased football athletes and recently publicized in the blockbuster hit “Concussion,” all athletes who engage in sports that include physical contact need to be educated on this debilitating health condition.
CTE’s symptoms include memory loss, impulse control problems, depression, aggression and progressive dementia, and it can only be definitively diagnosed after death.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a disease that develops in one’s brain due to multiple head traumas; CTE is not just a rare injury, but instead an incredibly common and realistic diagnosis to athletes who play contact sports.
“I’m fortunate to have found out early, in 1990, just two years after I retired, that I have neurological damage,” Harry Carson, Hall of Fame linebacker, said in the introduction to the movie. “I try to manage it. I know what can trigger headaches and try to avoid it. I have short term memory problems, so I make a special effort to remember people and names. I have to work harder, but it’s important.”
The athletes who suffer from chronic traumatic encephalopathy are already aware of the consequences; however, what about the upcoming athletes today who are not educated about chronic traumatic encephalopathy?
When dealing with younger athletes where parents have more control over their hobbies and sports they are involved in, who is there to provide them with the information and sad reality about CTE? In the world of professional football, in the last five years there have been 39 new precautionary rules added to promote the athletes’ health and safety.
According to Sports Illustrated because of the lack of education and awareness around CTE, 90 to 94 percent of professional football players test positive for this disease. Despite boggling statistics such as this, the medical research and studies remain in its early stages. The most beneficial actions to lessen and prevent CTE is to educate athletes and create guidelines– in the professional leagues and in little leagues. With knowledge comes power, and not until athletes become informed can we prevent and maybe even cure CTE.
