Brain Doctor: These Popular Sports Are Causing Brain Damage & The NFL Is Keeping This Devastating Disease Quiet!

Oct 24, 2024 1h 4m 11 insights
Dr. Anne McKee, a leading brain scientist, discusses Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repetitive head trauma in contact sports, military service, and domestic violence. She highlights its progression even after impact ceases and offers actionable strategies for prevention and general brain health.
Actionable Insights

1. Prioritize Brain Safety in Sports

Actively work to take hits to the head out of contact sports as much as possible, especially for young athletes, because CTE is an entirely preventable disease by eliminating head impacts.

2. Delay Full-Contact Sports Participation

Delay playing full-contact sports until individuals are physically robust with strong neck musculature, as this enables them to resist hits and reduces the damaging whiplash from unexpected impacts.

3. Reduce Sub-Concussive Head Impacts

Focus efforts on limiting the number of sub-concussive or non-concussive hits in sports, not just concussions, by implementing changes like removing hits from practice and encouraging players to start full contact later.

4. Choose Non-Contact Sports for Children

Consider non-contact sports for children if they can be just as happy and engaged, as there are many low-risk sports available that promote psychosocial development without the risk of head trauma.

5. Understand CTE Progression Without Trauma

Recognize that CTE can progressively worsen with aging even if an individual stops receiving head impacts, as tremendous inflammation in the brain, even after the initial hits, may continue to feed the disease.

6. Build Cognitive Reserve for Resilience

Lessen the symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s by staying socially connected, consistently challenging your brain, and engaging in mental fitness to develop high cognitive reserve and resilience.

7. Maintain Overall Cardiovascular Health

Protect brain health by staying physically fit, eating right, and maintaining good cardiovascular health, which includes avoiding high blood sugar, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

8. Prioritize Quality Sleep for Brain Clearance

Ensure adequate and quality sleep, as it is critically important for brain health because the brain’s clearance system is most active during sleep, actively pulling out noxious chemicals.

9. Reduce Brain Inflammation Triggers

Minimize factors that cause inflammation in the brain, such as chronic stress (high cortisol) and damage to blood vessels, because injured vessels can leak irritating substances into the brain and accelerate neurodegeneration.

10. Educate Coaches on Head Trauma Risks

Parents should ensure that coaches are very well-versed in the adverse consequences of concussions and non-concussive head hits, and that there is good education for players, teammates, and coaches.

11. Support Brain Research Through Donation

Consider brain donation for research if a loved one unfortunately dies, as it is absolutely critical for understanding diseases like CTE, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, providing a lasting legacy for future knowledge.