Multiple Concussions Now Linked to ALS in Football Players

You know if you follow this blog that I am very interested in the research and long term effects of concussions in football. If you get a chance to catch Real Sports on HBO, I suggest you try to watch an episode. It's not only one of the best sports shows on TV, it's one of the best shows on TV period. 

On last night's episode there was a story about how concussions and brain damage can lead to the deadly disease ALS, which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.  A number of football players and boxers have fallen victim to this disease at an early age after retirement (some in their 40s or 50s).

This is not just a factor when it comes to American Football, many soccer players have fallen victim to the same disease in Europe. I'm not a physician, so I won't do this justice, but here is what I learned last night. 

We now know that multiple concussions or head collisions can cause long term brain damage. In some people with that brain damage, a protein from their brain can leak directly into their spinal cord, and that causes ALS. 

This is a breakthrough in the medical community. But you might be asking yourself: Lou Gehrig played baseball, so why would this effect soccer players? Real Sports thought the same thing about Lou and found that in his career he underwent six very serious head injuries playing baseball that knocked him out completely.  

What was really sad regarding Lou was that he never rested after those injuries (we all know about his legendary playing streak).  During one game, after he suffered one of those head injuries, his head was so swollen he had to wear Babe Ruth's hat.

Soccer players use their head to advance the ball or to try to score a goal. Those impacts could be on a ball that is traveling 60 miles per hour. 

What can we learn from this finding? 

1. Not everyone that gets concussions will get ALS. 
2. If you do get a concussion, you need to get the proper rest not only physically but mentally as well.

This is important research on the long term effects of concussions, please be careful if someone you love suffers one.