As many of you know the focus on our blog is sports technology. Here's some research as to why it's so important to protect your head and why we will continue to highlight the technology and gear that supports this initiative.
Researchers have found the first evidence that athletes who suffered a concussion during their earlier sports career show a decline in their mental and physical processes more than 30 years later. The research, published online Jan. 28 in Brain, compared 19 healthy, former athletes who had sustained concussions more than 30 years ago with 21 healthy, former athletes with no history of concussion. The study found that those who had concussions only once or twice in their early adulthood showed a decline in their attention and memory and a slowing of some of their movements compared to athletes who had no concussion.
According to the investigators, the abnormalities found in the 30-year post-concussion athletes resemble those reported previously in athletes tested at 3 years post-concussion. The implication is these abnormalities may be an “early and long-lasting manifestation among former athletes who sustained sports concussions in early childhood,” they wrote.
The net result, especially for you athletes and trainers who don't take this seriously, is we should all be better informed about the cumulative and persistent effects of sports concussions and the risks associated when returning to the field.
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