Study: Impact of 'head hits' in sports greater than previously thought (Audio extra) - Sách nói Miễn phí

'Head hits' impact most high school football/soccer players, study says Head hits on high school soccer and football athletes cause brain injury even in players NOT diagnosed with concussions and researchers say it's time to use technology to make sports safer. Since 2009, Purdue University's been studying nearly 300 high school athletes on three separate football and soccer teams. One of the lead researchers, Eric Nauman, says he's disturbed by the findings. The researchers wired the helmets of athletes and measured every hit. They also conducted thousands of brain scans before, during and after football and soccer seasons. Athletes whose brain scans later indicated injury, showed no symptoms during games, unlike players suffering full-on concussions. That means trainers and coaches couldn't gauge their potential injury. Nauman says players received up to 1,800 hits per season either from deflecting a soccer ball off the head or from helmet-to-helmet contact. The impact's measured using gravitational force or G's. Some of the athletes in this study suffered hits measuring as high as 200 G's. That's like falling three stories head first. Most humans suffer a concussion at 100 G's. The brain does have the ability to heal itself with time but the athletes in this study suffered so many hits, their brains couldn't fully heal during the off-season of two-to-five months. As they take more hits, Nauman says their brain's chemistry begins changing and the M-R-I's show diminished brain function among many of the athletes in this study. He says researchers are closer to pinpointing exactly how many hits it takes to reach that point. Players could also be taught better blocking and tackling techniques. And because kids try to hide symptoms to avoid being benched, Nauman says parents need to be extra vigilant. And again, this study focused on high school athletes. Some could go on to play in college and then have professional careers in football and soccer. Nauman says a lifetime of repeated hits to the head could cause immeasurable damage. Would he let his own children play football or soccer? And what's standing in the way of making sports safer? Because this is Rivet, keep listening for Nauman's answers in the full interview about brain injuries among high school athletes. When you're ready to move on, just advance to the next story. That's Purdue University researcher Eric Nauman and I'm Steve Grzanich on Rivet.