“We’re now getting a better understanding of [not only what causes CTE, but what doesn’t]. And in this case … concussions were basically noise.”— Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the study’s lead author, to NYT
Jeff Tracy
Axios
The largest study to date of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) found that cumulative force to the head — not diagnosed concussions — is the best predictor of future brain disease.
Why it matters: This could lead to a fundamental shift in head safety and injury prevention across sports, as focusing on concussions misses the point of how harmful an accumulation of subconcussive impacts can be.
“We’re now getting a better understanding of [not only what causes CTE, but what doesn’t]. And in this case … concussions were basically noise.”
— Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, the study’s lead author, to NYT
Details: The study, published Tuesday in the scientific journal Nature Communications, used data from football helmet sensors going back 20 years to estimate the cumulative impact of hits on 631 former football players who’d donated their brains to Boston University.
By the numbers: As you can see above, each hit sustained by defensive and offensive linemen is less forceful than those sustained by players at other positions. But linemen experience by far the most total G-force of impact each season due to the sheer volume of hits.
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