Concussions, CTE and Australian Football

The growing evidence connecting repeated head trauma with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE, is very alarming.

It’s causing huge issues in the NFL and according to AFL concussion expert Paul McCrory, Australian footballers have a higher rate of concussion than gridiron players.

Former AFL players Nicky Winmar, John Barnes, Jon Platten, Greg Williams and Shaun Smith have experienced a range of symptoms associated with brain damage from dramatic mood swings, anger management and significant memory loss.

Smith and Williams have both pledged to donate their brains to research.

In recent years, AFL players such as Liam Picken, Leigh Adams, Matt McGuire, Heritier Lumumba, Sean Dempster, Justin Clarke and Koby Stevens have taken medical advice and retired because of concussion-related issues.

Brain scans on Stevens – who spent time at West Coast, Western Bulldogs and St Kilda – showed considerable damage with the ex-player struggling to sleep for days and even get up off a chair without falling over.

He has since turned to medicinal cannabis for relief from the persistent headaches.

The symptoms of CTE can take 20 to 30 years to manifest, starting with memory problems, mood disorders, followed by behavioural and cognitive disorders, then death.

The stories in America are crazy, with a handful of former NFL players committing suicide, presumably due to CTE.

NFL player Dave Duerson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, but not before sending a text message to his family requesting his brain to be used as research.

Junior Seau was another ex-NFL player who died by a self-inflicted gunshot to the chest – both men showed significant signs of CTE.

Former New England tight end Aaron Hernandez committed a double-homicide before taking his own life in prison. Post-mortem scans revealed the worst case of CTE his doctors had ever seen in a person so young. He was 27.

His story mirrors that of former WWE superstar Chris Benoit, who – suffering from CTE – inexplicably killed his wife, son, and then himself over a period of three days.

Unlike most other career-ending injuries, issues stemming from concussion can have genuinely tragic consequences for that person’s life.

It makes you feel genuine concern for St Kilda’s Paddy McCartin who said that he has been left “a shell of the person” he once was due to repeat concussions.

The number-one draft selection is currently in the United States searching for a resolution to the ongoing symptoms caused by his concussions.

I had massive worries for a star Northern Territory footballer, and friend, who kept getting concussed during the juniors and early senior football, but thankfully I think he’s kept himself healthy in the past couple of years.

It was good to see the NT Thunder post some content about concussion during the week.

I know for a fact that the Darwin Buffaloes Football Club take concussion matters very seriously with the medical team ensuring player safety is the priority over winning games of football.

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