Professional football players buy the absolute best helmets they can find, right?

That is obvious. No expense is spared to protect NFL players, especially from head injuries. BUT, if the BEST helmets available are used, WHY is it that 87% of NFL past players have been found during autopsy to have CTE— Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ?

What is CTE? It is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE, a protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells.

The so-called “best helmets” are not the answer to the problem of brain injuries resulting from repeated head impacts. At best, they cover up the injuries so it appears that players are OK. Univent has taken a patent protected different approach to letting the brain tell when it has taken enough abuse!

The link between football and traumatic brain injury continues to strengthen. Now, one of the largest studies on the subject to date finds that 110 out of 111 deceased NFL players had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disorder associated with repetitive head trauma.

‘Several studies have linked CTE to suicidal behavior, dementia and declines in memory, executive function and mood. Professional athletes may be at higher risk for CTE because of their high likelihood for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries; up to 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur in the United States each year. In 2016, a health official with the NFL acknowledged the link between football and CTE for the first time.

In the new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at the brains of 202 deceased people who had played football at various levels, from high school to the NFL. (The brains had been donated to a brain bank at Boston University for further study.) The researchers analyzed the brains for signs of CTE and also spoke to family members about the players’ histories.

They diagnosed CTE in 87% of the players. Among the 111 NFL players, 99% had CTE. [Alexandra sifertin, uy 25,2017, TIME Heath]

Food For Thought Anecdotal evidence from athletic trainers suggests that only about 5% of high school
players suffer a concussion each season, but formal studies surveying players suggest the number is much higher, with close to 50% saying they have experienced concussion signs and symptoms and fully one-third reporting two or more concussions in a single season.

Football players suffer the most brain injuries of any sport. High school football players have a far higher rate of brain injuries (concussions to massive brain trauma) than collegiate and professional
players, a difference the authors characterized as “quite dramatic.”

The rate of catastrophic football head injuries for high school players is three times that of college players, primarily from second impact syndrome.

The concussion rate in high school footballl has increased at an 8% annually over an 11 year period from 1997 to 2008.