Wake Forest; Researchers have found measurable brain changes in
children after a single season of playing youth football, even without a concussion
diagnosis, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. According to USA Football, there are approximately 3 million
young athletes participating in organized tackle football across the country. Numerous
reports have emerged in recent years about the possible risks of brain injury
while playing youth sports and the effects it may have on developing brains.
However, most of the research has looked at changes in the brain as a result of
concussion.
“Most investigators believe that concussions are bad for the
brain, but what about the hundreds of head impacts during a season of football
that don’t lead to a clinically diagnosed concussion? We wanted to see if cumulative sub-concussive
head impacts have any effects on the developing brain,” said the study’s lead
author, Christopher T. Whitlow, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.A., associate professor and
chief of neuroradiology at Wake Forest School of Medicine., part of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Read the entire news release from the journal Radiology.