A large new study finds that concussions in amateur sports are not associated with an increased long-term risk of cognitive decline and that playing sports may have a “protective” effect on the brain.
The surprising results, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, are based on an analysis of the lifetime concussion histories of more than 15,000 participants aged between 50 and 90 years old, making it the largest study of its kind.
Remarkably, researchers from the University of Exeter, University of New South Wales, Sydney, University of Oxford and Harvard University also found that people who reported sports-related concussions had slightly better cognitive abilities than those who did not report concussions.
One of the study's authors, Professor Vanessa Lamont from the University of Oxford, said the findings could have policy implications for contact sports.
“This study suggests that sport may have long-term benefits that outweigh the harmful effects of concussion, which could have important implications for policy decisions regarding participation in contact sports,” she said. “It is also possible that non-sports-related head injuries may lead to greater brain damage than sports-related concussions.”
However, the authors emphasized that their findings do not generalize to concussions in professional sports, which “tend to be more frequent, debilitating, and severe.”
Of the 15,214 people who participated in the study, 39.5% reported having experienced at least one concussion, and 3.2% reported having experienced at least one moderate-to-severe concussion. The researchers compared cognitive functioning in people who had experienced 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more sports-related concussions (SRCS) with people who had experienced 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more non-sports-related concussions, such as from falls, motor vehicle accidents, or assaults. The SRC group had 4.5 percentile ranks better working memory than those who had not experienced SRC, and 7.9% better reasoning ability than those who had not experienced a concussion.
Professor John Fairclough, of Progressive Rugby, broadly welcomed the findings: “This retrospective study supports the argument that the community game is relatively safe compared to the elite game, with the physical, mental and social benefits outweighing the concussion and long-term neurological risks,” Professor Fairclough said.
“All contact sports carry risks, but we have always maintained that with continued efforts in education, risk mitigation and strict adherence to concussion protocols, community sport can be made safer and more sustainable in the future.”
But Fairclough warned there were still “legitimate concerns about children participating in contact sports” and said more research was needed “to establish the risks of exposure to contact sports for minors during a period of critical brain development”.
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He said: “It is also important to note that this study was not designed to, and cannot, determine risk to professional athletes, who suffer far more frequent and more frequent shocks associated with degenerative brain diseases, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).”
Luke Griggs, chief executive of brain injury charity Headway, offered a more cautious response. “This study supports well-established principles about concussion,” he said. “We know, for example, that the vast majority of single-occurrence concussions do not have any lasting effect on individuals.
“However, we must be careful that this data is not misinterpreted. The inference that sports or cardiovascular exercise can eliminate the effects of concussion carries fundamental risks.”
