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Head injury/brain damage/concussion in boxing, kickboxing, football, etc:

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Crafty_Dog:
Today's NT Times:

Lineman, Dead at 36, Exposes Brain Injuries
By ALAN SCHWARZ
Published: June 15, 2007
WEST SENECA, N.Y., June 13 — Mary Strzelczyk spoke to the computer screen as clearly as it was speaking to her. “Oh, Justin,” she said through sobs, “I’m so sorry.”

Justin Strzelczyk was killed during a high-speed police chase on Sept. 30, 2004, when his pickup collided with a tractor-trailer and exploded.

The images on the screen were of magnified brain tissue from her son, the former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Justin Strzelczyk, who was killed in a fiery automobile crash three years ago at age 36. Four red splotches specked an otherwise tranquil sea — early signs of brain damage that experts said was most likely caused by the persistent head trauma of life in football’s trenches.

Strzelczyk (pronounced STRELL-zick) is the fourth former National Football League player to have been found post-mortem to have had a condition similar to that generally found only in boxers with dementia or people in their 80s. The diagnosis was made by Dr. Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In the past five years, he has found similar damage in the brains of the former N.F.L. players Mike Webster, Terry Long and Andre Waters. The finding will add to the growing evidence that longtime football players, particularly linemen, might endure hidden brain trauma that is only now becoming recognized.

“This is irreversible brain damage,” Omalu said. “It’s most likely caused by concussions sustained on the football field.”

Dr. Ronald Hamilton of the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Kenneth Fallon of West Virginia University confirmed Omalu’s findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition evidenced by neurofibrillary tangles in the brain’s cortex, which can cause memory loss, depression and eventually Alzheimer’s disease-like dementia. “This is extremely abnormal in a 36-year-old,” Hamilton said. “If I didn’t know anything about this case and I looked at the slides, I would have asked, ‘Was this patient a boxer?’ ”

The discovery of a fourth player with chronic traumatic encephalopathy will most likely be discussed when N.F.L. officials and medical personnel meet in Chicago on Tuesday for an unprecedented conference regarding concussion management. The league and its players association have consistently played down findings on individual players like Strzelczyk as anecdotal, and widespread survey research of retired players with depression and early Alzheimer’s disease as of insufficient scientific rigor.

The N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello said that the league had no comment on the Strzelczyk findings. Gene Upshaw, executive director of the N.F.L. Players Association, did not respond to telephone messages seeking comment.

Strzelczyk, 6 feet 6 inches and 300 pounds, was a monstrous presence on the Steelers’ offensive line from 1990-98. He was known for his friendly, banjo-playing spirit and gluttony for combat. He spiraled downward after retirement, however, enduring a divorce and dabbling with steroid-like substances, and soon before his death complained of depression and hearing voices from what he called “the evil ones.” He was experiencing an apparent breakdown the morning of Sept. 30, 2004, when, during a 40-mile high-speed police chase in central New York, his pickup truck collided with a tractor-trailer and exploded, killing him instantly.

Largely forgotten, Strzelczyk’s case was recalled earlier this year by Dr. Julian Bailes, the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at West Virginia University and the Steelers’ team neurosurgeon during Strzelczyk’s career. (Bailes is also the medical director of the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes and has co-authored several prominent papers identifying links between concussions and later-life emotional and cognitive problems.) Bailes suggested to Omalu that Strzelczyk’s brain tissue might be preserved at the local coroner’s office, a hunch that proved correct.

Mary Strzelczyk granted permission to Omalu and his unlikely colleague, the former professional wrestler Christopher Nowinski, to examine her son’s brain for signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Nowinski, a former Harvard football player who retired from wrestling because of repeated concussions in both sports, has become a prominent figure in the field after spearheading the discovery earlier this year of C.T.E. inside the brain of Andre Waters, the former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back who committed suicide last November at age 44.

Tests for C.T.E., which cannot be performed on a living person other than through an intrusive tissue biopsy, confirmed the condition in Strzelczyk two weeks ago. Omalu and Nowinski visited Mary Strzelczyk’s home near Buffalo on Wednesday to discuss the family’s psychological history as well as any experiences Justin might have had with head trauma in and out of sports. Mary Strzelczyk did not recall her son’s having any concussions in high school, college or the N.F.L., and published Steelers injury reports indicated none as well.

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Omalu remained confident that the damage was caused by concussions Strzelczyk might not have reported because — like many players of that era — he did not know what a concussion was or did not want to appear weak. Omalu also said that it could have developed from what he called “subconcussive impacts,” more routine blows to the head that linemen repeatedly endure.

“Could there be another cause? Not to my knowledge,” said Bailes, adding that Strzelczyk’s car crash could not have caused the C.T.E. tangles. Bailes also said that bipolar disorder, signs of which Strzelczyk appeared to be increasingly exhibiting in the months before his death, would not be caused, but perhaps could be exacerbated, by the encephalopathy.

Omalu and Bailes said Strzelczyk’s diagnosis is particularly notable because the condition manifested itself when he was in his mid-30s. The other players were 44 to 50 — several decades younger than what would be considered normal for their conditions — when they died: Long and Waters by suicide and Webster of a heart attack amid significant psychological problems.

Two months ago, Omalu examined the brain tissue of one other deceased player, the former Denver Broncos running back Damien Nash, who died in February at 24 after collapsing following a charity basketball game. (A Broncos spokesman said that the cause of death has yet to be identified.) Omalu said he was not surprised that Nash showed no evidence of C.T.E. because the condition could almost certainly not develop in someone that young. “This is a progressive disease,” he said.

Omalu and Nowinski said they were investigating several other cases of N.F.L. players who have recently died. They said some requests to examine players’ brain tissue have been either denied by families or made impossible because samples were destroyed.

Bailes, Nowinski and Omalu said that they were forming an organization, the Sports Legacy Institute, to help formalize the process of approaching families and conducting research. Nowinski said the nonprofit program, which will be housed at a university to be determined and will examine the overall safety of sports, would have an immediate emphasis on exploring brain trauma through cases like Strzelczyk’s. Published research has suggested that genetics can play a role in the effects of concussion on different people.

“We want to get a idea of risks of concussions and how widespread chronic traumatic encephalopathy is in former football players,” Nowinski said. “We are confident there are more cases out there in more sports.”

Mary Strzelczyk said she agreed to Omalu’s and Nowinski’s requests because she wanted to better understand the conditions under which her son died. Looking at the C.T.E. tangles on a computer screen on Wednesday, she said they would be “a piece of the puzzle” she is eager to complete for herself and perhaps others.

“I’m interested for me and for other mothers,” she said. “If some good can come of this, that’s it. Maybe some young football player out there will see this and be saved the trouble.”

krait44:
I took a brain science class about a year ago. The professor said that any concussive injury to the head causes irrepairable damage to the brain. Also, there was a visiting brain surgeon whose speciality is Parkinson's disease. He said that Parkinson's and Alzhiemer's are both common in aging contact athletes. He said that Muhammid Ali's Parkinson's was most likely caused by multiple concussions over a life of getting hit in the head.The fact that Parkinson's disease is not common among African Americans makes it a more reasonable assumption.

When I was younger and had dreams of becoming a boxer, an older guy who knew I wanted to be a boxer, took me to a charity dinner for an old Italian boxer. There were some famous retired champs there. I was about 16-17 years old. I remember thinking, "these guys are not the sharpest tacks in the bunch." It had a big impact on my career choice.

I would bet that as more research comes in, the quote, "higher consciousness through harder contact," might not withstand the test of time; although, I personally believe that non compliant sparring is necessary to understand movement and spatial relations in martal arts. I am not sure you can reach the higher levels of any martial arts without laying your brain on the line. I guess, the question is..... can a martial artist achieve higher consciousness without contact?
 

 

Tom Stillman:

--- Quote from: krait44 on June 22, 2007, 12:54:27 PM ---I took a brain science class about a year ago. The professor said that any concussive injury to the head causes irrepairable damage to the brain. Also, there was a visiting brain surgeon whose speciality is Parkinson's disease. He said that Parkinson's and Alzhiemer's are both common in aging contact athletes. He said that Muhammid Ali's Parkinson's was most likely caused by multiple concussions over a life of getting hit in the head.The fact that Parkinson's disease is not common among African Americans makes it a more reasonable assumption.

When I was younger and had dreams of becoming a boxer, an older guy who knew I wanted to be a boxer, took me to a charity dinner for an old Italian boxer. There were some famous retired champs there. I was about 16-17 years old. I remember thinking, "these guys are not the sharpest tacks in the bunch." It had a big impact on my career choice.

I would bet that as more research comes in, the quote, "higher consciousness through harder contact," might not withstand the test of time; although, I personally believe that non compliant sparring is necessary to understand movement and spatial relations in martal arts. I am not sure you can reach the higher levels of any martial arts without laying your brain on the line. I guess, the question is..... can a martial artist achieve higher consciousness without contact?
 

 
 
--- End quote ---
I think one may reach the higher levels of martial arts without extreme contact with propper guidance.  I also believe it would take  substantially less time to reach the same skill levels when adding harder contact to your training. It is a personnel choice one must make. One thing is for sure, there is no easy road and one way or the other the price must be payed. To me that is a big part of the beauty and honesty of martial art.
--- Quote ---
--- End quote ---

rio:
hi all,

speaking of brain injuries... there was a brief episode on Good Morining America? that chronic T.B.I. from combat sports may be contributing to an increase in alzheimers and parkinsons among pro athletes. it was said that this may be a cause of Ali's parkinsons, stating that parkisons is relatively lo throughout the male african-american community.

on top of that, i've been following Hypebaric Oxygen Therapy is now being widely used to treat most sports injuries especially in combat sports athletes. My term paper graduating dive school shows that increased oxygen under pressure will reduce edema, hyper-oxygenates blood and plasma after increased blood loss, and forces circulation to all ischemic tissues. this greatly improves recovery  and recovery time. Holyfield used it after his concussions and i'm sure Rahman needed it with that tomato sized hematoma over his left brow. just left the commercial dive community to persue sports therapy with HBOT.

maija:
Krait 44 said:
I would bet that as more research comes in, the quote, "higher consciousness through harder contact," might not withstand the test of time; although, I personally believe that non compliant sparring is necessary to understand movement and spatial relations in martal arts. I am not sure you can reach the higher levels of any martial arts without laying your brain on the line. I guess, the question is..... can a martial artist achieve higher consciousness without contact?
 
........high level sparrring/fighting with bladed weapons. Ideally the only contact is my blade, your body....and exit! 8-)
(this came up on the blade sparring thread).

Otherwise i totally agree that what you practice has to work on someone that does not want it to, or else it means little. However, If you are willing to risk permanent brain injury or some form of early dementia to reach your goals, you better have been paid very highly for the priviledge or have no other options.
We all live in a spectrum. There will always be people with worse skill levels and always people who are better. Even "the best fighter" in the world has off days, so what are we aiming for? If the answer is "higher consciousness" , i personally would like it to continue growing into old age.

 
 

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