Kids, Sports & the Concussed Brain

Chasing Life

CNN

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.5 • 8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 October 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From the NFL to youth soccer, sports teams have been forced to reckon with decades of research showing the risks of repeated blows to the head through contact sports. At the same time, participation in organized team sports has been found to be extremely beneficial for the developing brain. So how should parents square those facts and find a safe middle ground for their kids? In this episode, Sanjay speaks to Julie Stamm, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Kinesiology and author of the book “The Brain on Youth Sports.” She explains why even those who don’t play sports should be aware of the risks and shares tips on how we all can keep our heads protected. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I think the last time you were here we had maybe five brains and now we're up to, we're
0:06.6	in the 90s.
0:08.4	This is Dr. Anne McKee.
0:10.1	She runs the world's largest brain bank focused on traumatic brain injury and CTE, chronic
0:16.0	traumatic encephalopathy.
0:18.2	It's a joint project between the VA Boston Healthcare System, the Concussion Legacy Foundation
0:23.2	and Boston University's CTE Center.
0:26.6	I visited there a few times over the course of my career, but this visit back in 2012
0:31.8	really stood out to me because of who else was there to meet her.
0:38.2	Connie and Ron Styles came to Dr. McKee after the death of their son Nathan.
0:42.8	He was just 17 years old, a homecoming king and a star football player.
0:48.1	The last game of his senior year at Spring Hill Kansas High School was the best of his
0:52.2	career.
0:53.4	He ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone, but two minutes before
0:59.7	half time he walked off the field screaming, saying that his head hurt.
1:04.4	He collapsed by the next morning he would be dead.
1:08.5	The ironic thing is, Nathan didn't start football until he was in seventh grade because
1:13.8	he didn't want to get hurt.
1:16.0	You see, earlier that month Nathan had suffered a concussion during a game that everyone,
1:20.3	including Nathan's doctor, thought had healed, but it hadn't.
1:24.6	His autopsy revealed that he had died from second impact syndrome, which is just what it
1:29.9	sounds like when there is a second blow to the head before the first one resolves.
	...

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