Understanding CTE: The Silent Threat of Brain Injury

One of the most devastating conditions a human can face is CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It can begin after something as small as a baby’s fall or as violent as a collision on the football field. You never know when it starts. You don’t know if you have it. And the cruelest truth? It can only be diagnosed after death, and there’s no cure.

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CTE is a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. It slowly destroys brain cells, leading to memory loss, mood swings, dementia, and eventually the breakdown of identity itself. While football and hockey carry some of the highest risks, CTE has also been found in athletes from sports like soccer and baseball, proving that no game is truly immune.

The battlefield is another arena where CTE takes its toll. Military veterans face the disease at alarming rates, triggered not just by concussions, but by constant exposure to blasts, gunfire, and other combat stressors. For many, CTE compounds the struggles of PTSD, creating a devastating cycle of memory loss, emotional instability, and cognitive decline.

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The numbers paint a grim picture. A 2023 study from Boston University’s CTE Center examined 376 deceased NFL players; 345 of them (91.7%) showed signs of CTE. Another 2023 study in JAMA Neurology looked at athletes under 30 across multiple sports: 41% showed CTE damage, including players in so-called “non-contact” sports.

In speaking with Mr. Amir Defino, MSJ’s head athletic trainer, we discussed the return to play protocols that are in place for when a student athlete receives a concussion. It is a five-day process that begins after the first day without symptoms. The symptoms that cannot be present include dizziness, nausea, neck pain, and sensitivity to light and sound. Once these symptoms are not present, they begin the five-day process, which includes small cardiovascular exercises on the first day, more intense exercise on day two, and then slowly incorporate with the team for full practice by day five.

Still, there’s hope. Sports leagues and medical researchers are pushing hard to limit head trauma. From improved helmet technology and better chin straps to rule changes eliminating head contact in youth leagues to cutting-edge helmet sensors that detect concussions in real time, as well as the introduction of the Guardian Caps, every innovation is another step toward saving players’ futures.

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The military is following a similar path, investing in advanced hearing protection, monitoring soldiers’ neurological health, and trying to reduce the silent damage caused by repeated blasts and overstimulation in combat zones.

The fight against CTE is far from over. But with science, technology, and awareness on the rise, the hope is clear: no player, no soldier, and no child should lose their future to an invisible enemy.

Mason Speake is a member of the Multimedia Journalism class.