Chris Nowinski and the Sports Legacy Institute
Former WWE Wrestler and Boston University Investigate Concussions
May 18, 2009
Former WWE Hardcore Champion, Chris Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu, a Neurosurgeon and Professor at Boston University's School of Medicine have formed a new tag team and created the Sports Legacy Institute; an organization studying the effects of concussions and brain injuries in sport. Once written of as “just having his bell rung”, the true damage from concussions is only now coming to the forefront.
The Sports Legacy Institute strives to raise awareness of an injury that goes unreported in many circumstances. Nowinski is the author of “Head Games: Football’s Concussion Crisis” and speaks regularly in schools. The Sports Legacy Institute offer coaching clinics to help amateur coaches and athletes better understand the risk involved with playing contact sports.
Concussions in Sports
Concussions can have devastating effects and seriously alter the life of those afflicted. Symptoms include but are not limited to, headaches, vertigo, and memory loss. Cases that are more serious have led to severe depression, erratic behaviour, paranoia and even suicide in some former athletes. While sometimes it is difficult to avoid the injury in sports like wrestling, football and hockey, proper diagnosis and allowing the brain time to heal before returning to the playing field can make a huge difference in recovering from the injury.
New Research Reveals Startling Results
The partnership between Boston University and the Sports Legacy Institute led to the creation of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. Research at the CSTE has revealed that repeated concussive injuries can lead to a condition known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), which is an abundance of a protein called Tau that builds up in the brain tissue possibly causing dementia and Alzheimer’s like diseases. Unfortunately, at this time, diagnosis can only be determined in a post-mortem tissue analysis. Normally only seen in the elderly and former boxers, several high profile cases involving former NFL players and a WWE wrestler have revealed the presence of CTE.
SLI Investigated Death of Andre Waters and Former NFL Players
Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Neuropathologist in Pittsburgh has worked with the Institute examining the brain tissue of former NFL stars Andre Waters and Justin Strzelczyk, as well as that of former WWE champion Chris Benoit. Waters committed suicide at the age of forty-four in 2006 and Dr. Omalu’s research revealed tissue damage normally associated with an eighty-five year old man with the early stages of Alzheimer’s. The Sports Legacy Institute's website states there have been six NFL players examined, all showing various stages of CTE.
Former WWE Champion Chris Benoit Suffered Numerous Concussions
The Sports Legacy Institute contacted Michael Benoit, father of WWE star Chris Benoit, regarding the possibility of examining Chris’ brain tissue after the terrible tragedy in Atlanta that saw Benoit commit suicide after murdering his wife and young son in 2007. Again, the tissue tests revealed the presence of CTE, which led Michael Benoit to create the Benoit Family Fund for Brain Injury Research in conjunction with the Sports Legacy Institute. Other factors, such as steroid and drug use certainly contributed to the wrestler's actions but the repeated injuries to his brain were a factor.
Policy Changes are Needed at All Levels of Sport
The major sports leagues treat many of these cases as isolated incidents but there is no doubt that a change of policy regarding recovery time and education is needed at all levels of sport. As Chris Nowinski and the Sports Legacy Institute continue their research, perhaps answers that will save lives in the future will reveal themselves. For now, awareness is the strongest tool in the battle against brain injury.
