When Professor Willie Stewart published research in 2019 showing that footballers had a five-fold risk of Alzheimer’s Disease, his research team were inundated with inquiries from understandably concerned ex- players.
He is acutely aware that rugby players, retired and currently playing, will be waking up to the news today that they may be at higher risk of developing Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a horrendous life-shortening illness for which there is no cure.
He said discussions had already taken place with those overseeing the sport in advance of the report to ensure they had access to support and advice.
The latest phase of the University of Glasgow’s ground-breaking study looking at the risks of brain injury in sport found that former international players had a 15-fold risk of MND compared to members of the general population.
The numbers who developed the disease were small and Prof Stewart is keen to stress that at this point researchers don’t know conclusively what is behind the figures.
However, he said they were concerning enough to merit “rapid action” by the sport.
He has suggested that rather than increasing the number of tournaments, rugby should be seeking to reduce play as well as potentially reviewing the number of individual matches each player takes on to limit head trauma.
He knows this advice may not be well received by rugby authorities or by fans of the sport.
However, it should come as no surprise when we consider that it is coming from the doctor tasked with examining the brains of former footballers and rugby players that have been ravaged by dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
The consultant neuropathologist is keen to point out that all sport, including rugby, remains beneficial for health and the study showed that rugby players were more likely to live longer lives.
While players were also two-and-a-half times more likely to develop dementia, he stresses that head trauma is only one of 12 modifiable risk factors and says focussing on the other preventative aspects could form part of the approach in keeping players of contact sport well.
Scottish Rugby say it is taking the issue seriously. A Brain Health Clinic has been set up at Murrayfield to improve the understanding of concussion and contact in rugby through head impact sensor technology in mouthguards.
However, Prof Stewart believes the sport has been slow to act, given the well-established link between head trauma and brain injury and says it may now be time to re-consider whether men and women should be putting themselves at risk, “week in week out for our entertainment”.
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