Are all sports good for health?

Mude de idioma: Inglês | Português

I have a head that was never mine.

- Marcia Lailin

 
      Sports are so good for health, no one can deny! Not only for the physical aspects, but for the mind as well. Studies associate the induction of a process in the brain called neurogenesis (formation of new neurons) ^[1] capable of elevating various mental capacities of intelligence like language, learning, memory, clarity of thought and control of emotions^[2].

      However will all sports fit that pattern? Are they all totally beneficial or is there a "dark side" to be explored?

      Cranial trauma and concussions, those strong beats of a object or body that happens against a person's head is considered an epidemic case in sports, such as in boxing or even head-butts against ball in soccer. It is estimated that in the United States this generates an estimated expenditure, directly and indirectly, of 60 billion dollars and hundreds of millions of people to hospitals ^[3].

      But what is so dangerous to hit the head even if it does not generate a medical appointment?

      Think of a jar of honey, a viscous liquid, and place a circular jelly on it. Shake this jar so that this jelly hits the walls of the pot and gradually breaks the gelatin. This is what happens to your brain, series of brain lesions!

      Of course, our brains will not "break" like gelatine although the texture looks very similar. This tissue has an ability to regenerate itself as long as the lesions are soft. It turns out that in sports that use head shock as an interaction tool, they are more constant and aggressive to the point that regeneration is not fast enough to heal the injury and some damage is being accumulated throughout life until the worst happens.

      At the microscopic level, the cells become deformed and activate commands, intentionally or not due to shock, to commit suicide through free radicals, calpain and caspase ^[4]. That is, literally your brain is dying slowly.
      At the level of human senses, this generates mental impacts such as loss of consciousness and amnesia in extreme cases, but also generates behavioral changes such as easy irritability, problems in establishing mindfulness (full attention), the ability to respond quickly to physical stimuli slows down, sleep problems, headaches, feeling of being "grog" most of the time and unstable emotional symptoms ^[3,5].

      The following image we see the regions that are most exposed to these concussions and what cognitive problems they cause in people ^[4]:

      The study [5] by Dr. Ryan C N D'Arcy's team identified vitality signs of brain in a brain-reading equipment, called EEG, and demonstrated how these signals are impaired with concussion. And he also suggested that these signs are important to be checked before the sportsman comes back active in order for the regeneration time to happen properly. However, this type of analysis is still not a routine act in athletes, especially those with low income.
       If the practitioner is a child or adolescent up to 20 years the impact is even more severe because important parts of the brain are being formed and concussions can lead to cerebral malformation and IQ deficits ^[6].
      When the subject is long term, it is already proven that these concussions can lead to the development of stroke ^[7] and pugilistic dementia in cases of sports such as boxing in which they cause memory problems, parkinsonian signs like tremors and biologically presence Alzheimer-like fat plaques ^[8].

      Do not forget, exercising is good, the sport is a communion between psychological, physical and social health ^[2]. Make a smart choice for your long term mind. If it is about to learn self-defense skills, there are much more deadly fighting styles that do not cover abuse of the concussion as a way of neutralizing the individual such as the Krav Maga, a style of Israeli fighting developed for war and self-defense. In his movements to define a fight is a matter of seconds without the need to be punching or kicking in excess to defend against an enemy. Self-defenses that extend far into fighting are more "gourmets" than actually applicable.

References:

[1] Intense Exercise Promotes Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis But Not Spatial Discrimination; So Ji H., Huang Chao, Ge Minyan, Cai Guangyao, Zhang Lanqiu, Lu Yisheng, Mu Yangling; Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience; 2017.

[2] Physical Activity and Cognitive Functioning of Children: A Systematic Review; Bidzan-Bluma, Ilona and Małgorzata Lipowska; International journal of environmental research and public health vol. 15,4 800. 19 Apr. 2018.

[3] The epidemiology of sport-related concussion; Daneshvar, Daniel H et al;Clinics in sports medicine; 2011.

[4] Neurobiological consequences of traumatic brain injury; McAllister, Thomas W.; Dialogues in clinical neuroscience;2011.

[5]Brain vital signs detect concussion-related neurophysiological impairments in ice hockey;  Brain; Shaun D Fickling, Aynsley M Smith, Gabriela Pawlowski, Sujoy Ghosh Hajra, Careesa C Liu, Kyle Farrell, Janelle Jorgensen, Xiaowei Song, Michael J Stuart, Ryan C N D’Arcy;  2019.

[6] How Dangerous are Youth Sports for the Brain? A Review of the Evidence; Carly Rasmussen et al.;Berkeley Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law; 2018.

[7] Do concussions increase the risk of stroke or brain cancer?; Deanna Pai; Keck Medicine of USC.

[8] The occult aftermath of boxing; Roberts, G W et al.; Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry ;1990.