With a former Wallaby’s ‘cruel’ diagnosis, is there a link between contact sports and MND?
Motor neurone disease is rare, but there is growing evidence playing contact sports may increase your risk.
Former Wallaby Nathan Charles has recently been diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND), following the high-profile diagnoses of fellow rugby players Jai Arrow and the late Australian rules football player Geoff Ablett. This raises questions about the potential link between repeated head impacts in contact sports and the risk of developing MND.
Motor neurone disease is a progressive condition that damages specific nerve cells called motor neurones, which are responsible for transmitting signals between the brain and muscles to control movement. As these nerves become damaged and die, affected individuals experience weakness and wasting of muscles, leading to loss of functions such as movement, speaking, swallowing, and breathing.
Early symptoms can vary and appear suddenly, with most people facing paralysis and death within two to five years. There is no known cure, but medications and various health professionals are working to slow progression and manage symptoms. The connection between contact sports and MND risk is currently unclear, with researchers investigating if multiple subtle risk factors contribute to the disease.
Some studies suggest that elite sports participation may increase the risk of MND by four to 15 times compared to the general population. However, more research is needed to establish a definitive link between head impacts in sports and MND risk, particularly in sports like rugby league and Australian rules football where concerns about brain injuries are rising.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
