Footy players’ brains still damaged more than six months after concussions, according to Monash University research

The brains of footballers concussed on the field were still severely damaged more than six months after impact, according to new Melbourne research.

Damage has been found deep within the brains of Australian rules footballers more than six months after they suffer concussion, increasing concern about the long-term impacts of head knocks.

Brain scans of young footballers suggest concussions may even trigger a second stage of physical injuries, even when it has been more than half a year since a player suffered concussion.

When compared to MRI scans of non-collision athletes, Monash University’s Dr Brendan Major said Australian rules footballers had widespread damage to the white matter which coordinates signals between different areas of the brain.

Dr Major – who is also coach of the Essendon AFLW team – said the latest results raise concerns about the long-term neurological health of footballers at all levels.

“It suggests there is a secondary process that is happening further down the line because we are seeing a difference at least six months post injury,” Dr Major said.

“We are not sure what these processes are yet, there is not enough information out there.

“All we know is there is a difference between players who have had a concussion and athletes that haven’t.”

In April a brain scan study from Monash University’s Department of Neuroscience revealed many footballers continued to suffer brain damage a fortnight after being concussed, though the extent of injury had reduced from scans taken in the first 48 hours after their knock.

However, in a related study published this week in the journal Cerebral Cortex the researchers uncovered damage within brains of another 26 young male footballers more six months after their most recent concussion.

None of the players had shown outward signs of injury in the weeks following their concussion, and all passed basic cognitive tests and returned to play after the AFL’s mandatory 12-day exclusion period.

Dr Brendan Major, with captain Lisa Williams, is also the coach of Essendon’s AFLW side. Picture: Tony Gough

But in comparing the player’s MRI scans to those of 27 non-collision athletes, the Monash team identified clear differences in the footballer’s white matter, which is involved in learning and the co-ordination of signals between the different parts of the brain.

Senior author of the research, Dr Scott Kolbe, said scans revealed the cortex, or outer layer of the brain associated with motor, sensory and visual functions, was also impacted months after their initial injuries.

“What we found was quite subtle but, nonetheless, we do see changes in the brain between footy players and other athletes,” Dr Kolbe said.

“When we look at other diseases of the brain those sorts of changes come up in diseases that have neurodegenerative-type causes.

“Clearly the magnitude of the change is not as much as in somebody you would see with a neurodegenerative condition but it is still of concern.”

Because the players did not undergo scans in the days immediately after suffering concussions, Dr Major said it was difficult to know whether the damage visible at six months was damage from the initial knock or a sign that a second injury process was being triggered.

He said a larger and much longer study tracking players from the moment of their concussions would be better able to determine the links between the short and long term damage suffered by collision sport athletes.

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Originally published as Footy players’ brains still damaged more than six months after concussions, according to Monash University research