It’s one of the most unsettling paradoxes of modern times: playing sports can make you much healthier, but playing sports can also lead to chronic health conditions down the line. A growing amount of research points to a number of athletic activities as potentially hazardous to the human brain. The dangers of playing football and hockey are well-documented, but a new article in The New York Times points to another athletic pastime as offering its own dangers as well.
The article, by Matthew Futterman, opens with the tragic deaths of a number of former bobsledders, all of whom died by suicide. All of them were grappling with chronic health issues as a result of their time in the world of elite sports. Futterman’s article points to a disturbing trend:
In recent years, an increasing number of athletes, current and retired, in sliding sports, especially bobsled and skeleton — a sister sport in which competitors slide headfirst on a small sled made of metal and carbon fiber — have said they battle chronic headaches, a heightened sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises, forgetfulness and psychological problems.
While athletes are tested for concussions after crashes, there’s been less of a study on how the everyday physical activity that comes with competitive sledding affects the brain. Futterman writes that many athletes have a term for the feeling they can get after a particularly damaging incident: “sled head.” And while bobsled and skeleton offer hazards to those who participate, luge seems to be safer — possibly because its equipment prevents an athlete’s head from taking too much damage.
The article offers plenty of sobering case studies about the potential hazards of these sports. It’s enough to leave you questioning their safety, and fearing for the continued health of those who compete in these sports.
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