Because i read that it is the 100s of small hits that causes CTE, thats why American Football and Boxing have a big CTE risk? But what about big hits? At the same time people call Power Slap one of the worst sports for CTE, even if you take max 3 hits in a match. How do few big hits cause CTE compared to 100s of small hits?

Australian football is facing a growing brain health dilemma as evidence accumulates around repetitive head impacts and CTE. Researchers and clinicians say the focus on concussions alone may miss a larger issue: the thousands of smaller impacts players absorb over years of participation. The AFL says it is making safety changes, but several experts interviewed believe action is not keeping pace with what emerging evidence is showing.

Key points:

• CTE has now been identified in 33 former Australian Rules football players, including players in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

• The youngest Australian football player diagnosed with CTE was 23 year old Nick Lowden.

• Dr. Ann McKee, who has diagnosed CTE in hundreds of athletes and examined thousands of brains, argued that there is “nothing magical” about age 14 and said she would prefer delaying tackle sports until athletes are old enough to understand and consent to the risks, potentially 18 or older.

• The article emphasizes that CTE is increasingly viewed as a disease tied to cumulative head impact exposure, not just diagnosed concussions.

• Experts are calling for stronger prevention efforts, including reducing contact exposure in training and rethinking youth contact rules.

I probably wont get any responses but ill just throw this out there because why the hell not. 

okay i will dumb this down a LOT. so basically my younger brother has severe autism/learning disabilities. he can speak but he’s considered nonverbal because he cant actually form a sentence thats coherent. he needs help washing, eating, going to school etc. 

so heres the thing. when he has a meltdown (which is often and can happen because of literally nothing) he gets violent and aggressive. one of the things he does and has always done is bashing his head against walls. 

now im very aware that you cant diagnose cte until someone is dead and im also aware he literally can’t communicate if he has something like this. but when i learnt about cte more i started thinking that maybe he might have this. im just worried. hes always been violent and know hes growing and getting stronger. i know cte can make you paranoid and have violent outbursts. but im worried that he is going to get worse. 

ive always lived in a hostile environment but i get to leave in a year and 6 months. my other younger brother doesnt get to. what will happen when he gets MORE violent? my parents and the disability support team isnt going to assume cte, thats for sure. what if he kills somebody? thats something thats been running through my head. 

all i want to do know is if this is possible or likely. thats it. 

I've been recovering what my doctors think is just PCS for about 7 or 8 years now. The usual garbage: headaches, anxiety, dizziness. That exciting headache where it feels like your brain is pressing against the front of your skull.

I've been fighting for the past 4 years to try and do my highschool equivalency, and I'm seeing some real progress. I'm still a sharp guy, just in controlled settings I suppose.

Things are on a good track, I'm hoping to get a part time job soon (I'm on disability rn), and my tolerances before I get overwhelmed with symptoms are getting higher. Just slowly. At the moment I really struggle with crowds, but exposure therapy is working.

I guess I just wonder, is this recovery only going to be temporary? Am I already so damaged I'll be miserable in my 40s and beyond? I know I need to keep at it no matter what, but I just really don't want to get CTE. It's terrifying to me.

I have had a lot of concussions over the years. I've lost count, but we're looking at 10+ at least in my teenage years from sailing and hockey. They progressively got worse. The first ones just meant I had to take a few weeks off some of my harder courses, but by the time I was 16/17 I had a few knocks that made me take a few months away from school outright, and then the big one when I was 17 that forced me to drop out and I'm still dealing with it.

Is the fact that I'm getting better an indicator I'm not "destined" to get CTE? Or is it still likely my progress will only be temporary, and I won't get to have many more happy decades?

I'm sorry if this is gloomy, I'm trying, it's just scary.