Six months off from football may not be enough to heal players' head injury

A new study suggests that six months off may not be long enough for the brains of football players to completely heal after a single season, and this may put them at even greater risk of head injury the next season.

"I don't want to be an alarmist, but this is something to be concerned about," Jeffrey J. Bazarian, M.D., associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and lead author of the study, said.

"At this point we don't know the implications, but there is a valid concern that six months of no-contact rest may not be enough for some players," he said.

"And the reality of high school, college and professional athletics is that most players don't actually rest during the off-season. They continue to train and push themselves and prepare for the next season," he added.

Bazarian investigated the brains of 10 Division III University of Rochester football players before the start of the 2011 season, at the conclusion of the season, and after six months of no-contact rest. All took part in daily practices and weekly games, but none of them suffered a concussion.

Imaging scans showed changes consistent with mild brain injury in about half of the players six-months after the season ended, despite the fact that no one had a concussion. Brain changes in the football players were compared to a control group of five college students who didn't play contact sports.

The new data also suggest that inflammation may be a key factor in whether players recovered within six months. Levels of inflammatory markers present in a player's blood sample correlated with a lack of complete brain recovery.

Bazarian noted that his goal is not to derail football, but to make the sport safer.

The study is published in PLOS ONE.