New research has predicted a decline in mental health of footballers after the age of 65.
Playing professional sports has always accompanied tough physical work and it often ends up causing serious injuries to the players. While sports might be physically demanding, they are usually seen as a refreshment for the brain.
However, new research has revealed a horrifying future for footballers, revealing that football players are more vulnerable to mental health problems as compared to normal people in old age.
“In the 40- to 50-year-old age group, the footballers are performing a bit better than the normal group. But when they get to 65, that’s when things are starting to go wrong. This shows us that the exercise associated with playing football is good for the brain, but the negative effects of contact sport do begin to appear later in life.”
The study revealed that heading the ball causes damage to the brain cells which is not immediate but the signs slowly appear with the age. In the experiments conducted for the study, the footballers were noticed to have slow reaction time and reflexes as well as memory loss.
Footballers were also recorded struggling to focus and multitask. Moreover, the chances of death due to dementia are also higher in footballers than in normal people.
The sports concussion specialist Dr. Michael Grey of the University of East Anglia’s School of Health Sciences revealed, “We know that heading the ball has been associated with an increased risk of dementia among professional football players. But until now, little has been known about when players start to show signs of brain health decline. We are using cutting-edge technology to test for early signs of cognitive dysfunction that are identifiable long before any memory problems or other noticeable symptoms become apparent. This is the first time this type of research has been done and these are the first results as we follow our participants’ brain health for the next few years.”
The researchers have urged professional football bodies to re-assess the game for being safe and healthy for the players as hitting the ball with the head is damaging to the brain.
