When considering CTE and the associated risks of impact trauma in my view one of the single biggest contributors towards additional harm occurring is dehydration. As climate change takes effect, we have rising temperatures across the globe which in turn creates additional risk for those taking part in training and or impact sports. In fact 2020 recorded the second warmest year out of the last 141 years article credited here Climate Change: Global Temperature | NOAA Climate.gov.
If you are interested in how climate change impacts us across the world see an interesting article here Global Climate Report – Annual 2020 | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (noaa.gov).
In my view there are specific impact sports more at risk of occurring a CTE related condition such as motor racing in all its forms, in researching this subject further there are conflicting reports that imply differing opinions. One report I reviewed based on a study in 2015 suggested between 2 & 3 % dehydration can have such a detrimental impact on focus, concentration, reaction can be impacted by as much as 20%. Whilst another study suggested that after performance recovery was non existent and or extremely poor, which in my view creates additional risk article here (PDF) Prevalence of dehydration and fluid intake practices in elite rally Dakar drivers (researchgate.net). So, why is motor sport more at risk, well the impact force of high-speed vehicles is one issue on its own, if you then couple that with the high durable suit, they have to wear which for safety has to absorb certain impact whilst being fire retardant. Anything that involves compressing the human body/brain in any format whilst being subject to high temperatures will increase the risk of CTE development from a motor impact and this risk is further increased when you factor in the suit leads to dehydration. You may think well I have technology in the suit that aids in the protection of impact, but what tech exists in the prevention of dehydration for the driver. I found this company Driver Cooling and Hydration – Tech Tips – Northstar Motorsports which appears to offer a kit/service which caters for dealing with dehydration during the motor sport event. It is in my professional view one of the best products that I would welcome motorsport seeing implement for athletes in the motor sports platforms.
Why do I say that, I am not sponsored or endorsed by this company, but as part of my research in fighting back against CTE, this technology is not one that should be dismissed so easily. A cool suit system sounds amazing and there explanation as to how it works is flawless in its scientific capacity. So, I ask the professional athletes who take part in motor sports to consider could you have such a device fitted to motor sport vehicle and or your driving suit?
With the emergence of new technology called Aero Gel I see endless possibilities with this amazing invention that appears to have been identified in the 1930s but has only come to the forefront of development now, it has an insane high heat and energy resistant ability this product again could cater for increasing protection from dehydration when coupled with the motor sports suits and the lightweight ability would perform a massive safety increase across the sports and in my view is something I would highly recommend professionals consider requesting be added to their suits and or vehicles without delay. I would envisage that Northstar could massively save on costs by using the new Aero gel development with its high heat resistant ambit.
One study conducted in Australia evidenced 4745 attendances at hospital for concussion related symptoms identified 14% of those attending was attributable from motor sport. article credited here Concussion in motor sport: A medical literature review and engineering perspective – Naomi D Deakin, Thomas Cronin, Paul Trafford, Stephen Olvey, Ian Roberts, Andrew Mellor, Peter J Hutchinson, 2017 (sagepub.com). Whilst a modest study of UK motorsport competitors evidenced 23 out of 364 athletes had some form of mild head injury. I maintain that it does not matter what force impact you have had, it only takes one impact of any kind to lead towards developing CTE in later life. In order to minimise your potential for developing CTE if you are reading this as an active and or retired motorsport professional and have taken part in the sport where you incurred an impact, should seek medical opinion as soon as possible. We really need to perform further in-depth analysis of the full extent of CTE on our motorsports.
You may consider yourself to be cocooned in a sports performance motor vehicle to such an extent that you may feel infallible against impact from what is essentially a road traffic collision, but the science suggests it is still having a detrimental impact towards brain injury which could in turn lead to development of CTE.
My research identified an inherent risk across multiple sports platforms where dehydration is a key trigger mechanism that increases risk of developing CTE. The brain and the body naturally shrink. Given our brain forms 80% water it is ultimately inevitable that we would sustain a harm from any impact when this trigger event occurs because you are reducing the protective layers surrounding the brain through the act of dehydration. I found this study here Investigating Structural Brain Changes of Dehydration Using Voxel-Based Morphometry (plos.org) which details where the dangers occur within the brain when dehydration is in effect. If I may draw your attention to the highlighted images of the brain scans in figure 3 you will see the impacted areas where dehydration occurs. You will observe a close link to the area associated with the anterior cingulate again previously mentioned in my earlier blogs.
The areas impacted are quite substantial so you will likely feel an impact across many brain functions such as memory, organisation, hearing, vision, spatial awareness, concentration, judgement. The more you become dehydrated the more you are at risk of developing further harmful symptoms. The brain and body naturally shrink to protect core functions when dehydrated a couple of articles credited here Can dehydration impair cognitive function? | Cognitive Vitality | Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (alzdiscovery.org) and Dehydration affects brain structure and function in healthy adolescents – PubMed (nih.gov) this is where additional risk occurs in obtaining injury towards CTE related outcome.
An interview I conducted with a renowned boxing cornerman from an ex heavy weight champion helped me understand the severe impact that athletes go through. We also discussed the risks associated with athletes weight loss by wearing sweat suits to meet weigh in, which ultimately leads to dehydration. This is available on the research section of my website. Any form of rapid dehydration like that must be equalled by intake of water pre-event. If you simply take that one corrective action you will reduce the associated risk of developing CTE in later life. CTE forms over a 30-to-40-year term. I use this as an example, if you retired in 1994 as a professional footballer by the year 2023 you would be at a possible half way mark in assessing yourself and any possible symptoms may be presenting between 2023 and 2030. If you live a healthy lifestyle without accidents and mainly eat plant-based foods and surpass the year 2034 without issue then chances are you may not experience CTE from heading the football and could simply stave off the risks of the natural aging process toward dementia.
Small changes little and often do not have to be the major shock to the system people expect them to be. “great things are done by a series of small things brought together”- Vincent Van Gogh
Image credited to boxed water on this one- best source of boxed drinkable water that has a completely biodegradable box made from plants. I am not sponsored or endorsed and all images on my blogs do belong to the respective owners.