In the National Football League (NFL), concussions have been a constant threat to the health of players, but few injuries managed to capture public attention like the one he suffered. Tua Tagovailoathe quarterback of the Miami Dolphins. On September 12, during a match against the Buffalo Bills At the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Tagovailoa lived an episode that highlighted human fragility in a sport that demands the maximum from each athlete, as detailed in a special report Newsweek.
While his team trailed 31-10 in the third quarter against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa decided to move forward with the ball looking to gain ground. When confronted by defender Damar Hamlin, he lowered his head to attempt direct contact, but the play ended unexpectedly: Tagovailoa fell to the ground. This play cost him third concussion in his professional career, not counting what he had already suffered during his university years.
Tua’s shock not only raised alarms about the recurrence of this type of injury, but also revived the debate about the physical cost of a sport that asks for sacrifices. This case is just one of many that reflect the serious problem of concussions in football and other high-impact sports. It is estimated that up to a third of former NFL players believe they have a chronic brain disease due to the repeated blows to the head they received throughout their careers.
One of the most promising advances in the detection of brain injuries in athletes is a new blood test that could identify invisible damage in the brain. Currently, serious conditions such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) can only be confirmed by an autopsy after death.
This means that, throughout life, there is no sure way to know whether someone who has suffered blows to the head has the disease or not. The new blood test seeks to change this by offering an alternative to diagnosing brain injuries without the need for invasive studies after death.
The technology is based on the detection of two proteins specific proteins in the blood, which increase when there is damage to the brain: ubiquitin hydrolase and glial fibrillary acidic protein. According to Raquel Gardnerexpert neurologist: “In this type of injury, the increase in these proteins in the blood is a sign of brain or nervous system damage. The test measures the amount of these proteins to determine if the person has suffered a severe blow.”
The case of Tua Tagovailoa is not the only one. The case of Patrick Risha clearly shows the devastating impact this condition can have. Risha, who played American football from youth leagues to Dartmouth Universityafter retiring, began to have symptoms of depression, anxiety, addiction problems and sleeping difficulties.
In American football, head injuries have been a critical issue due to the constant impact and high-speed collisions that occur in every game. As a result, the league has been adopting new strategies to reduce the risk of these injuries in its players, one of the most recent initiatives is the use of the guardian cap. This device is a padded cover that is placed over the traditional helmet, providing an additional layer of protection that absorbs some of the impacts.
Javier Cardenasdirector of the Brain Injury and Concussion Center at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, explained to Newsweek: “The most complex challenge is to determine with certainty when an athlete’s brain is truly healthy and ready to withstand the impacts of a contact sport again. “It’s hard to know when the brain has healed enough for them to be able to play again.”
To face this challenge, the use of biomarkers as a monitoring tool in the recovery process, complementing current neuropsychological and clinical tests. The blood test based on biomarkers developed by Abbott is an innovation that could revolutionize brain injury detection in an emergency medical setting.
NFL experts, such as Dr. Allen Sillsconsider: “These advances are promising, but they believe that there is still time before the test can be applied in the field.”
Despite varying opinions on the use of additional protection, the NFL reported a decrease in the total number of concussions during the 2024 preseason, the lowest figure since data began being recorded in 2015. The cultural change around to head injuries, along with the adoption of the Guardian Cap and improvements in helmets, has been key to reducing concussions.
Additionally, 44% of concussions in 2023 were self-reported, reflecting an increase in awareness and willingness to self-report injuries that previously tended to be downplayed. This change as significant 10 or 15 years ago, players used to minimize their injuries or even play despite them.
Taken together, safe return to play policies and equipment improvements are steps toward greater protection in high-impact sports. Challenges persist, and both doctors and athletes agree that the safety and health of players must continue to evolve alongside scientific advances.
