Schoolchildren who suffer head collisions in sports like rugby and football undergo changes in their brains 'similar to the impact of a car crash' after just a single season, scientists have revealed.

Scans of high school American footballers , aged under 18, found alterations in the grey and white matter in their brains caused by the collisions.


Researchers said the findings related to all contact sports - and it is now important to discover if there are long-term effects.

Earlier this year doctors called for tackling in rugby matches played in UK and Irish schools to be banned.

Schoolboys who suffer head impacts in sports like rugby undergo changes in their brains after a single season. Pictured - The magnetoencephalography (MEG) machine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
MEG machines found changes in young players' brains 'similar to a boxer's punch'

Texas University researcher Dr Elizabeth Davenport said: “It’s important to understand the potential changes occurring in the brain related to youth contact sports.

“We know some professional players suffer from a serious condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.

“We are attempting to find out when and how that process starts, so that we can keep sports a healthy activity for millions of children and adolescents.”

CTE is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes with a history of concussions. It has been known to affect boxers since the 1920s - and can lead to dementia in later life.

The study presented at a Radiological Society of North America conference in Chicago included 24 players from a high school football team in North Carolina.

Dr Davenport said: “We saw changes in these young players’ brains on both structural and functional imaging after a single season.”

Before and after the season each player underwent specialised MRI scans to measure the brain’s white matter. An MEG scan also recorded and analysed the magnetic fields produced by brain waves.

Schoolboys who suffer head impacts in sports like rugby undergo changes in their brains after a single season. Pictured - Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) of the top part of the brain is visible in the top row; Diffusional Kurtosis Imaging (DKI) of the bottom part of the brain visible in the bottom row
None of the players had been diagnosed with a concussion during the season but showed changes to their brains regardless

Players with greater head impact exposure had the greatest change between their pre- and post-season imaging exams.

Dr Davenport said: “Change in diffusion imaging metrics correlated most to linear acceleration - similar to the impact of a car crash.

“MEG changes correlated most to rotational impact, similar to a boxer’s punch.”

In March more than 70 doctors and academics signed an an open letter to ministers saying injuries from rugby can have lifelong consequences for children.

They said two thirds of injuries in youth rugby and most concussions are down to tackles and urged schools to move to touch and non-contact rugby.

