In this study, researchers conducted memory and thinking tests on 40 retired NFL players as well as performed various brain scans on them. With an average age of 36, ranging from 27 to 56, a majority of the players that participated in this study had been out of the NFL for less than five years. On average, they played seven years in the NFL, with the longest being 17 years and the shortest being two years. Out of the participants, 12 players said they had suffered several sub-concussive hits. These types of hits are below the threshold of what is considered to be a diagnosed concussion. “This is one of the largest studies to date in living retired NFL players and one of the first to demonstrate significant objective evidence for traumatic brain injury in these former players,” said study author Francis X. Conidi, MD, DO, of the Florida Center for Headache and Sports Neurology and Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee, Fla. Click here to read more about this study.
