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Contact sports and ALS
We have had discussions regarding athletes such as football players having ALS. Lou Gehrig played football in college, and then went on to play professional baseball. The list of professional athletes having ALS is long, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_Players_with_ALS
This article references a Scottish study https://alsnewstoday.com/2020/01/24/neurodegerative-diseases-common-killer-of-former-soccer-players-scottish-study/ discussed how a person who has played contact sports has a higher risk of getting ALS.
Did you play any contact sports? Did you experience repeated head or spinal cord trauma? What are your thoughts on the topic?
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7 Replies
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I played Football only through High school, afterward I went into construction but continued to workout (run, weight lifting, HIIT, Cross Fit, and MMA), I eventually into law enforcement. I’d like to know the % of athletes, former athletes, who contract ALS.
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I was on offshore powerboat racer for many years, the pounding received is unrelenting even in relatively smooth seas, I suffered compressed and fractured discs in my spine. Also some severe head trauma / concussions from playing Rugby and a couple of motor vehicle accidents, I believe they are all contributing factors to my MND (ALS).
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I did not play contact sports, but starting in my 30s I did considerable running and racing in track and road races including training for and running several marathons. I think oxidative stress may play a role in why I now have ALS.
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I played footbal in high school and made a lot of trips to the chiropractor. I played soccer and ran, worked out with weights and was very active up until a few months before my diagnosis. My diagnosis came at age 68.
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I didn’t play football, soccer or any other contact sport (plus never fell on my head)… and still have ALS.
Sports figures with ALS get more publicity than tea-tote-lers. What about the military? According to the ALS Registry, the military division with the highest incidence of ALS are the fighter pilots.
I think it’s marginal to point a finger at an activity or sport as the culprit. Why then, doesn’t everyone in that activity or sport get ALS? I agree with Nancy: oxidative stress, plus misfolded DNA and other cellular mishaps should be investigated.
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I played college football in the late-70s through the early-80s.
At that time, it never dawned on me. (or anyone I knew), that I may have been damaging my brain.
Even though I sustained the expected injuries one might expect, given the activity, I was “extremely” healthy and didn’t have the chronic, lingering physical problems compared to colleagues. I was completely caught off guard when I was diagnosed with ALS.
Since my diagnosis and subsequent treatment, I’ve met grandmothers, farmers, none-athletes, etc. who never participated in “collision sports,”
Hence, I agree with Ms. Munn, this not so cut and dry — there are layers here that must be explored further.
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Let’s not forget that in other than familial ALS science has not  clearly identified a cause. That’s where stats do come into play. Obviously from some data, there is exposure to brain trauma which increases the risk of developing ALS. Whether it’s the cause or makes people more susceptible to the cause I don’t know.
I have never had head trauma but do have a yet to be discovered inherited mutation with 2 family deaths. We have a long way to go.
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