As an OG around these parts, I worry about it quite often. Especially as I see the subtle changes that could signal normal aging; or possibly something else. I played D1 football in college. I played linebacker. The hits we took, and the collisions we endured from the punishment we enforced, was like being in a serious auto accident- nearly every Saturday, for 4 years. My body has significantly aged faster because of the injuries I suffered. My knees are practically worthless. The meniscus nearly all gone now in both of them. I've been putting replacement surgery off now for several years. Apparently, I also suffered a break to my ilium (hip bone) in college that I never knew about. I can recall now when it was injured. I could barely function for about 4 weeks after it happened. My hip hurt to even move during that time, much less walk; but I didn't do anything about it. Years later, when osteoarthritis invaded the lumbar region of my spine (another result from football, no doubt) I had Xrays taken and my doctor asked me, "Has anyone ever told you, that you at one time broke your back?" Um, no. Broken fingers, broken collar bone, torn rotator cuff- all combined, mean that I now live in some type of near constant pain of some kind.
But, I worry most about CTE. Four years ago, I had a pinky twitch that wouldn't stop. I saw several specialists; had various inconclsuive nerve tests; and was finally referred to an ancient neurologist who didn't really examine me- but listened to my pinky story and said rather nonchalantly, ''You have Parkinsons Disease. But it's the early stages. You have about 20 years or so before it gets bad." WTF? I was 51 at the time. The pinky twitch eventually went away after about 3 or 4 months. My family doctor says it could have been a nerve impingement, or Parkinson's. Who knows? Not very comforting. I worry maybe it's CTE.
When I was in college, I know for sure I had 5 concussions. I had one in a game against UCLA that was so bad that the following Wednesday, I was tooling to class when I was stopped by a friend of mine who asked where I was heading? "To class", I told him. He pointed out that I was all the way across campus. I didn't have any classes anywhere near there. Scary stuff.
But, beyond the known concussions that were medically diagnosed, we used to try to get our own "bell rung" in practice. Nearly every day. Young, ignorant of the facts, and invincible, we didn't think we'd had a good practice unless we walked off the field with the buzz from delivering a massive hit, and getting up and walking away. Science knows now that those acts of testosterone fueled bravado resulted in at the very least, micro concussions.
I often wonder, will my body outlast my brain due to the head trauma I endured? As I get older, I wonder more and more. I hope not.