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New research shows playing top-level contact sport ‘makes it EIGHT TIMES more likely’ to get MND

February 10, 2019

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An exhaustive new study has concluded that the risks of developing Motor Neurone Disease are more than eight times higher among those who sustain repeated blows to the head and spine in top level sport, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The most definitive investigation of its kind ever undertaken into cases of the fatal neurodegenerative disease, which has afflicted rugby union’s Doddie Weir and Joost van der Westhuizen and football’s Fernando Ricksen, Stephen Darby and Lenny Johnrose, has discounted the idea that blows to the head sustained in amateur or park sport can be a cause.

But repeated blows sustained at a high technical level, where competitors are faster and stronger, creates a much greater risk, according to the new study — which identifies football, rugby, American football, hockey and motor racing as sports which might undertake further investigation into possible links.

Former South Africa star Joost van der Westhuizen was diagnosed with MND in 2011 and passed away in February 2017, from the disease at the age 45

Consultant spine surgeon Mike Hutton, one of the study’s lead researchers, told The Mail on Sunday on Saturday night: ‘As far as we can see, there is a link.

‘We now need more research to further investigate that link and to establish whether we need to adjust our approach to sports, as those who play them at the top level get faster and stronger.’

Ricksen, 42, who spent six years at Rangers, can now only speak with the aid of a machine.

‘I welcome this attempt to understand what causes this illness,’ he told The Mail on Sunday on Saturday. ‘We have to do everything we can to prevent others developing it.’

Fernando Ricksen, who spent six years at Rangers, can only speak with the aid of a machine

The study — which adds weight to our long-running campaign for research into the long-term effects of blows to the head in sport — was welcomed on Saturday night by football and rugby’s governing bodies, as well as the Doddie Weir Foundation, which raises money for funding research into MND.

But all parties said that more research is needed into the disease, sometimes known as the ‘Athlete’s curse’ because it affects a disproportionate number of sports people. One or two people in every 100,000 are diagnosed with the disease each year.

The new findings are based on a review of 16 studies of incidence of the disease, undertaken by scientists from eight medical establishments worldwide. The experts were looking for evidence of whether playing organised competitive sport at either professional or amateur level, with or without repeated blows to the head and cervical spine, created a greater risk.

Stephen Darby, pictured after marrying Steph Houghton in June, retired from football after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease

MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE – Q&A

What is MND?

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a condition that affects the brain, nerves and spinal cord. There is no cure.

How does MND affect you?

MND gets worse over time. It attacks the nerves that control movement, so muscles no longer work.

Moving, swallowing, speaking and breathing become increasingly difficult and are eventually rendered impossible without assistance.

The mind often remains unaffected.

Is MND always fatal?

Yes, but how long a sufferer will live with the disease varies a lot.

MND kills a third of people within a year and more than half within three years. Some can live for up to 10 years.

Stephen Hawking lived with MND for 55 years.

How many people get MND?

About one in 300 people will contract MND across a lifetime with one in 50,000 developing it each year.

It affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time.

Six people are diagnosed with MND in the UK every day. It also kills six people a day in the UK.

Why do people get MND?

The cause remains unknown. It can affect any adult but is more likely to affect people over 50. In only one in 10 cases is there evidence of family history with the illness.

It is the first attempt to pull together multiple previous studies which cover football, American football, basketball, athletics, ice skating and general sport.

The research goes nowhere near as far as a longitudinal study — monitoring the health of sportsmen and women over time compared with others from the general population — or an examination of post mortem evidence.

But despite a growing awareness of football and rugby players developing the dementia known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, there have been no long-term studies into MND’s possible links with individual sports.

Mr Hutton said: ‘We think the numbers are significant — 8.5 times higher. There may be other factors. A certain body mass index or muscularity, which makes people more likely to play top level sports of this kind. We don’t have that detail. But no one has done this kind of investigation and the findings point to a need for a greater understanding.’

Sean McGrath, head of medical strategy at the Doddie Weir Foundation, said: ‘Now we need to find ways of better evaluating whether what the study points to is the case.’

A spokesman for World Rugby said: ‘While this study is a review of published research over a number of years and therefore not qualitative or rugby specific, we welcome its publication and insights. It does not address the actual risk, only a relative risk, while no rugby studies were included in the study. The key is further research.’

An FA spokesperson said: ‘The FA is committed to researching and examining all areas of head injuries in football, in particular around the long-term effects on players.’

On Saturday there was yet another case of concussion in sport when Hull KR captain Joel Tomkins was taken to hospital ‘in a bad way’ during their match with Warrington.

I LOVED MAKING BIG HITS IN RUGBY BUT WE NEED TO KNOW THE RISKS

From the moment I first played rugby, aged seven, on the beach in the south of France, I fell in love with the controlled aggression it allowed. Where else was I going to be permitted to deliberately knock over my younger brother and not get into trouble?

The love of the game put my medical career on hold and took me to 400 first-class games for Richmond in both the amateur and professional era, proudly entering into battle with the brother I had knocked over with joy all those years ago.

But rugby has changed a great deal since then. The hits have got bigger and collisions more frequent, and concerns are frequently expressed about the game’s safety.

As a doctor I’ve watched the sport I love develop and I’ve seen the high-profile injuries like everyone else. Recently I watched as Doddie Weir declared that he had been diagnosed with the rare disorder Motor Neurone Disease, after Joost van der Westhuizen’s death from it.

MND is a rare condition. So seeing two top players struck down with it, one after the other, was concerning. Both were star players during my time as a professional player. I played against Doddie in 1996 in a close-fought draw. He was immense.

These cases led me to reach out to an international group of clinicians with extensive experience in the management of professional sportsmen from around the world.

I wanted their opinion on whether they felt there was an association between the disease with repetitive head or neck trauma that occurred in contact sport and, furthermore, if by playing that type of sport at professional level increased any such risk.

The group from the US, Israel, South Africa, New Zealand and the UK discussed their views and the consensus was that a systematic review of all the scientific evidence available should be conducted to establish if any risk existed — and if so, to what extent.

The results of our review found that the risk of developing ALS, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis as MND is also known, was eight times more common in professional athletes prone to concussive or neck trauma. It was a figure that shocked us all.

We are now imploring the medical community and sports governing bodies to commission longitudinal studies in this area so that we can better understand any preventative measures available.

I’m not for a second suggesting that people shouldn’t play contact sports. Given my time again, with the knowledge of the results of our research, I would still have played the game I loved.

It was too much fun and the risks were worth taking. But it’s essential that, as a doctor, I do the research necessary to give everyone playing the sport as much information as possible and ensure that we are all aware of the risks and are doing everything possible to mitigate against them.

Mike Hutton is a consultant spinal surgeon at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust

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