Is watching a football match harmful to your health?

In the spring of 2002, Billy Macphail, a former Celtic superstar, sat in court with glassy eyes, facing the judges of the Scottish Supreme Court. The old man with wriggling lips and trembling hands and feet is over 70 years old and no longer a strong center in 1957 Scottish football. "Iron-headed" Billy scored three goals in the Carling Cup final of Celtic's 7-/Kloc-0 victory over Rangers, but now Billy has difficulty speaking and suffers from severe Alzheimer's disease.

During the period of 10, Billy's aging rate was many times higher than that of his peers. He and his family are convinced that 17 the life of a professional player, hitting the ball with his head from high speed countless times, is the reason for his brain atrophy, physiological function degradation and Alzheimer's disease. His lawyer thinks that Macphail should get at least 70 pounds a week, because British law stipulates that employees can enjoy this kind of social welfare treatment for life if they suffer from physical illness due to work.

However, what Billy's "iron head" represents is a case that may bring a big earthquake to professional football. Two courts rejected his appeal one after another, and Billy and his family were unwilling to appeal to the Supreme Court of Scotland.

Billy is not the first player to try to prove that professional football can do lifelong harm to players. Many retired professional players hope to prove through their own efforts that physical disability or illness is caused by playing football and should enjoy social welfare after retirement. From before World War II to 2002, there were more than 60 lawsuits against professional players, including knee, hip and leg disabilities. They asked the court to make it clear that their injuries were work-related injuries and should be given the right of social welfare to take care of the injured. However, every lawsuit was ruthlessly rejected. "Steel-toed" Billy is more representative than these pioneers, and the content of the prosecution is more clear. Billy's lawyers and doctors agree that long-term use of header is the reason why Billy suffers from Alzheimer's disease after middle age. Billy is just one of many former professional players who have this disease.

In the long history of English football, there are few examples of classic header goals; The most typical example of English football in defense is that the central defender bravely smashed the enemy's incoming ball with his head. Brave and determined English football can't be without a header. In a sense, English football, which is full of passion and the pear garden is full of holes, comes out with dead heads. However, from the simplest medical point of view, it is inconceivable that a person's head repeatedly collides with a high-speed solid for a long time, and all kinds of fine organs in the head are not damaged. However, when Billy began to hang down his iron head after 20 years of retirement, few people were willing to admit that it was the scourge of football.

● Professional football is the root of the disease?

Johnny carey, a former member of the Irish national team, is another legend in English football. After World War II, he became the captain of Manchester United, led the "Red Devils" 1948 to win the FA Cup, and 1952 became the champion of League One at that time, which laid the foundation for Busby's Manchester United dynasty. Nearly half a century later, Carey's widow Margaret lived in a quiet apartment in the north of Liverpool. Carey's glorious years are not the content of her life, and the pain in the last few years of Carey's life will torment the old woman forever like a nightmare.

"When I met him, he was only 19 years old. He is the most energetic and kind person I have ever met in my life. I never heard him complain, even though he later developed Alzheimer's disease. " Margaret shouted. From 65438 to 0990, Alzheimer's disease appeared in Kaili. "He began to worry about some stupid trifles. Like whether the door is locked after getting off the bus, how many windows on the balcony are not opened, and so on. I later refused to let him drive, which became the most unpleasant quarrel between me and him. "

Carey's health deteriorated sharply. He will get up in the middle of the night and sleepwalk, and then he can't find his way home. A nursing home became the place where the life of Manchester United heroes ended. From 65438 to 0995, Kelly died in a nursing home. His death did not attract much attention, and the ruthless football world would not remember a dying hero. Only when the same story happened to former Manchester City and England coach Joe Mercer, led by a Liverpool doctor, did people realize that so many football heroes died of Alzheimer's disease.

John Roland is an old doctor and the director of a medical center outside Liverpool. "I began to study the problem of old age in the late 1980s.

The relationship between dementia and professional football, when my friend Joe Mercer was ill. When Mercer died, his wife Nora.

I suddenly found that I attended many funerals of Mercer's former friends within one year. Many of these people have the same Alzheimer's disease as Mercer. I began to realize that professional football may be the root cause, or at least the root cause of this group of people in professional football circle. "

● The hidden murderer.

Roland also has a former professional friend, Jeff Dentman, who also suffers from Alzheimer's disease. This man played for Liverpool in the 1950s. After retiring, he became the chief scout of Liverpool and still lives in Liverpool. Every afternoon, Deng Tingman goes out for a walk and can't find his way home every day. The man looks radiant on the surface, but he can't concentrate. When interviewed by a TV production company for a Liverpool historical documentary in 2002, Dandingman could only say: "I have encountered many problems in my life, but this is definitely the most serious, since I got Alzheimer's disease ..."

All the memories of dentin man are kept in the workbook kept by his wife for him. As a scout of the "Red Army" 16 years, he wrote down the following words in his notebook: "john toshack ... performed well, with broad vision and full potential, which is worth continuing to observe ..." Deng Tingman dug up phil neal, toshack, kevin keegan, ray clemence and other superstars for Liverpool. Everyone in Liverpool knows that he is an excellent scout with a unique vision, but if you don't know his background, you will think that Alzheimer's disease has tortured this tall old man into an idiot.

When Deng Tingman first began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, people thought it was the result of years of drinking. English football has been inextricably linked with alcohol since its birth. Wenger didn't drink and didn't have a drink with Ferguson after the game, which became one of the reasons why the Scots attacked him. However, Deng Tingman is not a good drinker, which confuses himself and his family. Suppose that one day in the future, gascoyne and Bryan Robson will suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and everyone will say that this is the result of drinking. Deng Tingman and their living customs are completely different, but he still has to endure the pain of Alzheimer's disease, and his brain becomes empty day by day until the moment he stops breathing.

After the illness, Deng Tingman has no concept of time. He can get up at 3 am, wash and shave in an orderly way. What is even more frightening is that he often wakes up in the middle of the night, wakes up his wife and asks, "Who are you?" This is his wife of 46 years!

Roland, an old friend, asked Deng Tingman to consult Mark Duran, a neurologist at the University of Liverpool Medical School. Duran is a famous brain expert in Britain. At the same time, Roland reminded Duran to pay attention to whether the incidence of Alzheimer's disease among retired professional players is higher than that of the general population. Two doctors began to make a plan to track former professional players between the ages of 55 and 70. Just as they were about to start work, bob paisley, a famous football player in the history of English football, died of illness, and Roland's plan added a new content.

When Paisley died in 1996, he had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for six years. However, according to Roland's statistics, Carey, Paisley and Mercer are not the only former professional players who died of Alzheimer's disease. Two Liverpool doctors found that 35 former professional players died of Alzheimer's disease or similar diseases within their target age range. Even more frightening is that they are not the only medical people who have come into contact with this field.

● Terrible research results.

From 65438 to 0989, Norwegian doctors examined 69 football players. In the brain test, it was found that all these brains have different degrees of dysfunction, which may be because continuous brain trauma has caused nervous system diseases. Three years later, doctors in Oslo conducted a unified test on 37 former Norwegian international players, and the scope of the study was more detailed: studying these people with brain injuries in a psychological way. The research results are shocking: "... 8 1% players have moderate to severe problems of decreased attention, memory, judgment and analytical ability." This means that the brain has a long-term functional disability, which is probably the result of long-term accumulation of header. We can infer from this that the impact of heading on the brain is the same as that of patients in other environments, and the same disease will be formed ... "

The same research is also available in the United States. During the period of 1995, a survey conducted by MIT School of Medicine showed that the IQ of players who used headers 10 times higher than their teammates was significantly lower than their teammates. Americans also tested the memory, attention and judgment of these headers, and the conclusion was the same as that of Norwegians.

From 65438 to 0999, Dutch neuroscientists tested 53 players from five first-class clubs in the Netherlands, and then compared the results with 27 athletes who did not touch sports. The results show that the memory, planning ability and vision of professional athletes are lower than those of non-physical contact athletes. According to the Dutch research report, a professional player has participated in 300 professional leagues, at least 2000 games, and the top speed of the ball is close to 160 km. According to neuroscientists, the brain damage caused by head impact is much lighter than that caused by a boxer being hit in the head in a competition, but the brain damage caused by head impact should be recognized by the society-this is definitely a serious action to the human body.

The weight of the ball used in regular football matches is positioned between 396 and 454 grams. In recent World Cups, the ball has become lighter and lighter, but the harm of heading has not decreased. Beckham set a record for the fastest ball speed in the Premier League:158km/h. Reed, a professor at Manchester University of Technology, analyzed the influence of the ball on the skull. He believes that the GADDSEVERITY index is the scientific basis for measuring this impact.

The Gade coefficient commonly used in automobile collision measurement, reaching 1000, will mean extremely serious trauma to adults. Beckham's shooting speed against Chelsea at 1997, if the ball hit a player at that time, the collision coefficient is 500. "Any impact on the brain will form shock waves in the skull and brain," Reid analyzed. "These ripples will squeeze the brain and cause the body structure to deform. When these ripples touch the back of the brain, they will form a spiral ripple, which will continue to affect the structure of the brain. "

Therefore, Reid believes that if a ball that changes direction grazes the player's brain from the side, the harm may be even greater, "because this impact will not only impact and squeeze the brain, but also cause some soft tissue damage between the brain and the skull."

By the year of 200 1, different survey results in different countries gradually made people in the football field realize the harm of header, but the professional football circle was not shaken by these studies. 196, Liverpool doctors organized the activity of "Neuron 96", hoping to raise more research funds with the help of196 European Cup, but Duran and Roland failed to get any funding from the British football community.

● Secrets that cannot be made public.

Roland wrote letters of help to many Premier League clubs, explaining that this activity was to help professional football, but in the end he only got a reply from Nottingham Forest: "Please go to the players' union for help." Roland has no choice but to follow the plan. The players' union showed some enthusiasm and was willing to provide half of the required funds. However, this donation eventually aborted. Roland also looked for some pharmaceutical companies, and the reply naturally made him even more disappointed. Today, the research plan made by Roland and Duran has been displayed on the bookshelf for seven years, and the old doctor is still looking for the first sponsor.

At the same time, at the headquarters of Manchester Players' Union, President Gordon Taylor has many reports about the harm of header to players. Taylor's explanation is quite euphemistic. He admits that all players know the danger of heading, but this danger "may be exaggerated"; Since the players who are playing football don't complain themselves, the players' union has no obligation to invest in this research.

Taylor told BBC5 reporter on June 5438+ 10, 2003, "We will set up a one-time research fund to solve this problem". "It's clear whether the harm of header to human body is a potential possibility or a fact. At present, the academic circles have not completely defined this kind of harm. With our ability, how can we fully believe a certain inference? Only by conducting a comprehensive study can we know the cause of the result, so we must weigh the risk of getting involved in this matter. "

Taylor's speech was completely diplomatic, and everyone with a discerning eye knew that he was prevaricating. Because Alzheimer's disease is associated with professional football, everyone in the football circle will suffer, and this printing machine will fail irretrievably. Therefore, anyone who mentions this potentially dangerous contact will be ridiculed by professional football circles to the greatest extent. At present, Blackburn head coach Souness made this comment on Roland's research plan in the autumn of 2002:

"Look at the football match 30 years ago. Charlton has lost all his hair, and his header is no less than others. What about now? I think his brain is clearer than mine. According to their theory, the ball 30 years ago was heavier than it is now, and its water absorption was poor. In the second half of the game, the weight of the ball may be more than that at the beginning of the game 1 pound, but Charlton is still alive and well. Today's players don't think heading will make them old. This is a joke, doctor. I have always hoped that the more diseases in the world, the better. "

This contemptuous statement is of course incorrect, but a statement issued by the British Football Association on 200 1 is worth pondering: "… so far, we still have no evidence to prove that there are players who have suffered brain injuries due to header in football matches in our region …"

As long as football exists, no one dares to ban heading. People can list many sports that are much more harmful to human body than football, such as boxing. As Souness said, "This is a very sensitive issue." -Maybe all the bosses of the Football Association and every club know that heading is harmful to the health of players, but in the face of vested interests, no one will remind players of such a seemingly minor injury, and they are even more unwilling to be forced to bear the responsibilities they think they should not bear because of such a minor injury. The harm of header to players has actually become a secret that everyone in the professional football circle is silent, and the effectiveness of professional football can be seen.

A new medical discovery is a new reason for people not to talk about head injuries. Scientists have found that many people will inherit a gene called apo-E2, which will increase the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease. In the population, 1 person in every 25 people has this gene, so the genetic probability of Alzheimer's disease is very high, which is also a new annotation that makes header disease a ridiculous secret.

● Subtle escape psychology

The British Football Association is not slow to accept new things. Since 1999, the organization has also had its own brain specialist: internationally renowned Leeds doctor Gibson. Gibson believes that it is of no practical significance to study the harm of header. If we always start with retired players, he thinks that the study of active young players may be more valuable.

"We have studied various previous investigation reports on head injuries. Although some research methods may not be completely scientific, the evidence is definitely revealing some problems. " Gibson's view seems more liberal. "The problem is that we can't carry out all kinds of information in these surveys, let alone determine the living conditions and physiological background of those retired old players, so no one can assert that professional players are more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's disease than ordinary people!"

Gibson admits that he wouldn't advise a young man to take a job where he suffers from various kinds of head impacts every year 10 months. But the discovery of Apo-E2 gene made Gibson find a reason to avoid the relationship between professional football and Alzheimer's disease. His attitude is the attitude of the English Football Association. This attitude of "you can't be sure of the truth without all the evidence" is a unified mode of thinking in Anglo-American society, just like the Anglo-American legal system always finds a suspect innocent from a legal point of view before confirming his guilt. This way of thinking, seemingly scientific, always hinders the research on the harm of heading. When Norwegians and Dutch people can enter football clubs at will to study this scientific problem, Roland people have no chance to raise this question in Britain.

The attitude towards the study of header harm can make people feel the subtle world of English football. Assuming Roland can step into the professional football circle one day and study this problem properly, then the law will also force the FA and the club to accept this research. Football in Britain, and even the whole world, is actually a special zone on the edge of law. Duncan Ferguson can attack his opponent with his head on the court, and the result is a long ban. However, hooligans may not be punished by law for hitting people with their heads in the street. Roy keane deliberately broke his opponent's leg on the court two years ago. Who cares if he doesn't mention it in his autobiography? If a person breaks someone's leg in the street, he can't escape from jail in a society ruled by law. Modern football was really hit by the law, or from the Bosman Act.

The reporter specially consulted Richard Glass, a London lawyer who studies labor law. His analysis of this matter is quite interesting: "If it is determined that heading is harmful to players, similar to industrial injuries in other industries, then players may make long-term claims against the club after retirement, and even claim compensation from the football management department. This amount of compensation is incalculable and will have a great impact on the pattern of the football world. Harland was kicked off by Keane and can't play again after two years of treatment. Manchester City paid him two years' salary and then gave him a sum of money to let him go, which is extremely forbearing treatment in football. But in another environment, Harland has to let the football community pay for him. "

So those in power and vested interests choose silence and escape. For honor and money, generations of professional players plunged into this established self-enclosed circle and headed the goal. Who cares? The most important thing is to score two headers to increase the weight and salary for the national team.

● Digging graves or paradoxes?

Most of the discussions and investigations about Hyde and Alzheimer's Harmo's disease did not make the clients feel pain. On the one hand, in English football, such alarmist remarks cannot be circulated; On the other hand, because? The players themselves turned a deaf ear. Does this mean absolute? Some players, including recently retired Tony Adams, know little about it. "I have played for Arsenal for nearly 20 years," Adams said in a chat with reporters. "I have always been a central defender, which is probably the position where I use the header the most."

Adams is a little worried about the relationship between Hyde and Alzheimer's disease. But he is more worried about people's attention to this relationship. "For a professional player, everything is dangerous, and you don't know what actions will cause serious injuries. Pires was injured last year, not because his opponent kicked him. Therefore, anything harmful is worth studying. However, all the players know that as long as you play football, you may get all kinds of injuries. We all know that the knees and hips of old players are much worse than normal people, but you don't play football because of this potential danger? "

The relationship between Hyde and Alzheimer's Harmo's disease is still an academic research topic, and it is inconclusive, but some studies on this potential relationship are shocking. Whether "Steel Head" Bill can get his own compensation for work-related injuries is still an unsolved case, but many people all over the world are still studying this topic. Even if Souness taunts researchers in an insulting tone, more and more people will face this problem more seriously.

If this relationship is implemented, Roland can produce conclusive evidence. Even if professional players are willing to bear the risks brought by football, the clubs and management bodies of English football will not be as indifferent to this matter as before. As long as a retired player wins the lawsuit, Alzheimer's Harmo's disease is related to Heide, and the club and the FA are not only faced with the issue of compensation, but the whole football world may change as a result. A small official in bosman changed the face of world football.

Therefore, Roland's research has a mysterious and frightening significance for people in the football circle. Is it possible to ban heading in future football? Gibson, the official brain doctor, thinks this is a paradox: "You can only imagine unless someone can come up with real evidence." In scientific research, there is no fact of 100%, and all problems must be analyzed from different angles in different environments. "

Gibson is also suspected of prevarication, but Manchester City coach Rob Harris's attitude is more realistic. He told reporters: "This problem will have research results sooner or later. Instead of letting outsiders explore, it is better to organize their own research. Outsiders' research always compares football players with non-football players, which is inherently problematic. And as we all know, alcoholism is a common problem in English football, and many players, especially after retirement, will become full-fledged alcoholics. The relationship between alcoholism and Alzheimer's Harmo's disease is now a fact that has been scientifically confirmed. It is necessary for us to investigate active players or compare goalkeepers with central defenders, and the results will definitely be more scientific. "

Speak earnestly, but the listener has reservations. Roland is still looking for his patron, and the Football Association and the players' union are still ignoring the progress of Billy's lawsuit. Whether the header is a nightmare has become an urgent problem. Miners can get industrial injury compensation from the government and employers in court, but professional players can't find the possible cause of Alzheimer's disease. Professional football, at least in Britain, is still a lawless and unique world.

Football players' head impact on the court accumulates all the year round, which often leads to the outbreak of various potential diseases after entering middle-aged and elderly people. According to the latest research data of university cooperation project, after the age of 50, the incidence of dementia of former football players will be five times that of their peers. The dementia rate of football players aged 30-49 is 1.9%, which is 9 times that of their peers. Another set of data can better reflect the risk of Alzheimer's disease in football players: between 30 and 49 years old, the number of normal people suffering from Alzheimer's disease is 1000, and the result is1; The football player scored 1 out of 53 points. The latest investigation of Boston University scholars on defensive and offensive football players has given them a new research topic: the relationship between the risk coefficient is less than the impact of concussion and chronic traumatic brain injury and the player's Alzheimer's disease. At present, players and coaches generally believe that after a low-risk general brain collision, players can recover automatically through their own adjustment without diagnosis and treatment, which leads some players to lose the best treatment opportunity after a slight concussion, or aggravate the brain injury that is not serious.