Head to Head with Christopher Nowinski Victoria Tilney McDonough, BrainLine (page 2 of 2) Page 2 of 2

Part of the work at SLI includes examining the brains of athletes post-mortem. Chris has been the one to phone the families of professional athletes immediately after their death to request the study of their brain for science. “Frankly, I don’t always feel up to making these calls, but then I remind myself that this research will help so many pro and youth athletes in the future,” he says. This research — on athletes such as wrestler Chris Benoit who murdered his family and then committed suicide and retired National Football Leaguer Andre Waters, who committed suicide — has proved a strong connection between repeat blows to the head and subsequent neurodegeneration (physical deterioration to the brain). Neurodegeneration has been associated — in previous studies and was well as in SLI’s study — with myriad medical (or psychiatric) and behavioral issues.

“Some mornings I wake up and pray that I don’t turn out like some of the guys I’ve interviewed …” says Chris. “No one knows at this point what will happen to all these pro-athletes — or the thousands of soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. With the cognitive deficits that come with brain injury, the dementia and early onset Alzheimer’s, not to mention the pain and depression, these people may miss out on the second half of their lives.”

As for himself, Chris believes that he will not heal any further from his brain injuries. Although his memory has improved significantly since that defining concussion in 2003, he doesn’t think it’s quite back to where it once was. He suffers from severe headaches, which come on suddenly and can leave him feeling depressed and exhausted. He is currently focusing his attention on the degeneration of his neck, another common side effect of contact sports, in hopes that he will find relief from the headaches. Overall, he has good days, and debilitating days, his best strategy for the latter being to lower his expectations for the day and sleep it off.

Due in large part to the pressure Chris and his organization have applied, in 2007 the NFL has made some changes; it upgraded its concussion standards to include no intentional helmet-to-helmet hitting, the requirement of a full medical workup post-concussion, and the necessary time for the brain to heal. In the spring of 2008, WWE finally initiated a concussion management program as well.

Young minds

Chris works half-time at Trinity Partners, LLC, a biotech and pharmaceutical consulting firm, and half-time raising awareness about the concussion crisis through SLI, and he’s determined to make youth sports safer. On a recent evening, he spoke at a high school about concussions, their long-term effects, and how coaches, parents, and even the kids themselves can learn to recognize symptoms and take the proper safety measures before returning to the field.

“The good news is that the culture has changed dramatically even in the last year,” says Chris. Parents and coaches are much more aware of what to look for and how to act after an athlete gets hit on the head; they have even learned that a concussion doesn’t always mean being knocked unconscious. This new awareness emphasizes the importance of a peer system of athletes taking care of each other, and Chris reinforces this education with already existing authoritative materials, such as the “Heads Up” toolkit for youth league coaches from the Centers for Disease Control.

“The fact that the media no longer glorifies an athlete who goes back out there with a concussion has made a huge difference,” he says. “The tough-guy mentality is no longer cool; it’s stupid … when you think about the life-long impairments that might result from a few more minutes of play.”

Research shows that contrary to popular belief, a child’s brain takes longer than an adult’s to bounce back from a concussion and is more vulnerable since it is still developing. “You can delay playing these sports without infringing on an athlete’s success,” says Chris, whose mother didn’t allow him to play football until high school. “If I had kids, I wouldn’t let them play some youth contact sports, at least not until there is a safe, responsible way to deal with concussions so they can play without the risk of destroying their future.”

Using your brain

Looking back at his career in football and wrestling, knowing what he knows now, Chris says he would still do it all again, but he would take the appropriate health measures post-concussion. The proper medical attention and necessary rest may have made all the difference. “People can still play these sports without ending up like me,” he says. “I think the bottom line is to understand that you only get one brain. As an athlete — no matter what pressure you face, no matter whose fault something is — only you must carry around the pain and scars for the rest of your life. You have to take ownership of your own health … and use the gifts you are given.”

To comment or to share your story, contact Victoria Tilney McDonough at vmcdonough@weta.com.

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