Subconcussion: The Invisible Risk in Contact Sports

Athletes may experience numerous head impacts that go unnoticed because they don’t cause obvious symptoms like dizziness, confusion, or headache. Yet functional neuropsychological testing and advanced imaging modalities—such as fMRI and DTI—have revealed underlying brain changes in these asymptomatic players, especially at season’s end.

Emerging blood biomarker studies further highlight the issue, detecting axonal injury, increased blood–brain barrier permeability, and neuroinflammation in these athletes—despite the absence of any outward signs.

Cumulative Effects: Even without concussions, repeated impacts can accumulate neurological damage over time—sometimes more insidiously than a single, clinically recognised concussion.

Evidence-Based Calls for Action: These findings have prompted growing demands—from elite leagues to youth programs—for policies and protections to limit repetitive head impacts.

Scientific Breakthrough: A groundbreaking 2010 study of high school football players showed significant impairments in visual working memory and altered brain activation in athletes with no concussion history, particularly in those who sustained ~150 head impacts (40–80 g) in one week. Interestingly, the worst impairments were among players with the most frequent impacts—not diagnosed concussions—underscoring that injury can occur even without overt symptoms. 

Unsuspecting Risk: Many athletes may not even realise they’re affected because these subtle deficits don’t interfere dramatically with everyday tasks—making them especially dangerous when overlooked.

GLIA Diagnostics’ platform is uniquely poised to address this challenge. By combining the detection of advanced biomarkers with rapid, point-of-care testing, GLIA enables:

1. Early and objective diagnosis of brain injury—even when symptoms aren’t present.
2. Better-informed Return-to-Play decisions, helping minimize the risk of cumulative neurological damage.
3. Data-driven policy and protocol development, helping minimise the risk of cumulative neurological damage.