Don’t do it. Any activity or sport that puts your brain at risk for shaking over time. I’m referring to sports like Rugby, Football, MMA, etc. This can lead to RHIs (repetitive head impacts) which lead to neurodegenerative disease like early onset dementia and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy).
Do practice and play sports like Tennis, Badminton, Swimming, etc. for health and longevity.
I think this post of mine will do more than 95% of posts on this forum in terms of being actually helpful, useful and beneficial for others.
Agreed on contact sports. I’d also flag skiing and snowboarding — even if you’re skilled, the real risk often comes from others on the slope. Collisions are common, and most falls are high impact.
It’s not just about your control, but also the unpredictability of everyone else.
95%? You are selling yourself too short. It’s probably closer to 100%.
People dying of cancer, heart disease, or infections who have never had a head injury? Just show them this thread!
Yeah, agreed — for me it’s less about full-contact sports now and more about gym stunts and “hero moves.”
I’ll be doing something technical — like assisted muscle-ups or weighted pull-ups — and when I start feeling strong, I get that urge to push for one more rep or try something flashy. That’s when injuries have happened in the past.
I think even Attia once joked that “showing off” is a shortcut to getting hurt — and it’s true. Pain is a great teacher. Longevity First!
Random tip of the day - don’t wrestle alligators, avoid selfies with bears and check for snakes hiding in the toilet before you poop. Boom. I am more useful than 98% of all of ya, YOU ARE WELCOME
Agreed, but primarily for our children, as most of us here are past the age where MMA sounds really appealing :-).
And @LongevityVault suggests no skiing or snow boarding… but I think thats a step too far. I enjoy these sports, and yes there is danger, but for me it’s a reasonable tradeoff, and makes life more worth living.
Ultimately - I think people need to focus on the top 10 or 15 of these:
Wow, isn’t that from 2016? There might be some reshuffling in these in the nearly ten years since, what with covid and communicable diseases turning up after 2016. CVD and cancer still #1 and #2, but a more detailed breakdown should be of interest - CVD is a big category as is cancer.
Meanwhile here’s a WHO top ten list from 2024, also worldwide:
There is also a question as to what extent age related deterioration in the immune system should be considered causal with things like Covid and Flu. In the end we have to go with what is on the death certificate, however.
yeah this crowd is a bunch of stay at home bookish nerds. I’m a nerd too, but very unusual in that I was very active and did alot of contact sports and outdoors activity.
Well, I shed light on what is not obvious to most people, even the smart people on this forum. Everyone has heard that smoking is bad, don’t do drugs, etc. But we don’t tell kids in school to not play contact sports do we? Or that even “light” hits over time causes irreversible brain damage. Based on scientific evidence, Football is a major cause of neurological damage and CTE, yet it’s our (American) national sport isn’t it? People don’t know about this, and it’s really scary.
Skiing, snowboarding, cycling are borderline sports imo. There’s definitely trade-offs to consider. As long as you know the real risks, you can do whatever you want. For me, what get’s me, been on my mind and kinda made me upset, is that I didn’t know about CTE until I got hit in the head sparring for years. My bad, shoulda been more educated I suppose, but literally no one told me, no one knew.
To be fair boxing and sports such as football when hitting the ball with the head are ones which have a track record much greater than other contact sports in terms of creating head injuries.
I asked a question of chatGPT and was surprised by number 6.
Top 10 Sports by Head Injury Rate (Per Participant)
Boxing
Nearly every match involves head trauma.
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a well-documented risk.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)
High rate of knockouts and concussions per bout.
Similar risks to boxing but with additional injuries from grappling.
Rugby
Frequent, high-impact collisions with no helmets or pads.
One of the highest concussion rates in team sports.
American Football
Especially high in high school, college, and pro players.
Checking and high-speed collisions result in many concussions.
Higher risk in men’s leagues due to body contact rules.
Cheerleading (Competitive)
High concussion rate from falls and stunts, especially for flyers.
Head injuries often more severe due to height and velocity.
Wrestling
Takedowns and slams cause frequent head impacts.
Concussion risk is significant in both practice and competition.
Lacrosse
Contact, stick checks, and ball strikes to the head are common.
Soccer
Heading the ball, collisions, and falls contribute to concussions.
Higher risk in girls’ soccer than boys’ due to neck strength differences.
Equestrian Sports
High head injury rate per fall.
Falls from a horse often result in severe TBIs despite helmets.
Notes:
These rankings are based on studies in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, and draw on injury rates per 1,000 athlete exposures (AE).
Sports like cycling or skateboarding cause many head injuries in total, but they’re often not ranked high per participant because many users ride recreationally and less frequently.
Normally I would agree your attitude, with 1 exception being CTE/early onset dementia. CTE has unfortunately been found in even high school football players, and many don’t know how it has affected their lives and the lives of others negatively.
yeah this crowd is a bunch of stay at home bookish nerds. I’m a nerd too, but very unusual in that I was very active and did alot of contact sports and outdoors activity.
Top 10 Sports by Head Injury Rate (Per Participant)
Notes: