The impacts of impact

An Auckland scientist's experience playing ice hockey informs her brain research.

- VERONIKA MEDUNA

For many of us, summer holidays bring more time to spend playing sports. The benefits from being active are many, but given New Zealand's passion for contact sports, it's also a good time to remember brain health.

Research has already established that multiple concussions, especially if they happen in short sequence, can cause long-lasting damage to the brain and set off chronic conditions. Dr Helen Murray, who leads the brain injury and neurodegeneration laboratory at the University of Auckland's Centre for Brain Research, is focused on establishing how this happens and whether there are early signals that could help people assess their risk of developing brain disease later in life.

During two decades of playing ice hockey for the New Zealand Ice Fernz, Murray has seen teammates suffer the effects of repeated head knocks. Some people may never develop symptoms, she says, but others experience headaches, brain fog, tiredness, sensory disturbances and a general sense of overload.

“For many, even putting on a helmet can trigger their headache. For some, it stops them from being able to play.”