Off Road Racing and Excessive Brain Scar Tissue

[yamaducci]

We all know too well that Off-road Racing pretty much beats the shat out of us each race we compete in. But what internal damage does it cause that we don't see?
A little story..... Back on November 1'st I woke up with a Total loss of hearing in my left ear for no apparent reason at all. After several cycles of steroids, since that's all the Dr.'s know that helps hearing loss, I was able to recover about 75%-90% of my hearing back in that ear. While going through the various test to see what could be the issue the Dr did an MRI Brain Scan and discovered abnormally high amount of scar tissue on my brain for a 47 year old.
He explained that we all have scar tissue and it increases with age and activity levels, etc, etc.... I will be seeing a Neurologist to specifically discuss what was found by the radiologist. Until then, this makes me wonder what others have found throughout the course of their lives from various medical tests? Has anyone had an MRI brain scan that suggests that off-road racing can be a cause for accelerated brain scarring?
Please post comments and questions.

 

[retroblazer]

We all know too well that Off-road Racing pretty much beats the shat out of us each race we compete in. But what internal damage does it cause that we don't see?
A little story..... Back on November 1'st I woke up with a Total loss of hearing in my left ear for no apparent reason at all. After several cycles of steroids, since that's all the Dr.'s know that helps hearing loss, I was able to recover about 75%-90% of my hearing back in that ear. While going through the various test to see what could be the issue the Dr did an MRI Brain Scan and discovered abnormally high amount of scar tissue on my brain for a 47 year old.
He explained that we all have scar tissue and it increases with age and activity levels, etc, etc.... I will be seeing a Neurologist to specifically discuss what was found by the radiologist. Until then, this makes me wonder what others have found throughout the course of their lives from various medical tests? Has anyone had an MRI brain scan that suggests that off-road racing can be a cause for accelerated brain scarring?
Please post comments and questions.

I have never heard of a brain damage in off road racing aside from people hitting their heads on roll cage. Did you play soccer or football as a kid or anything else that would involve head trauma?


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[Ol' Curmudgeon]

Brain bouncing inside skid lid.

 

[Josh 8]

Headers off your Yamaha?

That’s an effective way of concussioning your self.

 

[yamaducci]

I am not discounting the normal things many of us have had like motocross wipe outs, car accidents, road bike accidents and then there was that one Yamaha R1 wheelie accident at about 65MPH. But seriously, a 1600 car will beat the hell out of you. My guess is I will never know because it will be a combination of Life Events. I just thought I would bring it up for discussion since some of you may have heard the same things from your Doc's over the years or may hear in the future.
Oh and yes I played soccer as a kid.

 

[MTPyle]

Pretty sure all off-road racers have brain damage or they would not race off-roads LOL. Just not sure what caused what, brain damage caused us to race or the racing caused our brain damage.

Mike

 

[Ol' Curmudgeon]

I like off road racing prior to my first concussion, which did not occur off road.

 

[EMS702]

I know quite a few off road racing family who have lumbar spine issues. Prior compression fractures. I have taken several racers in buggies off the course because they could not stand. Some of the older racers who used donuts probably got racked real good back in the day. Would be an interesting study though.

 

[johndjmix]

Exactly! To spend the kind of time and money we all spend on this....we must all have brain damage.

You know you have it when you you take a girl on a first date back to your place....just to watch Dust to Glory

—John

Pretty sure all off-road racers have brain damage or they would not race off-roads LOL. Just not sure what caused what, brain damage caused us to race or the racing caused our brain damage.

Mike

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[crazyeye]

Look up cte, it doesn't just effects football players and fighters.

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[richzajic]

DR Wong at UCLA explained to me when I had some issues.
The head is not meant to carry an extra load and be bounced even if ever so slightly as off road racing - motorcyles cause our heads to move around. Let alone the violent snaps-impacts that we all have had happen to us.
Trauma and neck damage from all the extra weight - movement.

 

[retroblazer]

I know quite a few off road racing family who have lumbar spine issues. Prior compression fractures. I have taken several racers in buggies off the course because they could not stand. Some of the older racers who used donuts probably got racked real good back in the day. Would be an interesting study though.

Most racers injure their lower backs not their necks. Donuts and Hans devices do little, to nothing, to aid this problem.


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[MTPyle]

Given that your head can move around and your neck can absorb the movement makes me think its not as bad as it may seem.

Football players have hard impacts with other helmets and or hard surfaces that create a sudden stop or impact. I have done both and I think football is 100% worse than what I have experienced in Offroad. That being said I have not had a violent crash yet so I have not experienced that type of impact.

So far the hardest my head has been hit was when Letner nerfed me with his TT while I was going slow. We had temp over heat and I was milking it down a strait away when he hit me. He had no way to know we were going 60mph when he was doing 100mph+ My head hit the back of my seat pretty hard LOL. too bad he didn't just keep pushing us around the track, we would have been a lot faster.

So I guess if I got nerfed by Letner all day long then yes it would be pretty bad on the brain. I agree the back seems to take the most abuse in my truck.

Mike

 

[JDDurfey]

I am sure I have some scar tissue/brain damage. I have had multiple concussions, and I've been fully knocked out several times. Once at Glamis I was knocked out for a few minutes and when I woke I had amnesia for about 2 hours. I couldn't remember anyone's name or how I got there. I still don't really remember the crash. I cracked my helmet in the crash.

Of course, I was too stupid to go to the doc for any of it at the time. At one point I needed a new helmet and a sponsor bought me a brand new one. In my first race with it I took a soil sample and rung my bell pretty good. I never wore that helmet again. I still finished 5 in the race, but I was dizzy for quite a few miles after the crash. My last pro bike race resulted in another broken helmet and being knocked out, so I hung up bike racing at that time.

I was told by a doctor later on that every time I hit my head and "saw stars" or "rung my bell" it was a concussion to some degree. I can't even recall how many times that has happened over the years. For some reason when I crashed I managed to not break bones, but I would end up hitting my head.

Knowing what I know now about CTE, I am a little concerned knowing what I put my brain through in the past.

 

[Ol' Curmudgeon]

Just our brains repeatedly hitting the inside of our skulls form vibration can't be a positive.

I noticed my vision loosing its horizontal hold above 80 through Plaster City whoops.

 

[Bricoop]

The info coming out on CTE is its largely believed to be caused by sub-concussive hits. Nobody knows if they have CTE as it can only be diagnosed through an autopsy. People (after death) have been found to have CTE though never being diagnosed with a concussion, "diagnosed" being the key word.

 

[Zac Reish]

I’ve seen walker Evans numerous times. Talked to him a couple times. He’s pretty old. He frequents a local restaurant near me often. Actually Must be real often because he’s there half the time I go which is maybe once a month. He’s always hanging with his wife and a few friends having a good time. Seems pretty with it to me for a guy his age. I’m sure there’s computer programmers his age with blown out hips, sore back, and dimentia who’s never been over 3’ whoops at 100 mph. YOLO!

 

[DirtDgr]

Rock fights. Falling from tree swings. Minibike wrecks. Played football for 6 years(fullback and DE). Raced dirtbikes for 40 years. Class 11. Now 1600. Working construction my whole life.

Have had more concussions than I care to admit. A few ER trips for the bad ones. So far dont regret any of them! At 50 years old unless the next 20 get pretty bad, I doubt I will live to regret them. Love my life!!

 

[swiftracing5]

I must have had a hard fall on NYE. Coming out of it now!

 

[offroadracer516]

Im freaking fine lol