How football is helping unlock dementia patients' memories

Images of footballers can serve as a trigger for conversation and reminisence among male dementia patients. Photograph: Scott Heppell/AP

A dementia care unit is being built close to Sunderland football club's Stadium of Light. The Roker ward – named after the club's former ground Roker Park – at Monkwearmouth hospital, will provide 14 beds for men aged over 65.

The new unit will replace a ward in Cherry Knowle hospital in Ryhope, which has passed its sell-by date. The ward at Cherry Knowle has been trialling sport as a focus for reminiscence therapy and the results were good enough to convince the ward managers that this was something that should be adopted in the new building.

Finding meaningful ways to connect and engage with dementia patients is always challenging. Football provides an alternative focus for men who are reluctant to join in other group and reminiscence based activities. Memories of players, matches and sports events from 30, 50 or 60 years ago can remain clear when prompted. The Sporting Memories Network travelled to Ryhope and worked with ward staff, giving them ideas about how they could use images of famous footballers and sports stars from days gone by as a trigger for conversation, debate and reminiscence. Those debates and discussions often focus on recalling favourite players, great victories, away trips and the inevitable defeats.

"It's often difficult to engage older men in meaningful activities," says ward manager Geoff Willis. "But using sporting memories as a framework has worked for us, most clients are keen to share their memories about football. They become animated and passionate and have so much to tell you.

"We held themed events over the summer; we had a Royal Ascot afternoon with form guides, betting slips and refreshments which saw patients placing fun bets for chocolates. And we also hosted a Wimbledon-themed day to coincide with the men's singles finals with all the trimmings including strawberries and cream.

"Events like this have impressed relatives. They have commented on how animated their loved ones became on these special afternoons."   

The Sporting Memories Network ensures that new materials are made available on a regular basis to keep the sessions and conversations fresh. That's where we hit on the idea of publishing a weekly reminiscence newspaper.

A couple of weeks ago one of the very last Saturday night sports papers published its final printed version in Sheffield before moving to a digital platform. Going out to buy the Pink'un or Green'un on a Saturday evening was a tradition for sports fans across the country for many years. So we supply dementia wards with (our version of) the Sporting Pink, which is filled with archive sporting images and match reports for the staff to use for reminiscence.

Dr Michael Clark from the Personal Social Services Research Unit at LSE evaluated a pilot project the Sporting Memories Network ran across care homes in Leeds. His report noted a positive impact not only on the wellbeing of residents but also on the staff, as they too enjoyed hearing about great football games of the past. The pilot was funded by a Skills for Care workforce development innovation fund grant and attracted the support of local clubs and organisations but also came to the attention of the government. The network's work with football and sports clubs was mentioned in the first annual report on the prime minister's dementia challenge.

Sports stars including Chris Kamara, Robbie Savage, David Coulthard and Ross Brawn have shared some of their own favourite memories and have been joined by celebrities, fans and professional bodies such as the Professional Footballers' Association and British Racing Drivers' Club in supporting the network. The bank of memories shared is then used by staff facilitating sports reminiscence activities.

Tony Jameson-Allen is a director of the Sporting Memories Network, a community interest company established to develop reminiscence activities that improve the wellbeing of older people and those living with dementia through tapping into the passion, knowledge and love of sport.

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High blood pressure risk and playing college football linked

Main Category: Hypertension
Also Included In: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 30 Jul 2013 - 2:00 PDT Current ratings for:
High blood pressure risk and playing college football linked

College football players, especially linemen, may develop high blood pressure over the course of their first season, according to a small study in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

Researchers documented higher blood pressure levels among 113 first-year college players. Only one player had already been diagnosed with hypertension before the season and 27 percent had a family history of hypertension. At post-season, researchers noted:

47 percent of players were considered pre-hypertensive, while 14 percent had stage 1 hypertension.

While previous studies indicate blood pressure elevation during adolescence and young adulthood can increase heart disease and heart-related death later in life, the unique findings of this study suggest early careful monitoring of young football players and timely treatment could improve their heart health later in life.

"High blood pressure is not a good thing at any point in life, but especially during the first two decades," said the study's senior investigator, Aaron L. Baggish, M.D.

"The findings shouldn't scare players," said Baggish, associate director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. "The earlier in life we can identify and begin treating it the better, and identifying special at-risk groups, like these players, is essential."

From 2006-11, researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard Department of Athletics tracked blood pressure changes among players on the Harvard University team, before and after their first season. Researchers also examined changes in endurance-trained competitive rowers, but found no corresponding increase in blood pressure, suggesting the phenomenon may be related to periodic episodes of intense exertion such as football, Baggish said.

Overall, blood pressure levels averaged 116/64 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) - which is normal - before the season, but afterward rose to an average 125/66 mm Hg, which is pre-hypertensive.

Players on the offensive or defensive line who gain weight during the season and have a family history of high blood pressure were most likely to have post-season hypertension.

Researchers also noted structural changes in players' left ventricle, the heart's main pumping chamber, which can be a potential indicator of worsening heart health since it can grow thicker if the chamber is overworked. In this study, left ventricle thickening (left ventricular hypertrophy) was more prevalent among football players than endurance athletes, and it was significantly greater among linemen.

"Importantly, left ventricular hypertrophy among football players was strongly associated with resting blood pressure suggesting that heart remodeling in some athletes may be due to what happens off the playing field," he said.

"Considering the popularity of football in the United States, I believe this knowledge of an association with enhanced prevalence of prehypertension and stage 1 hypertension after one season in some players is extremely important," said American Heart Association spokesperson Ernesto Schiffrin, M.D., Ph.D., who is not affiliated with the study. "However, the study should not be interpreted to mean that playing football causes hypertension. Instead, it suggests increased surveillance particularly in those most susceptible: those with a family history of hypertension or playing on the offensive or defensive line."

Professional football players tend to have higher rates of both hypertension and premature death from heart disease, especially linemen, Baggish noted. He and his colleagues are continuing to monitor players identified as at-risk to gain a better understanding of hypertension and heart disease, if and when it develops, as they age.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our hypertension section for the latest news on this subject.

Article: "Blood Pressure and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy During American-Style Football Participation" Rory B. Weiner, MD; Francis Wang, MD; Stephanie K. Isaacs, BS; Rajeev Malhotra, MD; Brant Berkstresser, MS, ATC; Jonathan H. Kim, MD; Adolph M. Hutter Jr, MD; Michael H. Picard, MD; Thomas J. Wang, MD; Aaron L. Baggish, MD. doi: 10.1161/?CIRCULATIONAHA.113.003522. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

Editorial: "Tackling Cardiovascular Health Risks in College Football Players" Gary J. Balady, MD; Jonathan A. Drezner, MD, doi: 10.1161/?CIRCULATIONAHA.113.004039

The American Heart Association funded the study.

American Heart Association

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