A new warning for parents about kids playing football: Researchers now say youth football players who take repeated blows to the head may show brain changes, even if they never suffer a concussion.
Researchers at Wake Forest University recorded the head impacts of 25 football players between 8 and 13 years old.
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They found kids are hitting each other hard enough and often enough to cause actual changes to the structure of their brains.
After one season of play, the players who had the most hits to the head showed changes in the critical white matter of the brain, which helps connect different areas of the brain.
These players had no signs or symptoms of a concussion.
Experts say the changes could eventually resolve, but more studies are needed