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Many stunt performers are reluctant to report head injuries, study finds

"This population doesn’t often seek medical help out of fear of being unemployed.”

According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, a significant fraction of stunt performers never report such injuries, largely because it's a competitive industry, and they are afraid of losing work. “Many stunt performers are afraid to report their injuries, especially head trauma, in fear they will be put on a do-not-hire list or looked at as a liability,” said co-author Jeffrey Russell of Ohio University. The prevalence of such injuries means that stunt performers are at high risk for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)—a degenerative brain disease associated with a history of repetitive head impacts that is a cause of much concern in collision sports like football and ice hockey—over the course of their careers.

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