As an avid sports fan and physician, I am urging the National Football League to consider revising its long-established seasonal game schedules. The intent is to help limit the repetitive weekly exposures of the players to head trauma and to allow more time for recovery to avert irreversible brain damage. I propose the league move from a 16-game schedule to a 12-game schedule and shift play to every other week.

AFC teams could play on alternate weeks from NFC games, while eliminating all preseason and Thursday night games. These modifications will also provide extended time for orthopedic injuries to heal properly and significantly improve the safety, health and longevity of all NFL players.

Many offensive and defensive linemen report that it often takes them up to four days following a game to feel “right” again — after enduring episodes of light-headedness, blurred vision, ringing ears or diminished attention span. These are typical symptoms of the “mild” traumatic brain injuries that occur in NFL players every Sunday from the continuous battering of helmets on the line of scrimmage.

The compression of the brain against the inside of the skull from up to 70 helmet-to-helmet contacts per game causes shearing injuries to nerve cells’ fiber connections and small blood vessels. Bruising and swelling ensues along with temporarily “knocking out” the communication between the surrounding brain cells.

This fragile brain area is now extremely vulnerable to further insults and the repetitive head and body blows from consecutive weekly games will cause additional harm to the healing brain. This predisposes these athletes to a particular type of permanent brain damage now known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.

In too many NFL retirees, this presents as early dementia, mood swings, depression, suicidal ideation, alcohol and drug use disorders and premature deaths.

Head trauma from high school and college football occurs during the most crucial years for proper brain development and maturation. These exposures are likely early precursors for acquiring CTE. It is the additional trauma from a career in the NFL that is now considered the tipping point for this neurological disease.

It should not be surprising then to learn that the league is losing its appeal to many younger skilled athletes. These competitors and their parents have genuine concerns with investing their time and abilities in a sport that carries substantial long-term health risks. The loss of this talent pool puts the future of the NFL in jeopardy.

It is therefore important that the NFL be in the forefront of promoting early intervention programs that will help prevent this pathological progression to CTE. One effective measure would be to introduce similar game schedule safety reforms to high school and college football programs.

Any proposals to alter the current NFL schedule will certainly generate many skeptics. However, with a slowly declining fan base and diminishing talent pool, a change in mindset is necessary. Most importantly, these recommendations are critically needed to help preserve the brain function and lifespan of these gifted athletes.

Michael G. Hamrock practices primary care and addiction medicine in Boston. Talk back at letterstoeditor@bostonherald.com.