Concussion Articles

he professional rugby career of Cillian Willis ended on March 10th, 2013. Not from the third head blow he suffered playing for Sale Sharks against Saracens. No, Willis was allowed continue until the fourth and final knockout.

As someone who has been educating sports parents about head trauma in sports for the past seventeen years, and about the very real risk posed by chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for the last decade, it is not surprising that I receive emails from parents all the time expressing deep concern about stories in the media that have led them – wrongly – to fear that playing contact or collision sports, or suffering a sports-related concussion, especially one slow to heal, makes it inevitable that their child will develop CTE and is at greatly increased risk of committing suicide.

Concussion is a very common, often under-diagnosed and previously misunderstood condition – and sport seems to be an important cause of it.

Player Welfare is World Rugby’s number one priority and in a Rugby World Cup year there is significant focus, speculation and assumption regarding rugby’s approach to injury prevention and management, particularly concussion. Here are some of the most common opinion statements and some simple evidence-based responses to bust the myths in what is a complex and often emotive topic.

Sarah Chesters, 23, of Stoke-on-Trent, walked off pitch after tackle and carried on working for weeks in her job with campaign group Women in Sport.

CONCUSSION and rugby go hand-in-hand. It’s part of the game and you can make a full recovery with the correct treatment. However, repeated knocks left untreated can have serious consequences, as club rugby player Alton Jacobs (29), from Buffeljagsrivier in the Western Cape, discovered. (you.co.za 20 AUGUST 2015)

Neurologists have long suspected that CTE could also be a problem in rugby union because of its emphasis on high-speed “hits”. Concussion is the fourth most common injury in the professional game. New Scientist understands that another deceased player’s brain has recently been found to have CTE in the UK.

Germany’s Christoph Kramer lies on the pitch as teammate Thomas Mueller assists him, during the World Cup final soccer match between Germany and Argentina. Photo / AP. World Cup organizers repeatedly failed to follow their own concussion protocol..

Dr Martin Raftery is currently the Chief Medical Officer for World Rugby Board having been appointed in August 2011. Prior to this appointment he was Chief Medical Officer of the Australian Rugby Union from 2004-2011. Dr Raftery currently provides injury prevention consultancy advice to teams within Rugby Union, Rugby League and Australian Football.