Programme Overview
Prof Jon Patricios
Prof Jon Patricios is a member of the international Concussion in Sport Group responsible for updating the latest concussion guidelines in Amsterdam, 2022 eher he co-chaired the International Conference on Concussion in Sport. In 2023 he was co-lead author of the 6th Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport. He is also an Editor of the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM).
Clinical evaluation by clinicians experienced in concussion evaluation forms the backbone of the programme. The latest in international concussion management protocols and technology is available to South African schoolchildren and amateur athletes via The South African Sports Concussion® Programme.
The South African Sports Concussion® Programme is comprehensive, integrating clinical assessment of the injured player and the NeuroFlex® virtual reality platform. From 2024, Sports Concussion South Africa will have the support of the international Your Brain Health network of clinicians to help evaluate and enhance our management protocols.
Head and neck injuries are a part of contact and collision sport. Having suffered from both, I have full confidence in the programme that my team doctor and his colleagues have devised for the South African Sports Concussion® Programme – Schalk Burger (former Springbok Rugby player).
The protocols used have been devised by clinicians with many years’ sports medicine experience and the technology incorporated is utilised by professional and amateur sports teams in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Europe and the USA.
This concussion programme is a South African Rugby Union (SARU) endorsed initiative that has been initiated by South African sports physicians with several years’ experience in provincial and international sport. The principles involved have been successfully applied to concussion programmes at these levels in rugby for the past decade and in sports concussion centres across South Africa to a broad spectrum of sportspersons sustaining concussion.
Click here to download the latest information sheet for 2024.
For the year participants will:
- Have a baseline NeuroFlex® test before the season (performed at the school or in our clinic).
- Receive information on how to recognise and treat concussion
- Receive a consultation by a sports physician after any suspected concussion.
- Receive as many brain function tests as necessary after any concussion.
- Have access to guidelines on immediate management and follow up
- Receive return-to-play guidelines after a concussion.
Significant services for 2024:
- Use of the new SCAT6 and SCOAT6 clinical protocols
- Incorporation of NeuroFlex® virtual reality technology
- Access to the Your Brain Health network of experts
- Participation in the SA Rugby BokSmart Programme
- Access to Boksmart’s 24-hour advice line Spineline 0800 678678.
- Access to medical services and fieldside equipment for your school and club at reduced cost through ER24.
- Expert physiotherapy-guided treatments and rehabilitation focusing on headache, neck pain, dizziness and balance restoration.
