8/4/2019 Rugby League Week - Conscious Decisions

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22 G Rugby League Week

CHANGES TO THE CONCUSSION

rules in the NRL came not a moment

too soon.

Once considered a trivial injury

by some, concussion is in actuality a seriouscondition requiring immediate and ongoing

assessment before a player can be deemed

fully recovered and ready to train and play.

To witness a concussion can be quite

shocking. Like many of you, I watched with

bewilderment the round three footage of

an apparently concussed and obviously

disoriented Richie Faaoso returning to the

field twice for Newcastle.

It was reported that team officials

mistakenly believed that an interchange could

not be made during a scrum.

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Clearly a more stringent test needs to be

applied before any player is allowed to return

to the field after taking a head knock.

The NRLs Chief Medical Officer, Dr Ron

Muratore, has been integral in bringing change

to the sports concussion rules as returning to

play after a concussion poses further serious

risk to a players health.

If they go back after having a head injury,

they have a 10-fold chance of a second head

injury, the second injury can be worse than thefirst and they can be cumulative, he says.

An incident such as the one seen with

Faaoso is unlikely to happen in the future

DR JODIRICHARDSONSPORTS SCIENCE

CONSCIOUS

DECISIONSas teams are now clearer on the scrum

interchange rules and an important and

necessary change to the NRL concussion rule

has been implemented.

Up until now the Consensus Statement on

Concussion in Sport says if the player recovers,

you can let them go back , Muratore continues.

On further discussion, we felt we should

be more conservative so the only real change

is that if a player is definitely concussed, they

probably shouldnt be allowed to go back thesame day.

He adds that more than just the rules around

concussion need to change.

Theres a culture in rugby league that

youre a wuss if youre a bit dazed and you

want to go off. Up until now people have said

that if youre able to run and tack le, you should

keep going. They treat head injuries as a trivial

injury, he says. We need to educate people tounderstand that a head injury is just as bad as

any other injury and possibly worse.

Concussion comes from a Latin word

meaning to shake violently.

With some players weighing in excess of

100 kilos and others reaching speeds of over

30 km/h, its no wonder that some players

experience concussion with the forces resulting

from large masses colliding at high speeds.

Though the brain is cushioned from minor

impacts by surrounding fluid, if the head is

caused to move suddenly then stop, the brain

also moves suddenly then collides with the

inside of the hard bony skull. Dr. Muratoreexplains that this can cause physiological and

biochemical changes in the brain.

Concussion can be caused by, a blow to

the head, neck or body where the force is

transferred to the head. The symptoms of

concussion include headache, dizziness, loss

of consciousness, loss of memory, irritability,

slowed reaction times and sleep disturbance.

In the NRL, the final decision on return to

play rests with the medical team.

Dr Muratore clarifies that there is no set time

for recovery from concussion but it generally

takes seven to 10 days to become symptom

free; sometimes longer for young kids.He emphasises that it is imperative that

coaches and parents are well informed about

the seriousness of these injuries, and that at a

junior level, where doctors are not likely to be

available for immediate assessment; if a player

is concussed they should not return to play and

should be assessed by a doctor before even

returning to training. He adds that there is no

evidence that protective headgear reduces the

rate of concussion.

Though research is ongoing, possible links

between repeated sport-related concussion

and increased risk of clinical depression,

cognitive dysfunction, dementia, Alzheimersdisease and Parkinsons disease are under

examination.

Former Melbourne Demons AFL player

Daniel Bell is seeking compensation for brain

damage linked to his history of concussions.

Far from trivial, concussion is a type of

traumatic brain injury with the potential for

severe consequences for long term player

health.

Former league players are encouraged

to seek help if they experience cognitive

impairment beginning to take a hold.

Whyconcussionissomuchmore than justa trivial injury

RISKY BUSINESS: Richie Faaoso washeavily concussed in the Knights roundthree clash with the Sea Eagles; andDallas Johnson (right) out for the countin Origin Three, 2007.

We need to educate people to understanda head injury is just as bad as any other

injury and possibly worse. DR RON MURATORE

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