General Concussion thread

[TRF_Olyy]

Ex-All Black prop Carl Hayman joins legal action after dementia diagnosis https://the42.ie/5590392

Very sad news, and he definitely won't be the last

There's a whole generation of players who played through the era of pro-level strength and conditioning/size/power but amateur era attitudes towards head injuries

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Very sad news, and he definitely won't be the last

There's a whole generation of players who played through the era of pro-level strength and conditioning/size/power but amateur era attitudes towards head injuries

Wasn't even that long ago when Saints and North played on after getting knocked out.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

But it's not just getting knocked out, which is bad enough for the brain. It's the constant little knocks to the head, which accumulate over a career during training and games - tackles, scrums etc.

 

[Five Meters Out]

If the claims about constant head knocks in every game of rugby leading to dementia, the first thing to do would be to look at the Over 60's populations, in New Zealand and Wales. Both countries being traditional rugby playing nations.
The women in these Over 60's populations would not have played rugby, but the majority of males would have. There should be many more males with Dementia, than females, in this cohort. Are there??

 

[Kiwiwomble]

If the claims about constant head knocks in every game of rugby leading to dementia, the first thing to do would be to look at the Over 60's populations, in New Zealand and Wales. Both countries being traditional rugby playing nations.
The women in these Over 60's populations would not have played rugby, but the majority of males would have. There should be many more males with Dementia, than females, in this cohort. Are there??

the "majority" of males in the NZ wont have actually played rugby...and a lot of those that have played will have only played for a season or something in school...but much more of the women than you think will have, so there are a few holes in that approach

 

[Five Meters Out]

the "majority" of males in the NZ wont have actually played rugby...and a lot of those that have played will have only played for a season or something in school...but much more of the women than you think will have, so there are a few holes in that approach

NZ Over 60's population. So by and large we're talking about 1950's to 1989. I cannot recall seeing any Women's rugby back in that era. Male dementia numbers should far outnumber female in New Zealand today, if rugby is a cause.

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

NZ Over 60's population. So by and large we're talking about 1950's to 1989. I cannot recall seeing any Women's rugby back in that era. Male dementia numbers should far outnumber female in New Zealand today, if rugby is a cause.

This is a perfect example of now NOT to do a study lol

 

[Kiwiwomble]

NZ Over 60's population. So by and large we're talking about 1950's to 1989. I cannot recall seeing any Women's rugby back in that era. Male dementia numbers should far outnumber female in New Zealand today, if rugby is a cause.

....because rugby is the only difference between men and women?....and do you think 1989 is 60 years ago?

 

[Five Meters Out]

But it's not just getting knocked out, which is bad enough for the brain. It's the constant little knocks to the head, which accumulate over a career during training and games - tackles, scrums etc.

In 1989 a 62 year old today, would have been 30. In 1960's, 70's, 80's NZ rugby was the dominant sport played in schools (unlike today). Many boys/young men played rugby at this time.
Alzheimers New Zealand 2021 - "Dementia impacts more woman than men - around 30% higher."
Surely this statistic should be reversed if these "little knocks" were a primary cause. Not to mention males getting "little knocks" from heading the soccer ball, bumping their heads on the building sites, playing bull rush etc etc.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

In 1989 a 62 year old today, would have been 30. In 1960's, 70's, 80's NZ rugby was the dominant sport played in schools (unlike today). Many boys/young men played rugby at this time.
Alzheimers New Zealand 2021 - "Dementia impacts more woman than men - around 30% higher."
Surely this statistic should be reversed if these "little knocks" were a primary cause. Not to mention males getting "little knocks" from heading the soccer ball, bumping their heads on the building sites, playing bull rush etc etc.

who said it was the primary cause?

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Brain injury video patronising - Hughes

A former professional rugby player, who had to retire due to brain injuries, dubs part of World Rugby's latest brain health campaign "patronising".

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Which Tyler]

Brain injury video patronising - Hughes

A former professional rugby player, who had to retire due to brain injuries, dubs part of World Rugby's latest brain health campaign "patronising".

www.bbc.co.uk

Hmmm - seems like he objects to being educated, as the contents of the video seem to be entirely accurate and well researched.

Yes, head knocks cause mental health problems, but it is genuinely important to note that it's not the only cause.
Countering medical research with "Everyone I know..." is called bias, and is inadmissible.

This bunch of "modern professional sportsmen" may not include anyone with substance abuse, bad diet or fitness issues.
The wider group of "people who play rugby" most certainly does.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Plan to tackle concussion in sport published by UK government

The government has published a 10-point action plan to tackle concussion in sport in response to an inquiry by a committee of MPs

www.theguardian.com

 

[Which Tyler]

Concussion in professional men’s rugby union: Improvement in detection or increased risk? - BJSM blog - social media's leading SEM voice

Concussion has been the most common injury in English professional men’s rugby since 2011(1), with incidence rising an average of 1.2/1000 hours every season since 2002(2). Multiple sequential refinements to the process for concussion recognition and management have been introduced in that...

blogs.bmj.com

Conclusion:

• The introduction of the Head Injury Assessment alongside several other measures used to aid clinicians in the recognition and diagnosis of concussion appears to have significantly increased the rate of reported concussions over the period 2002 to 2019.
• The introduction of Graduated Return to Play protocols has increased both the mean and median number of days absence following a concussion. Importantly, this process has limited players returning to play in less than 6 days since its introduction and eradicated its occurrence since the 2014/15 seasons.
• Given the increased education, lowering of the diagnostic threshold and the stability/ reduction in other injury rates in the professional game, it appears the rise in concussion incidence in the last decade is largely driven by increased awareness and reporting by medical staff. However, the changing nature of the sport itself may not be ruled out as a potential reason for this change.

 

[Al Bangor]

I remember when Junior Seau (former NFL player) killed himself as a result of having concussions. He had terrible headaches and just couldn't take the pain anymore. So I'm glad that rugby, American football and other contact sports have changed their rules to better protect players. I hope they'll continue to update.

 

[Al Bangor]

CTE

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Reiser99]

Another reminder that concussions need to be taken seriously.

Concussion ends Davies' rugby career

Wales and Scarlets flanker James Davies announces his retirement from rugby due to concussion.

www.bbc.co.uk

Not lost on me that it is a Welsh player retiring considering that Wales have made some dubious decisions when it comes to HIAs recently.

Anyway, wish James Davies all the best in the future and hope he doesn't develop more serious complications later.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Another reminder that concussions need to be taken seriously.

Concussion ends Davies' rugby career

Wales and Scarlets flanker James Davies announces his retirement from rugby due to concussion.

www.bbc.co.uk

Not lost on me that it is a Welsh player retiring considering that Wales have made some dubious decisions when it comes to HIAs recently.

Anyway, wish James Davies all the best in the future and hope he doesn't develop more serious complications later.

Yes, I was sad to hear about that. He potentially could've had a great international career.

 

[Which Tyler]

Effectiveness of the Activate injury prevention exercise programme to prevent injury in schoolboy rugby union | British Journal of Sports Medicine

Abstract:
Objective The efficacious Activate injury prevention exercise programme has been shown to prevent injuries in English schoolboy rugby union. There is now a need to assess the implementation and effectiveness of Activate in the applie setting.
Methods This quasi-experimental study used a 24-hour time-loss injury definition to calculate incidence (/1000 hours) and burden (days lost/1000 hours) for individuals whose teams adopted Activate (used Activate during season) versus non-adopters. The dose-response relationship of varying levels of Activate adherence (median Activate sessions per week) was also assessed. Player-level rugby exposure, sessional Activate adoption and injury reports were recorded by school gatekeepers. Rate ratios (RR), adjusted by cluster (team), were calculated using backwards stepwise Poisson regression to compare rates between adoption and adherence groups.
Results Individuals in teams adopting Activate had a 23% lower match injury incidence (RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.07), 59% lower training injury incidence (RR 0.41, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.97) and 26% lower match injury burden (95% CI 0.46 to 1.20) than individuals on non-adopting teams. Individuals with high Activate adherence (≥3 sessions per week) had a 67% lower training injury incidence (RR 0.33, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.91) and a 32% lower match injury incidence (RR 0.68, 95% CI 0.50 to 0.92) than individuals with low adherence (<1 session per week). While 65% of teams adopted Activate during the season, only one team used Activate three times per week, using whole phases and programme progressions.
Conclusion Activate is effective at preventing injury in English schoolboy rugby. Attention should focus on factors influencing programme uptake and implementation, ensuring Activate can have maximal benefit.

ETA: For those ho don't know, Activate is an RFU initiative of the last few years, about prehab exercises to prevent injuries - including concussions.
More info here for anyone interested.

 

[die_mole]

felt like this was best thread for this, only five week ban