Concussions and Protecting Our Players

[HighPlainsDrifter]

This is something all codes could get together on , pool resources and help lower the risks to the player across codes and lift the profile of the problem from the U8's to test level in conjunction with say the AIS , Universities and Neurosurgeons . It's not that long ago that I felt sick and scared every time Berrick Barnes ran out on the pitch after his horrid run of head knocks . Fitzsimmons seems still lucid for an ex forward in middle age , great article ...perhaps the Bandanna is keeping the grey matter in place .

 

[I like to watch]

Should we just make it that any time a player appears to bump their head they just need to be withdrawn from the game?

Having properly qualified doctors assessing players off the field against a series of accepted concussion guidelines seems like a reasonable practice to me.

We all know that professional sport is very competitive and if a player passes all the tests and a doctor considers them to not be concussed they won't overrule that and say that I'm still not letting that player back on the field because I saw that they received a head knock.

if there was a Dr without team affiliations making decisions about players returning to play,or sitting out,I am confident that many more players would not stay/return to play after a knock.
It's accepted by many,that a second knock is much more dangerous than a one off concussion.
In regards to your earlier post about losing consciousness does not automatically mean concussion,I don't think it matters.
Either way,a player should be protected.

 

[boyo]

Was the assessing doctor IRB-sanctioned and/or IRB-employed?

 

[Tex]

WRFU will have access to instant television replays to help avoid a repeat situation of the North incident.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/new...rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

For what it matters George is symptom free and will continue the return to play protocol.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

^^^ So WTF is on all those computer and TV screens in the Coaches Box if they can't see the live feed, or have one of their analysts "roll the tape back a few frames" if the host broadcaster is not doing so?

How many WRU employee eyes were there at the venue actually watching the game?

I know that if I go to a work site and observe what I believe may be an unsafe practice, then I am bound by NSW State Government OH&S regulation to report it to the work site manager/supervisor, regardless of my status at that work site. The Supervisor will then either explain to me the measures that they have taken to ensure that the practice is safe and can be continued to be conducted, or they will stop the practice until it can be performed safely. In either outcome, both all parties will be better off after the conversation.

I have no reason to believe that the UK OH&S legislation is fundamentally different from ours, and the compensation lawyers would have a field day with a "I didn't see a replay on TV" defence.

 

[Tex]

Or the "I didn't see the bloke lying immobile, face down on the grass" defence.

 

[Strewthcobber]

It was replayed several times on the big screen at the ground too. Not good enough.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

World Rugby trying to have a bob each way as in "naughty Wales for leaving North out there but it's not really your fault 'cos your coach & medical staff didn't see it".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...uld-not-have-stayed-on-the-pitch--world-rugby

Needs to be taken WAY more seriously.

 

[Brendan Hume]

Having watched the incidents a few times, I can accept the Wales defence. He was taken off after the first knock which looked pretty innocuous in terms of the impact - he was cleared to play on and did so. In the second incident, if you didn't see the replay where his right arm went limp it just looked like he'd been bumped out of the contact - he was getting up within 3 seconds of impact and the whistle had gone.
Players, team mates and referees all have responsibilities here. Perhaps if Hibbard had told the trainers I've just smashed this bloke in the head with my rock hard melon, have a look at him - it could have been different. I didn't see the next 30 secs after North got back to his feet - I'm only going off the footage I saw of both incidents.
I treat concussion as seriously as the next person, but it's a collision sport and people get knocked about all the time. Hanging Wales out to dry doesn't progress the issue - improving awareness among players, medics and referees does.

 

[Quick Hands]

It was replayed several times on the big screen at the ground too. Not good enough.

With all the support staff that teams have watching and analysing the match, the WRU ask us to believe that none of them saw this?

 

[Quick Hands]

World Rugby trying to have a bob each way as in "naughty Wales for leaving North out there but it's not really your fault 'cos your coach & medical staff didn't see it".

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...uld-not-have-stayed-on-the-pitch--world-rugby

Needs to be taken WAY more seriously.

The old Sgt Schultz defence, most favoured by politicians at ICAC.

 

[Quick Hands]

^^^ So WTF is on all those computer and TV screens in the Coaches Box if they can't see the live feed, or have one of their analysts "roll the tape back a few frames" if the host broadcaster is not doing so?

How many WRU employee eyes were there at the venue actually watching the game?

I know that if I go to a work site and observe what I believe may be an unsafe practice, then I am bound by NSW State Government OH&S regulation to report it to the work site manager/supervisor, regardless of my status at that work site. The Supervisor will then either explain to me the measures that they have taken to ensure that the practice is safe and can be continued to be conducted, or they will stop the practice until it can be performed safely. In either outcome, both all parties will be better off after the conversation.

I have no reason to believe that the UK OH&S legislation is fundamentally different from ours, and the compensation lawyers would have a field day with a "I didn't see a replay on TV" defence.

Or as one of the foremost experts on this might say:

But Dr O'Driscoll said: "The five to 10 minute assessment he [North] had is meaningless, it's tokenism.
"The actual regulations at this level say that if you suspect concussion, which you had to, you come off and you stay off."

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/31208698

Or this: O’Driscoll still vehemently insists — as he has always done — that the policy should be zero tolerance. Nothing else. That if a player is recognised as showing concussion symptoms he is taken off and that’s it.
No second chance because a five-minute or the soon-to-be 10-minute check is, in his belief, simply not sufficient when dealing with the grey matter of a brain injury.
‘There needs to be zero tolerance on this, not varying degrees if you show signs you are concussed. Pure and simple,’ he insisted. ‘Doing a five-minute or a 10-minute assessment, it becomes completely arbitrary. The IRB have confused and trivialised concussion.
‘The experts still don’t know exactly the full significance of concussion but every bit of research that is coming out is really bad news.
‘There can be no messing about with the brain.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/concussion/article-2642211/Brian-ODriscolls-doctor-uncle-blasts-IRB-concussion-rules-Florian-Fritz-injury.html#ixzz3RQJkGLqs
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[Dctarget]

That video gives you a fantastic insight into the concussion test that we've heard so much about yet still know so little. It's difficult to believe that this was the same test that George North supposedly passed.

 

[2bluesfan]

That video gives you a fantastic insight into the concussion test that we've heard so much about yet still know so little. It's difficult to believe that this was the same test that George North supposedly passed.

Not to make light of the importance of concussion tests but I played with some players who would not have passed parts of that test if it had been administered before they ran on to the field.

 

[D-Box]

That video gives you a fantastic insight into the concussion test that we've heard so much about yet still know so little. It's difficult to believe that this was the same test that George North supposedly passed.

There are to important comments made in the video. He talks about knowing your player's baseline. This is where some of these tests, particularly more complicated ones, have been accused of being gamed. Players have been accursed of tanking in the pre-season testing, making it easier to pass if concussed. Though it is probably hard to game this one.

More importantly to the North incident is the comment about reviewing the video and the implication at the end of the video - if they looked concussed on the field sit them out, screw what the test says.

 

[Dctarget]

It's a tough issue to deal with, because in the view of the player/team/coach if the concussed player stays on the field it might be enough to win the game, championship, grand final, world cup etc.

But I think with anything to do with the head you just don't fuck around. You cannot and should not put a price on brain damage.

 

[Strewthcobber]

O'Brien escorted off by the team doctor in the Ireland-England match.

Does anyone have any stats on concussions at international level? It feels like it's running close to one a match at the highest level but love to see some actual science.

If it's as high as it feels (and I hope its not) I'm having thoughts about how ethical it is to pay money to watch these guys do permanent damage to themselves for my entertainment.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent concussion in the first place and not just manage it when it happens?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Interesting article in todays SMH on Randwick First Grade, who will be fitted with tri-axial accelerometer patches behind their ears to gather data on G Force impacts during the game.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...neering-concussion-study-20150319-1m376p.html

 

[qwerty51]

Who's funding that?

 

[RugbyReg]

As a former prop how they impact scrummaging. Ear rub is bad enough as it is.