Hurling has come under the spotlight for its lack of adherence to concussion protocols, with a new study revealing that less than a quarter of players were removed from play after showing effects of head injury.
The research into inter-county Hurling revealed that during the study period, only ten out of 43 players who showed one of more signs of concussion were removed from play.
Furthermore, while players suffering a potential concussive event were frequently assessed, 81 per cent of these assessments were under one minute in duration.
The lack of appropriate protection for players was revealed in a study by University College Cork (UCC), whose research team conducted an analysis of potential concussive events during all inter-county Hurling league and championship matches in 2018 and 2019.
This comes despite the GAA’s Concussion Management Guidelines recommending that athletes suspected of having sustained a concussion be removed from play immediately and medically assessed using the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 5 protocol (SCAT-5), which takes a minimum of ten minutes to complete.
Calls are now being made for this to be urgently addressed and for a standardised assessment protocol to be implemented.
“Unfortunately, throughout the 2018 and 2019 Hurling seasons, we were unable to identify any assessments that resembled the SCAT-5,” the researchers state.
“In both Gaelic Football and Hurling, players continue to return to play without adequate standardised assessment at an unacceptably high rate, often despite the presence of visible signs of concussion.
“Players are not receiving standardised assessment following potential concussive events and return to play at a high rate, even when visible signs of concussion are present.
“Those returning to play without being properly screened for concussion are at risk of further strikes to the head and more severe post-concussive symptoms and complications.
“Despite the wishes of the players, manager, or fans, medical staff must err on the side of caution when deciding whether to allow a player to return to play.
“The use of a standardised assessment protocol must be enforced to ensure that concussions are not missed, and that players only return to play if it is safe to do so.”
