The way concussion is viewed and treated must be tackled in society if change is to be effected in delivering protection from brain injury, it has been claimed.
Since the launch of the UK chapter of the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) last month, its accompanying helpline has seen huge demand for support from veterans and amateur athletes concerned at the impact of their head injuries and the implications of sustaining them.
The CLF has set ambitious targets to prevent new cases of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) within five years and of finding a cure by 2040.
And in being able to achieve that, Dr Adam J White, executive director of CLF UK, says as well as making the necessary changes within sport to protect players, concussion must also be recognised for its seriousness in wider society.
“Concussion is an issue in sport, it’s an issue in the military, but it’s an issue in everyday life. And it’s an area where we’re just getting it wrong in terms of society and healthcare,” Dr White tells NR Times.
‘We’re not doing enough to support people with mild traumatic brain injuries, they’re falling between the gaps. They’ve got some real complex needs that aren’t being catered for by the NHS in the UK at the moment, and that’s a real worry.
“Through the helpline, we’ve had a huge number of people seeking help with their concussions and I think more and more people will be presenting to us. And I hope more and more people do, because it’s not trivial, it is important. “These are serious injuries, each and every one of them, so they do need to be given support for that condition.
“At the moment, the kinds of guidance they’re getting is inadequate, they’re often being told to go home and rest and are often given very little other information. Depending on which hospital you attend depends on what kind of information you’re going to get.
“Often, there’ll be no further referral or no follow-up, typically you’re told if anything deteriorates come back, but people are often not given any treatment plans or support with a huge raft of needs from motor needs, coordination, headaches, sleep disorders.
“People are then left to fend for themselves, which can impact significantly on their lives.”
Through the work of CLF in its native US and its role in establishing the world-leading VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank in Boston – which it is now building further around the world, including in the UK with the creation of the CLF Project – huge advances have been made in understanding the causes of CTE, with links now proven with repeated head impacts over a period of time.
As a result, CLF’s founder Dr Chris Nowinski – whose exposé of NFL safety protocols in 2006 is credited as revolutionising the sport – has become a leading advocate of the need to protect children from the impact of heading.
“Delaying heading as much as we can to restart it much later is a really great first step,” says Dr White.
“By saying there will be no heading until 14 or 16 or 18, we’re reducing our exposure, which would be fantastic. It’s not a core component of the game. It could be removed and most of the game would maintain its beauty, its fun, its enjoyment. So that could be a great first step.
“Sport is a difficult nut to crack but we can affect changes. We’ve given sport five years to stop all new cases of CTE, but we could do it tomorrow. The reality is, is we know how to make this condition stop, but we need to be bold enough and brave enough to make the change.
“What we need to do is reduce the exposure, and then making sure that in tandem with that, we are making sure when players do get concussed, that we deal with it properly, so we’re not returning players the same week, we’re making sure they have plenty of time to rest and recover.
“We’re making sure that they’re not putting their brains through lots of extra stress and they’re not coming back to full contract sessions. We need to see all of those those policies and protocols put in place.”
While change is indeed starting to happen, with measures being taken including restrictions on full-contact training in rugby and high-force heading in football training, Dr White says that advocacy has a huge role to play in driving this forward further still.
“I think in terms of preventing this issue in the future, it’s about the players, it’s about the parents and the grassroots game,” he says.
“Athletes often forget the power they have. If they decide to vote with their feet, if parents decide that they’re not going to let their kids do this anymore, it’ll change. But we’ve seen there has been plenty of opportunity for sport to make the change themselves and they’ve never been brave enough to do it.
“Now, we’re seeing more and more people saying, no, we’re not going to allow this. People are asking do I want my daughter to be heading the ball, do I want this for my child, and we really need them to continue to do that. Children can do so many other kinds of physical activity and exercise but without the risks.”
