Concussion Awareness in Rugby League

Following all of the excitement around last night's State of Original clash won by New South Wales, I thought that it was timely to mention the risks of concussion in rugby league, and the rules in place to guide health professionals, coaches, players and carers.

Evidence has been recently revealed through autopsies that Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), commonly known as being "punch drunk" has been linked to concussions in former rugby league players. Read an article on ABC News here.

The NRL has in recent years tightened their guidelines in management of concussed players. Their rules emphasis is on the welfare of the player in both the short and long term. The picture below serves to remind us all that not only elite or professional players can get concussed. Children and club/social players can also be affected.

Source: https://www.playrugbyleague.com/trainer/concussion/ 

A study published in 2018 by Alan J. Pearce et al. where testing was undertaken of twenty-five elite level players who had not had a concussion were compared to twenty-five who had, agreed with these findings, concluding that their study is "the first to show neurophysiological evidence of alterations in intracortical inhibition and changes in cognitive function in retired professional rugby league players with a history of concussions". 

Neurophysiological and cognitive impairment following repeated sports concussion injuries in retired professional rugby league players. Alan J. Pearce, Billymo Rist, Clare L. Fraser, Adrian Cohen, Jerome J. Maller. BRAIN INJURY 2018, VOL. 32, NO. 4, 498–505.

MNCLHD employees can contact their Librarian for a copy of this paper here.