Concussions are a problem. They are serious, life altering injuries. Since the beginning of the game of rugby there have been people ‘getting their bell rung’. Only recently has the Global Governing Body of World Rugby understood the severity of rugby related head injuries, like concussion.
A lot of rugby played around the world is played in areas or countries where there is a shortage of medical staff that are trained or qualified to recognize then treat, with proper proficiency, concussions. Even in wealthy countries, including the uk, medical personnel are rarely present at junior level rugby. Furthermore the International Rugby Board concluded that any player with a concussion, or suspected to be carrying an injury to the neck or cranium (the skull, especially the part enclosing the brain), should be ruled out …show more content…
The risks of getting concussed are getting higher due to the increase in fitness and higher muscle development in players. Both of these combined leads to harder, larger impacts. The short term effects of a concussion could be loss of consciousness, dizziness, loss of memory, or a blank expression. This is quite common even in lower impact concussions. Later health problems can also develop over numerous concussions in a sporting career. These problems are decidedly more serious. Although rare, such issues can develop in later life long after one's sporting career is over. Due to the character of the game, players often tell themselves or are told by team mates to ‘get on with it’ or to ‘man up’. Even if they know that they have an injury, most normally the player perseveres and carries on playing. Continuing playing can make the seriousness of further injury increasingly more dangerous. For example 2 years ago in a rugby match against a local team, Strathallan, I was concussed but continued to play. I was then knocked out later in the game with a secondary concussion. Lucky the consequences were not that
A lot of rugby played around the world is played in areas or countries where there is a shortage of medical staff that are trained or qualified to recognize then treat, with proper proficiency, concussions. Even in wealthy countries, including the uk, medical personnel are rarely present at junior level rugby. Furthermore the International Rugby Board concluded that any player with a concussion, or suspected to be carrying an injury to the neck or cranium (the skull, especially the part enclosing the brain), should be ruled out …show more content…
The risks of getting concussed are getting higher due to the increase in fitness and higher muscle development in players. Both of these combined leads to harder, larger impacts. The short term effects of a concussion could be loss of consciousness, dizziness, loss of memory, or a blank expression. This is quite common even in lower impact concussions. Later health problems can also develop over numerous concussions in a sporting career. These problems are decidedly more serious. Although rare, such issues can develop in later life long after one's sporting career is over. Due to the character of the game, players often tell themselves or are told by team mates to ‘get on with it’ or to ‘man up’. Even if they know that they have an injury, most normally the player perseveres and carries on playing. Continuing playing can make the seriousness of further injury increasingly more dangerous. For example 2 years ago in a rugby match against a local team, Strathallan, I was concussed but continued to play. I was then knocked out later in the game with a secondary concussion. Lucky the consequences were not that