Page 6 - Report Concussion News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Everyone wants more research. but the dangers of concussion have been discussed for decades. so how much did rugby union know about it? well, more than you might think. as far back as 1975, the then international rugby board held a medical conference in dublin where head injuries were discussed, and they were warned by neurosurgeon geoffrey vanderfield that concussions needed to be taken seriously, as even a slight injury could be life—threatening. the rugby authorities reacted, ruling players had to take a three—week break after a suspected concussion, and they continued to get advice fro...

Guards could prevent concussion. most worryingly, in professional rugby, 80% of medical staff said they'd felt under pressure to give the all—clear to a concussed player. one of those behind the research was the wru's prav matheema. if 80% of medical staff are saying they're feeling under pressure, then that isn't an ideal situation at all, is it? well, what i would say, actually, with regards to the research that had been conducted is that, you know, until we know where our base level starts from, as well, is that, you know, how can we actually approach and how can we actually address any o...

The following decades. in 1992, at a rugby medical conference in new zealand, the message from two neurosurgeons is pretty blunt. they say there's good evidence of some permanent effect from a single concussion. and if they have a third concussion, they shouldn't be selected to play again and should be advised to take up a non—contact sport. world rugby told us there are different opinions on how concussion should be managed, but they were unaware of any current guidelines or research recommending that players should retire after three concussions. back when rugby union was amateur, it was t...

Welcome, here, to our cold north. they created a working party on concussion, and i was put on the working party. then i got really involved and interested. and it was a time of great revelation about what was happening in concussion. and we weren't hearing anything particularly good about it, really. but as the sport turned professional, rugby union relied more on advice from external experts. in 2008, the concussion in sport group said it was ok to come back within seven days. and we had three weeks. and, in my innocence, i thought, "well, these guys know a lot "more about it than me, becaus...

Dr 0'driscoll became increasingly unhappy with policy on concussion, and in 2012 he resigned in protest. it's been my life, and a huge, huge amount for me and my family. i think what came into consideration was, we don't want to damage the game too much as far as the commercial side goes. we want players back, and if you can find a justification for them to get back, we want them back as soon as we can. world rugby told us they always put player welfare first above any other considerations — commercial or otherwise. as dr 0'driscoll was resigning, this young player's career was taking off. y...