Sports injury worries worsen

THE post-mortem findings of AFL great Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer’s plight with traumatic brain injuries have raised alarm bells for how contact sport can affect an athlete long-term.

But according to a Townsville professor they should not come as a surprise.

A Geelong legend, Farmer has become the first confirmed case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

James Cook University Head, Heart, Trauma and Sepsis Laboratory professor Geoffrey Dobson said the symptoms of repeated head injuries – such as changes in reaction time, altered sleep patterns, depression and anxiety – were all precursors to post-traumatic stress disorder and dementia.

He said it was the worsening of symptoms that needed to be prevented and was at the forefront of research plans.

“A concussion is likened to throwing a stone into the water; you can’t do anything about the direct impact but you can reduce the ripple effect that is transmitted through the brain – that is called secondary injury progression,” Prof Dobson said.

“If that can be reduced, the symptoms associated with post-concussion syndrome can be reduced.

“The big problem is the symptoms of CTE typically do not begin until years after the injuries.”

Prof Dobson said he and a team were developing a drug therapy that would protect the brain and body from further secondary injury. Furthermore they submitted a proposal to the NRL to research concussion biomarkers released from the brain to the blood to better identify when an athlete should return to the field.

Prof Dobson said they were still awaiting a response.

While the impacts of continued concussions at a professional level have been shown to be detrimental, clubs have medical staff more readily available to identify and manage these cases.

However, at a local level, Townsville sports practitioner Dr Simone Page said education was pivotal.

While she said children were typically more resilient than adults they were more susceptible to concussions and took longer to recover.

“For local sport there’s not always the money to have a sport physician or a doctor at the field,” Dr Page said.

“A lot of the time it’s more parents, first aiders or coaches that are first on scene.

“It is important to educate all involved in sport, not only the medical staff, so they have at least a basic understanding of concussion.”