Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Tackling concussion awareness head-on
An injury doesn’t have to be “spectacular” to sustain a concussion, and knocks to head aren’t limited to to scrums and tackles.
Tasman Rugby Union will be spreading the word at about concussion awareness and looking after the brain post-injury at two events next month, with the help of one of the country’s leading headache experts.
Tasman Rugby Union referee administrator Stephen Caunter said he attended a talk last year in Nelson from Headache Clinic founder Helen Tufui.
Her message was “so good,” that the Community Rugby team decided more people across the top of the south, particularly those playing a contact sport, needed to hear it, Caunter said.
“Concussion is not just a rugby thing. It’s across all sports, and that’s the objective, and hopefully the message is clear ... it doesnt matter what sport you’re playing, understanding concussion and brain injury and how the brain repairs itself is quite important,” he said.
One of the on-field tools Tasman Rugby Union used to protect players from long-term head injury was the use of the “blue card”, introduced in the last decade for all Tasman rugby grades where a union referee was present.
Caunter said 30 blue cards were handed out across Nelson Bays and Marlborough last season.
“Referees are trained to understand, in terms of looking out for what signs players may exhibit, if they’ve had a concussion or potential concussion or a head knock,” he said. “And then they are armed now with the blue card to remove a player from the field ... but the blue card then also initiates support and information, not only from New Zealand Rugby but from Tasman as well.”
Tufui founded the Headache Clinic 10 years ago after having a concussion herself and suffering from persistent headaches. “So I managed to work out what the cause of that was, and treat it ... that experience was so life changing for me, that I knew I had to share that with more people,” she said.
“It doesn’t have to be a spectacular injury to sustain a concussion.”
A 21-day stand down was set out by New Zealand Rugby for players who suffered a concussion, but Tufui said recovery journeys could be more flexible than simply ruling training out completely.
“It can be quite lonely if they just think they’re not allowed to go to sport for three weeks – that’s not the case ... even things like still going to training, but sticking to their recovery plan, which might be like you can do some running, but there’s no contact,” Tufui said. “It’s supporting the player to make those good choices, because their sport might be vital in their life for their mental health and socialising.”
Getting Your Head Around Concussion information evenings are free and will be at the Marlborough Boys’ College pavilion in Blenheim at 6pm on April 2, and at the Waimea Old Boys clubrooms in Richmond at 6pm on April 3.