What are other sports doing about concussions?

American football

Head traumas and concussions have been a huge issue for the NFL with multiple high-profile court cases around retired players suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease found in people with a history of repetitive brain trauma. This even led to changing the rules of the sport, the formation of a specific head, neck and spine committee and a huge swathe of new game-day protocols.

There are now also neuro-trauma specialists on touchlines, in TV booths and in the stands who have direct links to referees to stop play if a concussion is spotted. Players who have a suspected concussion are analysed on seven different observable symptoms in a specifically designed pitchside tent. If any signs of concussion are found, they are immediately ruled out of the game and enter a multi-day concussion protocol.

Rugby

After the diagnosis of a concussion, players must rest for one week before any further testing is allowed regardless of whether symptoms disappear during this time. If players then pass this protocol they then enter the ‘Graduated Return To Play’ programme, which consists of six levels that a player is required to pass with no further signs of concussion before moving on to the next level 24 hours later.

Football

Amid a series of stories of high-profile former players being diagnosed with dementia anecdotally attributed to heading the ball for a career – including five of the starting team of England’s 1966 World Cup winning team – English football’s governing bodies are looking to limit the amount of time professional players head the ball during training. Research into the area is also being carried out. The Football Association also introduced the use of concussion substitutes from February this year. This allowed an additional two players to be removed from the field of play if they are believed to have suffered a concussion even if the allocated amount of three substitutions has already been made.