Sports concussion expert Dr Micky Collins is the keynote speaker at UPMC Beacon orthopaedic summit next Saturday at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin which will focus on sports injury management and concussion in particular.
Although there have been a couple of high profile incidents here in recent months where players have continued on the pitch despite receiving a knock to the head, Beacon consultant orthopaedic surgeon Maurice Neligan, pictured, says awareness and the level of caution with which concussion is treated has improved in recent years.
“Before that it was less recognised and it was not treated,” he says. “It was almost considered manly to stay on the pitch and to be able to play on. Now it’s recognised that that’s actually quite a dangerous thing.”
Dr Collins was one of the co-founders of the Impact assessment in the US which involves a 25-minute cognitive test to evaluate if a sports person is suffering from concussion. Only when they get a score, within a certain percentage of what they received when originally taking the test, can they return to play.
"That is a very, very powerful tool and it's been used millions and millions of times," Mr Neligan says. "Any high school, or collegiate, or professional athlete in most sports in the United States would do it."
The IRFU is also a user. “It’s more scientific now when people can go back [to play],” says Mr Neligan, adding that 90 per cent of concussions will go away after 7-10 days. Some cases can be “extremely serious” with the concussion ending a person’s sporting career or changing their personality.
One example he recalls was a concussion that prevented an Olympic-class rower from getting back on the water. “The light striking the waves completely disorientated her and she used to vomit.”
The potential effects of concussions on sports people are now acknowledged. Earlier this year the National Football League in the US agreed to pay $765 million to settle a case brought by some 4,500 players and their families.
However Mr Neligan says the evidence is not conclusive on whether a series of sustained concussions throughout a career can do lasting damage.
Led by physiotherapist Ruth Whelan, a UPMC team has been working with the GAA to develop an education programme due to be rolled out over the coming months.
Mr Neligan says the programme is likely to involve an e-learning test followed by practical teaching and instruction. “Someone will have some sort of basic qualification then in recognising concussion. Every club will then be encouraged to have people in their club that have those skills.”