Rugby and football injuries to the head spark protocol discussions
Head injuries and questions around protocols have hit the news recently with Bristol Rovers legend, Ian Alexander, taking legal action against the FA and some dramatic scenes during the 6 Nations Scotland-Ireland game.
Finn Russell and Darcy Graham clashed heads during the first half of the game at Murrayfield. Graham was stretched off and diagnosed with a concussion at a local hospital, with Russell being assessed at the stadium. However, conversation sparked around concussion protocols when Russell passed his Head Injury Assessment (HIA) but the team did not deem him fit to return to the pitch.
“Our staff sensed he wasn’t totally aware of what was going on, so we made the call to not put him back on,” Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend explained.
Townsend’s decision was praised by Progressive Rugby, a non-profit group campaigning for better protection of rugby union players. As they highlighted, this incident shows that HIA is not fit for purpose.
Head injuries sustained in football training and matches
Over in football, the discussion is around Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) – a brain condition linked to repeated blows to the head that can only be diagnosed when the brain is analysed after death.
For Ian Alexander, 62, who won the third-tier title and reached a Wembley final in 1990, memories are fading and muddled and at times he is even unable to remember how to use a fork. Alexander is one of 30 former players and their families taking action and hoping the High Court uncovers how much football should be blamed for their head injuries, demanding to know how much the FA were aware of the long-term damage caused by repeated blows to the head, concussions and repetitive heading of the ball.
The FA argue that,
“Nobody can play sport without some risk of injury. Are we to discourage the playing of sport?”
The parties are due back in court in June.
Susanne McGraw, Head of Personal Injury at Watermans said,
“This is not about discouraging people from playing sports, it’s about keeping them safe. I would agree that there is always a risk of injury when playing a sport but it should be a measured risk and not one which causes someone to be debilitated in later life simply for playing a sport they love.”
“Where there is a pattern of medical conditions arising from a certain sport, the governing bodies have a duty, much like an employer, to investigate and do what they can to alleviate the risk. To ignore the risk is ignoring their duty to the players, both current and future. If sportsmen and women are saying that something is not working, such as HIA, then they have to be listened to and action taken by those who govern the sport. Sport is for enjoyment and keeping us healthy so let’s keep it that way.”