Chad Rintoul on Concussion

[Didaicos]

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/concussion-victim-calls-for-week-off-20100419-spcs.html

[DaVe86]

I seriously think that if you go off with concussion that you should automatically not be allowed to come back on.

Perhaps in these cases the AFL can allow a substitute.



You set an official AFL doctor to assess the player. You can't fake concussion.


Yes it may give the side an advantage, but I suppose the other side should be more careful not to knock someone out.


Or alternatively, if your side gets a sub, then the other club is allowed a sub as well. Subs are only allowed in the case where there is a concussion.



For all the talk of protection of heads, it seems absurd players are allowed to go on after a knockout. As has been said, a boxer has to sit out months.

[mackasmatt]

A school near mine in 2003 had an on-field death when a boy was advised he could play a match the week after a serious concussion. He got another hit to the head, had an aneurysm and died.

http://www.loveland.k12.oh.us/lhs/athletics/pages/Injury_Protocol.pdf

If you have a read of that it indicates you shouldn't do anything until you are symptom free. Seriously doubt that would be the case with AFL.

[Dr Pie]

Head injuries need to be taken seriously. In the US they are now discovering that Gridiron players have a much higher incidence of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's than the general male population. Even with the helmets that American footballers wear they are sustaining permanent brain damage.

I do not want to see contact go out of the game but if a player is concussed that should be it, not only for the rest of the match but probably for the match after as well.

[colin_wood]

I think they should be suspended for 1 week if they are knocked out cold. Saw some stuff on Catayst ABC a couple of weeks ago & they were chopping up the brains of dead gridiron players.......

their brains were mashed but you can only see the damage after they were dead...not in an MRI scan....not good.

It is only a matter of time before an AFL player gets KOed, passes their bulshit test & then drops dead on the field after they are sent back on

[Prometheus]

The recent story on the ABC's Catalyst show on Concussion that was very interesting.

http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2873539.htm

[colin_wood]

They thought their bad memory was from all the weed they smoked when they were teenagers....they now know it was the footy concussions !

[Skids]

Could we, or should we see helmets made mandatory in the AFL?

That carlton bloke got smashed badly and there's somebody coming off the ground every week with a head injury.

Helmets will become compulsory in AFL, says Malcolm Blight

The AFL’s drive to protect the head at all costs will inevitably lead to compulsory helmets, ­according to Malcolm Blight.

Within five years, Blight predicts, Australian football will do what gridiron did 75 years ago and make helmets mandatory.

The Hall of Fame legend’s prophecy comes as ex-players such as Nicky Winmar, seeking compensation for the lingering ­effects of their head injuries, consider launching a class action against the AFL.

“I’ve got a feeling that in the not too distant future, legally the AFL might have to protect the welfare of its players by introducing a rule to wear compulsory helmets,’’ Blight said on his Adelaide radio program Sportsday SA.

“And if you think I’m silly, think of what happened in 1943 in the NFL. They were made compulsory for the gridiron players.

“Think of every kid that plays cricket now. When I played in the 60s and 70s — no helmets. Everyone wears helmets now.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/helmets-will-become-compulsory-in-afl-says-malcolm-blight/news-story/a324d5ab47217487544efd5da17c5c4d

[npalm]

Can't read the article. It's paywalled.

However from what I have read in the past helmets don't prevent concussions - because they don't stop the head bouncing around in your skull.
They may actually make the concussion problem worse because players may be tempted to go in harder thinking they are protected.

Helmets may help prevent split eyebrows and fractures tho.

[Skids]

I have heard what you mention as well, but there hasn't been enough study to prove that.

This is a pretty thorough report....

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987604/

[Woods Of Ypres]

but what about our Dream Teams

[RudeBoy]

[LaurieHolden]

^^true. As soon as the first compensation case is settled, up go the insurance premiums and it'll become a condition of play to wear a helmet or a player risks compromising any future claims.
I reckon Liam Jones wished he had one on.
I can see a day where it will be like putting on a seatbelt.

[stui magpie]

Someone needs to invent a helmet made out of that energy absorbing foam so it actually reduces the force of the impact to the brain instead of just protecting the skull.

[makri]