Rugby Brain Injuries
-
@NTA said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
@Machpants said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
What I think has been missed here is the suit is as much about the continual micro injuries from pretty much every hit/ruck/tackle etc. So the big bash concussion management is maybe not as important as the continual damage that pro players do to each other.
I saw something similar in a story about NFL players - they found it wasn't the big ones that were getting guys: the continual smashing together on the scrimmage line over time was where the "floor" for CTE developed.
To me it made the argument for removing helmets and shoulder pads from NFL - remove the false sense of security.
Similarly in boxing, waaaaay back in the days when it was bareknuckle, hitting the head was often counter-productive as you'd like break a small bone in your hand. Not that having your ribs and organs smashed up was any better I guess...
Yeah, this is concerning part from a personal perspective.
Looking back at my playing days not long after I "retired", I reckoned I had been concussed twice, both some years apart. The latest one had me standing down from playing for a few weeks and cooked me mentally for a few months - a general sense of fogginess and greater irritability. Anyway, I finished up playing at the end of the following season, but made a small come back for a social 10s tournament overseas about 3 years later. On the plane on the way over, I watched Concussion with Will Smith, where they really emphasise the significance of the "micro" injuries from standard play. Anyway, sure enough, first tackle I make in the 10s tournament, I had this feeling of my brain swishing around in my skull, but without that black our feeling that comes with a "proper" concussion. Really made me look back at my playing "career" and realise that my total concussion number was closer to a dozen than the one or two I had thought previously.
-
@Machpants said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
What I think has been missed here is the suit is as much about the continual micro injuries from pretty much every hit/ruck/tackle etc. So the big bash concussion management is maybe not as important as the continual damage that pro players do to each other. You see all the articles which compare a full on high speed tackle to a car crash at XYZ kph, that is the real problem rugby has. In fact every contact sport.
Aren't some of these guys just playing too much? Some of these players in the suit have played over 300 first class games. Their careers have been lengthened because they stick around for the money. In the amateur days, they would have just retired. Players are making a trade off with their health.
-
-
@MiketheSnow My favourite England player of that era. Brilliant to watch and completely dedicated.
-
I wonder how fool proof the current checks are?
I recall reading an article a few years back where Stephen Kara (Blues Dr at the time) walked through the HIA protocols, on the day and the days following an impact, can only assume (hope) they are improving these all the time?
-
@kev yeah next ten years or so will be very interesting.
I mean, no contact before 14, yet, I am firmly in the camp that the younger (and smaller) they are to teach them to tackle properly, will minimise serious tackle (not head) injuries, but minimising doesnt eliminate.
Obviously this being about head injuries, if people cant tackle properly, it will see more head injuries...
I mean some 50kg U14 kid going out in his first game of tackle needing to take down a 100kg kid running flat out at him having never tackled before?
-
@taniwharugby said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
@kev yeah next ten years or so will be very interesting.
I mean, no contact before 14, yet, I am firmly in the camp that the younger they are to teach them to tackle properly, will minimise serious tackle (not head) injuries, but minimising doesnt eliminate.
Obviously this being about head injuries, if people cant tackle properly, it will see more head injuries...
I mean some 50kg U14 kid going out in his first game of tackle needing to take down a 100kg kid running flat out at him having never tackled before?
Big fan of touch rugby, weight restricted rugby, technique coaching and the current crackdown. Players have to get lower, get their heads to the side. Tackling player must keep their head away from player being tackled. Those front on tackles where two defenders converge and take each other out with friendly fire is difficult….
-
@kev said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
Those front on tackles where two defenders converge and take each other out with friendly fire is difficult….
Those freak the shit outta me! I find myself looking away on the replay. I hope they look worse than they might actually be.
-
@siam said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
@kev said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
Those front on tackles where two defenders converge and take each other out with friendly fire is difficult….
Those freak the shit outta me! I find myself looking away on the replay. I hope they look worse than they might actually be.
Or when teammates get a bit over zealous with their celebrations.
-
I’m taking it everyone watched that on Sunday it was very interesting, it’s my sons first year of tackle U8’s and I’ve stressed to them multiple time as a coach that if they feel any sort of a headache or just don’t feel flash come off I’ve had to pull one particular kid who has a bit of a Sam Tuitupou mentality of charge in there head first.
-
@mikey07 said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
I’m taking it everyone watched that on Sunday it was very interesting, it’s my sons first year of tackle U8’s and I’ve stressed to them multiple time as a coach that if they feel any sort of a headache or just don’t feel flash come off I’ve had to pull one particular kid who has a bit of a Sam Tuitupou mentality of charge in there head first.
Think this is key. Coaches getting kids to have good habits from the beginning. Tackling in the right way and looking after themselves.
-
@siam said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
@kev said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
Those front on tackles where two defenders converge and take each other out with friendly fire is difficult….
Those freak the shit outta me! I find myself looking away on the replay. I hope they look worse than they might actually be.
my last decent head knock was that. Was low, hit the guy full tilt around the hips, head went around the back nicely out of the way...
and my team mate coming form the other side did exactly the same thing. bang!! 8 stitches in my temple.
i am still of the opinion that, the bet thing rugby can do, rather than being out of control strict on all incidental head contact (in a game of large men throwing themselves at each other at full force for extended periods of time) is to be far more strict on concussion protocols. Longer stand downs, regular checks. We've got rid of most of the foul play, now protect players from themselves.
-
@mariner4life said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
@siam said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
@kev said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
Those front on tackles where two defenders converge and take each other out with friendly fire is difficult….
Those freak the shit outta me! I find myself looking away on the replay. I hope they look worse than they might actually be.
my last decent head knock was that. Was low, hit the guy full tilt around the hips, head went around the back nicely out of the way...
and my team mate coming form the other side did exactly the same thing. bang!! 8 stitches in my temple.
i am still of the opinion that, the bet thing rugby can do, rather than being out of control strict on all incidental head contact (in a game of large men throwing themselves at each other at full force for extended periods of time) is to be far more strict on concussion protocols. Longer stand downs, regular checks. We've got rid of most of the foul play, now protect players from themselves.
100% this. People seem to forget what a crazy game rugby is. No way would it be allowed if invented these days. I mean they mandate the use of mouthguards because there’s a good chance of you losing teeth if you don’t have one. Everyone here who played for any length of time can probably talk of at least one serious injury and you’re probably in the minority if you go an entire career without being concussed or suffering a nasty knock to the head. Everyone who plays it must surely be aware of the potential consequences. Shit, I stopped playing in my mid 20s because I didn’t want to get injured. I won’t let my son play unless he’s serious and focussed enough when on the field. I’ve been playing in or watching more than one game that was abandoned because some poor prick had a suspected spinal injury. You have to sometimes wonder whether some people have suddenly come to the realisation of what rugby actually involves. It’s a ridiculous, brutal and potentially very dangerous game regardless of how much they try to sanitise it.
-
@rancid-schnitzel said in Rugby Brain Injuries:
you’re probably in the minority if you go an entire career without being concussed or suffering a nasty knock to the head.
Me!
My only one was from racing BMX with a big old helmet not stopping my concussion.