What is it about?
Former professional men's rugby union players were interviewed about their experiences of concussive and sub-concussive symptoms throughout their playing careers. Understanding of symptoms associated to concussion were also analysed and showed a lack of knowledge in this area. Broader issues relating to the normalisation of concussion amongst the over-riding culture of rugby union we identified indicating constraints for disclosing any symptoms.
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Why is it important?
Awareness of head injuries and the long lasting effects of receiving single and indeed multiple concussions is growing throughout the world of sport. This is particularly important within rugby union due to the nature of the sport and the increase in collisions which can cause concussive or sub-concussive symptomology. Therefore, with many of the participants in the current study progressing into post-athletic coaching roles, their admissions of not disclosing their symptoms as players, and the normalisation of concussion can help assist coach education raise awareness of this issue. the study can also highlight to current players the importance of becoming ever more aware of such injuries and the language used to express these symptoms.
Perspectives
The lead author (Ed Daly) has been immersed within the cultural space of rugby union for a prolonged period and therefore had incredible access to what is a closed world when it comes to discussing concussion and its effects on playing careers. Ed managed to capture some fascinating and very candida dat due to his skills and expertise in conducting the interviews. Analysing this data opened a 'pandora's box' of issues which signify much more work in raising awareness of these injuries is required. Most concerning for me was a large proportion of the participants in this study transitioned into coaching roles and therefore were not necessarily best protecting their current athletes' welfare.
Dr Alex D Blackett
Staffordshire University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Pressure. A Qualitative Analysis of the Perception of Concussion and Injury Risk in Retired Professional Rugby Players, Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, September 2021, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/jfmk6030078.
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