Local experts shared their knowledge on concussion in sport and practice as a part of an event series designed to shed light on different aspects of health.
On 2 May, expert speakers from University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) NHS Foundation Trust and Bournemouth University (BU) hosted their second event in a series of free public Understanding Health talks which discussed Understanding Concussion in Sport and Practice.
Dr Keith Parry, Head of Department of Sport and Event Management at BU, and Dr Osman Ahmed, Senior Physiotherapist at UHD discussed the impact their work is having on creating safe sports environments.
Dr Keith Parry spoke about changes in concussion awareness and understanding in sport and the introduction of guidance that is designed to keep players safe. In April 2023, The Government and the Sport and Recreation Alliance published the first UK-wide concussion guidelines for grassroots sports. Dr Keith Parry spoke about the red flags to look out for, and recognisable visible signs of concussion referenced in the publication along with the strapline: “If in doubt, sit them out.”
Additionally, he spoke about the media representation of concussion in sport and the impact of false, misleading terminology used in reporting the topic. However, he highlighted recent improvements in people’s understanding of the seriousness of concussion in sport and the media beginning to use correct terms.
Dr Keith Parry, said: “We’re trying to increase knowledge and understanding of concussion, we want to keep people who play sport as safe as possible by sharing what can be done to keep yourself, your teammates or a loved one safe whilst engaging in sports.”
Dr Osman Ahmed spoke about different concussion recognition tools used by medical professionals and some of the challenges of recognising concussion in certain groups of people. Recent research has found that athletes with visual impairments are at a higher risk for concussion injuries than athletes with other impairment types and non-disabled athletes. Dr Osman Ahmed spoke about how the concussion symptoms of visually impaired athletes can be more challenging to identify as identifying visual clues do not apply i.e., blurred vision, sensitivity to light, and visual fatigue.
Additionally, he also spoke about the under-representation of female athletes in research which may result in protocols more targeted for male athlete recovery. He also spoke about research which has identified that African American adolescent athletes exhibit less concussion knowledge compared to Caucasian athletes and the importance of education, especially to at-risk populations.
Dr Osman Ahmed, said: “The key message we want to share is that there are a wide range of tools available to help clinicians and non-clinicians to help remove athletes from sport and keep them safe.”
To conclude their presentation, they reiterated the importance of shared responsibility for detecting concussion in sports and basic education tools (Concussion Recognition Tool 6) which helps provide guidance to non-medical personnel.
One further Understanding Health talk, Understanding Pathology: Health under the Microscope will take place on 4 June 2023.
Find out more about Bournemouth University’s MSc Safe Sport course.