Is Rugby Dangerous for Children? Understanding the Risks of Brain Injury
(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelseye/786998661)
Rugby is well-known for being a contact sport, and the frequency of brain injuries that occur within the sport has risen. A 59% rise in reported concussions in English rugby from 2013-2014 speaks to the routine nature of head injuries in a sport that has come to accept these as a normal part of matches. However, a BBC Panorama investigation has highlighted the need for change within the game, as medical professionals including World Rugby's chief medical officer Martin Rafferty speak up about the long-term dangers of these 'minor' concussions.
The implications of this conversation around rugby and brain injury are huge for sport and health as a whole. It is not only professional-level rugby that presents the danger of concussion.
As a parent, you might be worried about what all this means for your children. After all, PE and team sports are a vital part of school life and lots of children play for teams outside of school hours. We also hear an increasing amount of news pertaining to the expanding waistlines of children in this country, and sport is a wonderful way to combat what some are calling an obesity epidemic.
However, if you have a son or daughter who plays for a rugby team, or indeed any contact sports team, the fears about concussion that are currently being raised might be striking a chord. Although there is no evidence to suggest that school sports should be avoided, rare cases of concussions having drastic repercussions are known to happen, and it's certainly important that steps are taken to combat this.
One particularly tragic example is that of 14-year-old Ben Robinson, who died of second impact syndrome in 2011 after suffering a concussion playing rugby. Though Ben's case is thought to be the only one of its kind to have been recorded in the UK, the incidence rate of concussion in school rugby is fairly high, although exact far-reaching data is hard to find.
1 in 8 Children Suffer an Injury While Playing Rugby That Will Keep Them Off the Pitch for Seven Days
Professor Allyson Pollock carried out research into injuries experienced by rugby-playing schoolchildren after her own rugby-playing son suffered three serious injuries, including concussion. According to Professor Pollock, figures show that 1 in 8 children suffer an injury that will keep them off the pitch for seven days every season. These findings highlight the concerning injury rates among young rugby players.
66% of Boys Do Not Report Their Head Injuries to Anyone
Research carried out by England Rugby found that 66% of the 16-18 year old boys in their research group did not leave the field after a concussion, and that 38% of them did not report their concussion to anyone. This is despite the finding that 66% of the boys in the research group did view concussion as a serious injury. This evidence of the under-reporting of concussion among schoolchildren throws light onto the difficulty of establishing accurate data from which to draw conclusions.
This issue is particularly concerning in grassroots sport, where young athletes are often at greater risk due to a lack of stringent safety measures and oversight.
In the UK, groups like England Rugby are taking a proactive approach towards safety in school rugby by promoting the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) regulations and pushing forward with the ‘4 Rs.’
(Information source: http://www.englandrugby.com)
The Risks of Brain Injury in Rugby
Rugby, as a contact sport, inherently carries a significant risk of brain injury, particularly due to repeated blows to the head. This risk is a growing concern, especially as more retired players develop degenerative brain diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma and can only be fully diagnosed postmortem. The condition was first observed in boxers in the 1920s, who were often described as “punch drunk.”
In 2005, Dr. Bennet Omalu, a pathologist, discovered the first evidence of CTE in the brain of former NFL player Mike Webster. Since then, CTE has been identified in retired athletes from various collision sports, including ice hockey, Australian rules football and rugby union. The risk of brain injury in rugby is not just a concern for professional players but extends to all levels of the sport, including school and grassroots rugby. Understanding these risks is crucial for parents, coaches and players to make informed decisions about participation in rugby.
Mitigating the Risks of Brain Injuries
To mitigate the risks of brain injuries in rugby, sports organisations and governing bodies have implemented various measures. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has introduced stringent concussion protocols to ensure that players who suffer a head injury are immediately removed from play and do not return until they have been thoroughly evaluated and cleared by a medical professional.
Additionally, the RFU has implemented rules to reduce the amount of contact during training sessions, such as limiting the number of full-contact practices per week. These measures aim to minimise the risk of brain injuries while still allowing players to develop their skills. The RFU has also launched education programmes to raise awareness about the risks of brain injuries and promote safe playing practices among players, coaches and parents.
Other sports organisations, like the National Football League (NFL) in the USA, have adopted similar measures to reduce the risk of brain injuries. These initiatives reflect a growing recognition of the need to protect athletes from the long-term consequences of head injuries, ensuring that the sport remains safe and enjoyable for all participants.
Why Action Is Needed to Prevent Further Injuries
The UK and the USA are patently very different nations with different populations. The fact that American football - which is barely played in this country - has been strongly connected to brain injury may speak to the greater level of research that has been conducted into sports-related injuries in young people in America. This doesn’t, however, mean that we should ignore the rising trend for concussions. When children suffer traumatic brain injuries because of road collisions, we actively try to make the roads safer and to instil a sense of road safety into our children. The same should be done in regard to sports injuries, and the ‘4 Rs’ is a good start.
Recent research argues that allowing children to participate in high-impact sports like rugby and boxing constitutes a form of child abuse. Concerns about long-term brain injuries and the inability of children to give informed consent to such dangerous activities contradict existing child protection laws.
As well as having a better understanding of concussion, it’s a good idea to try and make sure that your son or daughter knows it is important that they tell you if they have been concussed, even if they think they have recovered immediately. A concussion is a brain injury, even when it does not have serious implications, and making sure that you know of any brain injuries that your son or daughter might have suffered is extremely important.
You can find out more about concussion in sport by following the links below:
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