James Larkin | Contributing Writer
At the moment a revolution is taking place in the NFL with regard to traumatic brain injuries and, more specifically, concussions. In the early 90’s people began to ask questions about the short and long term effects of head collisions in the NFL. These questions were asked by neurologists and neuropsychologists as they anecdotally saw a rise in the prevalence of diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s in American football players. In response to this evidence neuroscientists began to carry out research on the topic and what they found was startling; players who reported at least three concussions were five times more likely to be diagnosed with early signs of dementia. Suffering one concussion left a player more vulnerable to suffering another, especially when it did not have time to heal, and there is a correlation between depression and concussions. These studies are merely a drop in the ocean of research that has shown a connection between American football and potential for brain damage.
In light of this evidence the NFL assembled the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee (MTBI). The MTBI was essentially a propaganda machine, the purpose of which was to create “scientific” papers to deny that impacts to the head in American football cause brain damage. They feared being contacted by many a Brain Injury Lawyer when players become more aware of the potential damage that could be casued by injuries sustained in their line of work. Lukily, their papers were almost wholly discredited by the medical community. The most resounding pieces of evidence began to fall into place in 2002 when former NFL centre, Mike Webster, died and was autopsied. Webster had been suffering many signs of dementia in his later life and was diagnosed by several doctors with brain damage caused by American Football. When he was autopsied it was discovered that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), formerly known as dementia pugilistica; a brain disease which boxers suffered from due to repeated blows to the head. Even in the wake of this discovery the NFL completely denied that a correlation existed. Following this there were fifty more confirmed cases of former football players with CTE and since this disease can only be diagnosed post mortem there could be many more cases of CTE out there. When speaking about CTE, neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee declared that “most NFL players are going to get this. It’s just a matter of degree”.
The emergence of brain damage discoveries in the NFL should have been a cautionary tale for rugby union as it is a contact sport, which concussion expert Chris Nowinski describes as “not that far off American football.” The first crop of professional rugby union players has only recently begun to retire and as a result the long term effects of concussion in rugby union are yet to be seen. The Rugby Football Union’s head of sports medicine claims there is “no ticking time bomb” when it comes to brain damage in rugby union, this is a contrary opinion to many medical professionals. Consultant neurosurgeon Tony Belli declared that “there is clear evidence of a link between concussion and dementia, but rugby is in denial about that.” The most shocking piece of evidence is that neurologist Dr. Willie Stewart has found signs of CTE in a former rugby player. It will only be possible to confirm CTE in a rugby player when one dies and by this time far too much irreparable damage may have occurred.
Scenes like this have become all too common in modern rugby matches
The IRB now have strict guidelines when it comes to concussions in Rugby Union but it is highly questionable whether these guidelines are adhered to. For example, during the recent Lions tour Australia’s George Smith staggered off the field five minutes into the game with clear symptoms of a concussion. He proceeded to return to the game. The IRB concussion guidelines state that if a player has a “suspected concussion” then the “player must be removed from the field of play and must not play any further part in the game”. If their guidelines are not adhered to in one of their flagship games then what hope is there for adherence to take place in lower leagues and at underage level?
Another example is Luke Marshall. Last season he suffered a concussion in three consecutive games and as a result took a break from the game for six months. The IRB do not provide guidelines for multiple concussions suffered over a period of weeks. When one considers the results of the aforementioned papers, one must worry for Marshall’s future health. Perhaps if it had been noted that suffering one concussion left a player more vulnerable to suffering another, especially when it did not have time to heal, then he may have not suffered the subsequent two concussions. Players have shown a steady increase in weight since rugby union became a pro sport and this physically increases the force of tackles. These examples will only get worse as time goes on unless something is done.
In 2011, 14 year old Benjamin Robinson died due to second impact syndrome; he had become concussed while playing rugby, then played on and received another blow to the head. He later died in hospital due to head injuries. The demographic the IRB should be most worried about is pre-adolescents and adolescents. A concussion to the developing brain of a child can have a far greater impact than a concussion suffered by an adult professional. Compounding this problem is the fact that children do not always have immediate access to experienced medical professionals unlike professional rugby players.
The timeline of events for rugby union’s involvement with brain injury is strikingly similar to that of the NFL twenty years ago. The IRB needs to take immediate proactive action rather than continue down a path of denial which the NFL has already shown is a dead end. The IRB have ignored the problem of brain injuries in rugby union for far too long and as a result they have most likely caused immeasurable damage; it’s time for damage limitation.
