Experts at Edinburgh have helped to revise national guidelines on how best to respond to cases of sports-related concussion.
Updated protocols drafted by University researchers and four leading sports bodies reflect a changing understanding of how head injuries can affect athletes.
The new guidance is aimed at grassroots sports, where healthcare professionals are typically not available to manage athletes suffering from concussion.
Scottish national guidelines on sports concussion were launched in 2015 – a world first – and updated in 2018, helping to raise awareness of symptoms and advocating a graduated return to activity.
Recent research has informed the latest protocol. Previously, programmes for a graduated return to sport differentiated between adults and young people – but guidance is now the same for all ages.
Other developments are reflected in the new guidelines. Participating in light physical activity has now been shown to have a positive effect on recovery after the initial 24-48 hour period of relative rest.
Managed individually
The team also recommends that all concussions should be managed individually, with no return to competition within 21 days of injury. Anyone with symptoms after 28 days should seek medical advice.
Additionally, revised guidelines take on board recent studies that show female athletes may be more susceptible to concussion and may take longer to recover.
The team of experts behind the new guidelines included researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stirling. Also taking part were representatives from Scottish Rugby, the Scottish Football Association, Shinty’s Camanachd Association and the national agency, sportscotland.
Other nations are now adopting the key message of earlier Scottish guidance on how to respond to affected athletes – ‘if in doubt, sit them out’.
This has been most notable in the UK-wide guidance published last year and recently adopted in Australia and New Zealand as they seek to create one unifying set of guidelines.
Teaching programmes
As part of its wider commitment to promoting the guidelines, the University of Edinburgh has incorporated concussion education into its teaching programmes.
Physical education teaching students at Moray House School of Education and Sport will be required to complete a mandatory concussion course as part of their studies.
The course will be taught by Dr Stephanie Adams, a Research Fellow in the University of Edinburgh’s School of Health in Social Science. Dr Adams is also part of the Edinburgh Sports Medicine Research Network.
An estimated 50 per cent of sports concussions go unreported, and young people aged 10-19 are most affected. Dr Adams says upskilling PE teachers to give them the tools they need to identify and support students with concussion is a huge step forward.
“The course will ensure our students feel more equipped to deal with head injuries – knowing what to do when a concussion occurs is a key skill for any PE teacher,” says Dr Adams.
