Concussion plays an ever increasing role in rugby these days, and the sport’s governing body World Rugby has taken yet more pro-active measures to reduce the occurrences of such injuries, as is explained in the video below.

Having already introduced a three-pronged Head Injury Assessment (HIA) which identifies and treats instances of Concussion at Elite level only, World Rugby has initiated a programme called “Recognise and Remove� which aims to limit concussion at all other levels.

World Rugby have also conducted research into the number of head injury casualties who have been admitted to hospitals. The report found that one in five of those patients suffered injuries as a result of sport.

According to Chief Medical Officer for World Rugby Dr Martin Raftery, one of the biggest causes of prolonged and serious brain injury, is inactivity.

Symptoms include: sensitivity to light, loss of balance, drowsiness or a pressure in the head. Raftery recommends that players suffering from at least one of these symptoms be withdrawn from the field of play.

Failure to do so may result in some of the following long-lasting consequences: persistent headaches, memory loss and permanent brain damage.

World Rugby has certainly come a long way from the archaic attitudes of the past few decades and it is clear that more research and emphasis on player welfare is required, especially as players are getting bigger and stronger each year.

Watch and share the video below and raise awareness by using #Recogniseandremove

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