Concussion focus at new SharkSmart workshop
The focus of the workshops will be on the adjusted laws surrounding concussion that the International Rugby Board (IRB) have brought into all levels of rugby.
WITH the schools rugby season getting underway shortly, concussion in rugby becomes a major talking point, and the Discovery SharkSmart Programme has launched a new workshop in which programme head and former doctor to The Sharks, Dr Glen Hagemann, deals with the latest thinking on concussion.
Hagemann will deliver his presentation that he has entitled ‘Peckers, Brains and Adolescents’ at the Pietermaritzburg at the Victoria Country Club on 19 March and then at Growthpoint Kings Park on 26 March starting at 5.30pm on both occasions.
The focus of the workshops will be on the adjusted laws surrounding concussion that the International Rugby Board (IRB) have brought into all levels of rugby with the hope that the effects of concussion on players will be reduced. Reworking their ‘return to play’ strategy will come under the spotlight with the recovery time being determined differently throughout the different age groups.
The Discovery SharkSmart team encourages all sports coaches, doctors, school nurses, physiotherapists, biokineticists and first aiders to attend and learn about the importance of managing a player after they have suffered a concussion.
Having a sound understanding about the effects that concussion has on young rugby players is important for coaches and medical staff in order to minimise the risks of permanent damage to young players. The guidelines are strict in their recovery time periods and maintain that it is crucial that, after diagnosis, the proper measures are taken to ensure a full and safe recovery.
The workshop will help in assisting coaches in dealing with concussed players and the necessary steps that have been set out by the IRB as well as assisting the medical personnel in being able to read symptoms of concussion and how to deal with them when they happen. The strict guidelines provide administrators with a clear-cut way in which to manage concussion and how to avoid incidents of serious injury post-concussion.
After a concussion the Graduated Return to Play Protocol (GRTP) comes into effect. It is split into different age groups and that specifies the amount of time that a player will be out of the game following a concussion.
RSVP to Pippa Rowe (PRowe@sharksmedical.co.za/031-312 7506) for the Durban workshop by 24 March.
Visit www.sharksmart.co.za for more info.
