Donegal GAA team back Concussion Awareness Campaign
The Donegal GAA team supporting Acquired Brain Injury Ireland concussion campaign just before their tilt at a second consecutive Ulster title. Pictured with the team are Tina Doogan and her sons Owain and Joe and Michelle Lagan from Acquired Brain Injury Ireland.
The GAA and GPA are backing brain injury specialists Acquired Brain Injury Ireland and their Concussion Awareness Video Campaign. The organisations are appealing to players, coaches, volunteers and parents to watch the online video and educate themselves about concussion management for player welfare.
Speaking at the local launch in Donegal, Tina Doogan, Local Services Manager for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland said: “Concussion is an injury that must be taken seriously. If a player returns to the field with a concussion they put themselves at risk of second impact syndrome; during which the brain swells rapidly, resulting in a serious brain injury. Players who do not manage concussion seriously are leaving themselves susceptible to a long-term endurance of a collection of concussion symptoms, including headaches, depression, personality change, memory and concentration problems, sleep disturbance and mood swings.”
Research conducted by the GPA and ABI Ireland in relation to hard hits and concussion within Gaelic games, showed 54% of those surveyed reported having endured a concussion during play. 44% admitted to having sustained a concussion between 2-5 times. When asked about concussion management and adhering to return-to-play guidelines, 58% admitted to continuing to play while concussed; with 42% of these noting they played on and didn’t remember the rest of the game.
Following an impact to the head, most players recorded suffering a number of concussion symptoms at once; with dizziness, headaches, blurry vision and confusion being the most common experienced.
Fermanagh footballer Mark McGovern, who is an ambassador for the organisation, following his off-the-ball assault which left him with a brain injury and in a coma for five weeks, spoke of the trauma he endured last summer, in Croke Park last week.
“I was very unlucky, what happened to me in San Francisco was a deliberate assault as opposed to an on-field sporting accident. It was severe un-sportsmanship qualities that left me in rehab for almost a year, and changed my life forever. After a lot of intense rehab, one year later I have made a 95% recovery; although unfortunately I will never play Gaelic football again. As ambassador ,my message to players is to look after their heads”, he said.
The identification of concussion can be a difficult challenge due to the fact that every concussion is unique and no two concussions present identically. In addition to this, the signs and symptoms may not present immediately after the player takes a hit to the head, but may evolve over several hours after the hit or collision has occurred.
Speaking at the local launch, Donegal’s full-forward Colm Mc Fadden said: “It is a necessary campaign to help make players, parents and coaches aware of the dangers of concussion and it is another important step towards improving players welfare.”
The Concussion Awareness Video campaign themed Not Always a Knock-Out invites players to remember If it doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t, and so to get yourself off the pitch. ABI Ireland has also produced Concussion Awareness Wallet Cards for players and coaches, issuing the signs and symptoms to look out for, and initial rest equals recovery guidelines to adhere to. For more information or to order a batch of cards for your club contact Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, Letterkenny on 074 917 6902
The Concussion Awareness videos for the campaign will be issued to all GAA clubs throughout the country and can also be viewed on all three organisational websites www.abiireland.ie www.gaa.ie and www.gaelicplayers.com
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Thursday 23 May 2013
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