Making rugby safer [wearable sensors

Abstract

Recent research into concussion funded by World Rugby found a potential link between frequent concussion and brain injury, while the wide range of impairments to cognitive, motor and sensory functions that can result from repetitive head impacts, often coupled with additional emotional and behavioural symptoms, is now recognised as a serious problem not just in rugby, but in many other high-impact sports too. The study, which involved 485 male rugby players, compared amateur and professional players with matched control groups. The project was led by Professor Patric Hume of Auckland University's School of Sport and Recreation, who is also member of the New Zealand Sport Performance Research Institute. She says that rugby players who had suffered four or more concussions performed worse in some tests measuring mental and physical coordination, motor speed and multi-tasking, and those who had one to three concussions had a worse result in one of five balance tests. Hume, who says 94 per cent of elite level rugby players experience one or more concussions, points out that the study showed a statistically significant link between repeated concussion and brain damage. Meanwhile, a study carried out for the US broadcaster PBS in conjunction with Boston University and the Department of Veterans Affairs, looked at the brain condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among American football players.The condition can cause depression, aggression and loss of motor skills and memory. Of 91 former NFL players who donated their brains for research after death, 87 tested positive for CTΣ.