Sports Medicine Australia, in collaboration with others, has examined the ever-evolving concussion research and reviewed concussion care globally to formulate the, ‘Australian Concussion Guidelines, for youth and community sport’ document, which was released in early 2024. A link to the compete document is provided at the conclusion of this summary.

The mechanism for a concussion injury starts with a collision force to an athlete’s head, or a collision force applied to the body that transmits concussive loads to the head/brain. If the collision force is sufficient, it may injure the brain and temporarily affect its function. Some examples of collisions during sport could be a rugby player who gets their head in the wrong place during a tackle and knocks their head, or a skier who falls, jolting their body in a way that sends collision forces through the upper body and head/brain.

Concussions can sometimes result from small collisions and symptoms can sometimes emerge slowly after the brain is injured. Therefore, it’s important to observe for visible symptoms of a concussion. Signs, symptoms and red flags for a concussion are:

Concussion signs, symptoms and red flags that present immediately following a collision should see the athlete cease participation in their event immediately. In some cases, signs, symptoms, and red flags may emerge over the days following a collision and it’s important to monitor for any of these presentations. The guideline document includes a concussion management algorithm for immediate concussion presentations and concussions that emerge in the days following a collision. If you are involved with community sport or interested in understanding more about concussion, I suggest you review the Concussion Guideline graphics (pay attention to the red flags as they necessitate taking the athlete to the nearest emergency department immediately).

Some points of interest taken from the Australian Concussion Guidelines…

• Review following a suspected concussion must be undertaken by an appropriately trained health professional to guide rehabilitation.
• Following a concussion rest initially for 24-48 hours.
• After 48 hours begin to gradually reintroduce learning and work activities. Return to these activities is prioritised over a return to sport.
• An athlete must have experienced at least 14 continuous days symptom free before resumption of contact training.
• The minimum period for a return to competition is 21 days.

So what does this all mean?

Firstly, if you’re involved in youth or community sport, please familiarise yourself with the Australian Concussion Guidelines, it includes a lot more detail than this summary. A link is provided at the conclusion of this summary.

If an athlete has a collision impacting the head/brain and any signs, symptoms or red flags are observed they must cease participation in the sporting event immediately, apply first aid as necessary, and if red flags are observed the athlete must be taken to the emergency department for medical support. If non-red flag signs or symptoms are observed, let the athlete rest for 24-48 hours and in this time seek out non-acute medical support to guide the rehabilitation process. The first rehabilitation priority is a graded return to learning and work activities. The first rehabilitation milestone involving the athletes sport involves a return to contact training after 14 continuous symptom free days. And if the graded return to training goes well, the earliest return to sports competition can be after 21 days.

The take home…

If an athlete has a collision, experiencing concussion signs or symptoms, they won’t be participating in their sport competitively for at least three weeks, and best case scenario is a return to contact training after 14 days.

“If in doubt, sit them out”

Thanks for reading, Warwick..

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Australian Concussion Guidelines, for youth and community sport